Former W Chicago Lakeshore Hits Market as Conversion Play

A well-known Streeterville hotel is up for sale with an open-ended pitch: renovate it as a lifestyle hotel, or convert it into apartments.

Virginia hotel REIT Park Hotels & Resorts listed the Wade with JLL, positioning the 32-story, 520-key property as a rare lakefront redevelopment play, Crain’s reported.

The listing for the former W Chicago Lakeshore comes as Chicago’s hotel recovery trails pre-pandemic levels. No asking price was listed; it’s aimed at investors weighing alternative uses for hospitality assets in high-barrier markets.

The Wade, at 644 North Lake Shore Drive, was rebranded earlier this year and is in the process of joining Marriott’s lifestyle hotel portfolio.

Park, which inherited the property through its 2019 acquisition of Chesapeake Lodging Trust, opted not to invest in upgrades at the hotel but instead is testing buyer appetite amid its $400 million nationwide sell-off of “non-core” assets.

Marketing materials present two paths forward. One involves boosting hospitality performance by leveraging the Marriott name and the property’s prime waterfront location. Average revenue per available room at the Wade has dropped 21 percent below comparable hotels in the market since the pandemic, according to JLL.

The other option envisions a residential conversion, which would tap into the demand fueling multiple office-to-resi projects across downtown.

Unlike vacant office buildings, the Wade’s existing layout may ease a conversion. Zoning already allows residential use, and the building’s location, tucked among high-end condos and rental towers, gives it a natural appeal for renters. Few new apartment projects are under construction in the area amid elevated borrowing costs, making the property a potential fast lease-up opportunity.

The hotel, built in 1966, includes roughly 20,000 square feet of event space and a 318-car garage.

Park, based in Tysons, Virginia, still owns the Hilton Chicago and recently recommitted to its other former W hotel downtown, now the Midland Hotel, where a two-phase renovation is underway.

— Judah Duke