The former Chicago Motor Club Building, an Art Deco totem on the river, is close to becoming the latest downtown boutique hotel project. Crain's is reporting that MB Real Estate Services and president John Murphy paid $9.5M for the 15-story landmark at 68 E Wacker and will begin a 144-room hotel conversion within 90 days. The Loop is awash in hotel conversions, with Virgin arriving right around the corner, and major projects planned for the old London Guarantee Building and 22-story high-rise at 100 W Monroe (another Murphy venture). The Motor Club's office spaces fell into obsolescence, vacancy, and foreclosure in recent years, and so any repurposing within historic landmark guidelines is most welcome. The hotel is projected to open in early 2015.
·Hotel conversion on tap for East Loop Art Deco gem [Crain's]
·Open House Chicago: Motor Club Building [Curbed Chicago]
·Motor Club Gets New Engine [Curbed Chicago]
[Photo: CoStar Group via Crain's]
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