Condor Partners gets permits for Old Town hotel project

A new hotel is coming to Old Town.

Condor Partners secured approval for the long-awaited hotel development at 1528 North Wells Street in September 2020, Urbanize Chicago reported. Now the developers were granted a foundation permit for the project.

With the foundation permits, the North Wells Street hotel’s general contractor, McHugh Construction, can begin work on the project.

The structure, designed by Pappageorge Haymes, will be a 12-story tower on the vacant lot that currently serves as a surface parking lot. The building design will be a classic masonry style and include 8-foot-tall windows and outdoor terraces above multiple setbacks. The boutique hotel will rise 151 feet.

Inside, it will include 203 rooms designed by Summer Thornton. Amenities will include a rooftop lounge, spa, fitness center and restaurant.

The hotel will also include three levels of parking.

Separate from the hotel development, two large single-family homes will be built nearby along North Wieland Street. The houses will screen in the parking structure and essentially block it from view from the street behind the hotel.

The occupancy rate in the Windy City stood at 56 percent in the first six months of 2021, compared with 67 percent in the last pre-Covid year of 2019, according to data from STR. Chicago hotel occupancy rates rose about 15 percent last week to 73 percent, the second-biggest gain across the top 25 U.S. behind New Orleans, where occupancy rose about 17 percent. Chicago hotels also had the largest gain in average daily rates over 2019. They rose 49 percent to $170.

The city’s hotels are performing on par with other large U.S. cities. In New York, the occupancy rate dropped to 68 percent from 83 percent in 2019, and revenue fell to $172 from $195. The rate declined in Los Angeles to 70 percent from 79 percent in 2019.

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