Sometimes big things happen at neighborhood committee meetings, like the affirmation of a hotel conversion for Wicker Park's landmark Coyote Building. Also known as the Northwest Tower, the 14-story flatiron pokes its head high above surrounding blocks. Developer Convexity Properties, a real estate and management arm of DRW Holdings, told the Wicker Park Committee's (WPC) Preservation and Development (P&D) Committee it intends to harness that attribute as a solarium penthouse space for hotel guests. Other "boutiquey" amenities will likely include a small pool atop the adjoining Hollander warehouse structure and a lounge, lobby, event space, and restaurant.
How large will the hotel be? As large as 120 rooms, including conversion of the neighboring Hollander building and construction of a couple low-rise structures along Milwaukee. Or, it could be smaller. Our Urban Times, reporting on the Tuesday committee meeting, says just 25 rooms are planned on 10 floors of the Coyote with the balance in the Hollander. That's a little hard to fathom, but thankfully developers will be back to clarify November 6 at the WPC membership meeting in the Wicker Park Field House. How expensive will it be? Developers are quoting shared and small room options under $100, with regular rooms priced between $130 and $175.
As a restoration project, the developers will seek various historic tax credits. Major interior work cannot commence without an approved Planned Development (PD), introduced Wednesday to City Council. Scaffolding around the Coyote will be up until at least March 2014, during which time exterior restoration work can and should ramp up. A rough end date for the boutique hotel opening is "sometime in 2015". The signing of a hotel operator is in the works, with no name surfacing just yet. But rest assured, both the developer and operator have a large portfolio of custom hospitality projects. Stay tuned!
·Boutique hotel to anchor Northwest Tower building complex after renovation, repurposing and construction in Wicker Park [Our Urban Times]
·Hospitality Watch: The Coyote Building [Curbed Chicago]
·Try, Try Again for Coyote Building Conversion in Bucktown [Curbed Chicago]
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