Porritt Group Lands Cloud One for Chicago River North Hotel

A Chicago hotel project stalled since before the pandemic is being revamped with a European hotel brand, a sign of building momentum mirrored in the market.

Porritt Group, a Michigan-based developer, updated its proposal for a 15-story, 297-key hotel at 150 West Hubbard Street, bringing in Cloud One Hotels as the anchor, CoStar reported. Cloud One is owned by Munich-based Motel One Group, a Europe-focused hospitality company with one U.S. location, in New York.

The River North site, a surface parking lot at Hubbard and LaSalle streets, won zoning approval in 2016 and was previously planned as a 16-story, 341-key Hyatt Andaz hotel. But shifting market conditions and the pandemic derailed progress, leading Porritt toward redesigning with a more compact “affordable luxury” concept for shorter stays under the Cloud One flag, Alderman Brendan Reilly told the outlet.

Cloud One Hotels launched in 2022 as Motel One’s boutique offshoot, with properties in New York, the Czech Republic, Germany and Poland.

The parent company is majority owned by Paris-based PAI Partners, which acquired an 80 percent stake in March, valuing Motel One at $4.5 billion. Motel One, led by founder Dieter Müller, ended last year with 99 hotels worldwide and openings planned this year in Munich, London, Paris, Vienna and Lisbon.

In Chicago, the Porritt project includes a 3,800-square-foot ground-floor restaurant, plus event space and a rooftop bar. NORR is the architect. Porritt’s website lists a completion target for next year, but the company has not confirmed a construction start date.

Cloud One Chicago would mark a major U.S. expansion for the brand and give Porritt Group a high-profile second chance at delivering a long-stalled development.

Downtown Chicago’s hospitality sector is gradually regaining its footing after pandemic disruptions, even as other real estate sectors like office are pressured. International brands and boutique operators see opportunity in Chicago’s tourism and business travel markets, with several new hotel flags entering the pipeline.

— Judah Duke