Ex-Bear plans calls audible with Motor Row redevelopment

A former Chicago Bear has plans to make over a century-old Motor Row building.

The Hudson Motor Building at 2222 South Michigan Avenue, owned by former defensive end Israel Idonije, secured city zoning approval to become a small hotel with some apartments and retail, Block Club Chicago reported. The project will now go before the City Council for final approval.

The developer, Hudson Michigan Avenue, which counts Idonije as a partner, plans to transform the four-story, 38-unit building, with a price tag of $62.5 million. The project will include apartments ranging in size from one- to four-bedrooms on the second and third floors. The hotel rooms will be located on the second, third and fourth floors. Plans also call for a rooftop pool, changing rooms and an outdoor deck. A restaurant and an event venue will also be included on the ground floor.

RTM Engineering Consultants is handling the engineering and design of the project, which has been dubbed Hudson Motor Row.

Original plans for the building call for a philanthropic-focused, members-only co-working space, similar to Idonije’s Impact House, which opened in the Loop in 2020.

The terra cotta building was designed by Chicago architect Alfred Alschuler in 1922 for the Hudson Motor Car Company, which ran from 1909 to 1954.

The Hudson Motor Row development is the latest in the city’s ongoing efforts to revitalize Motor Row after designating it a Chicago Landmark District in 2000. Mayor Lori Lightfoot granted $11 million for infrastructure improvements for the neighborhood in July.

Historic buildings have been popular with investors recently. Last month, a venture of North American Real Estate and David “Buzz” Ruttenberg bought the century-old Flatiron Arts building at the intersection of Damen, North and Milwaukee avenues from Berger Realty Group for $19.7 million.

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