It’s been nearly a year and a half since we first spotted heavy machinery and construction crews zeroing in on McCormick Place, but since last summer, a lot of progress has been made on the upcoming arena and the 39-story Marriott Marquis hotel coming to the busy convention center corridor. Officially dubbed the McCormick Place Events Center, the under-construction 10,000-seat arena will host concerts, conventions, and will also become the home court for DePaul University’s basketball program. The arena’s design comes from star architect César Pelli’s firm Pelli Clarke Pelli.
Being built next door to the arena is the new Marriott Marquis Chicago hotel. Similar to the arena, the design for this building had been reworked a few times before it finally arrived at the long 39-story shape that is currently being constructed. And with 1,205 rooms and over 90,000 square feet of meeting space, the development is one of the largest hotel projects to be built in Chicago in years. According to Marriott, the new hotel is expected to open by next July.
- A Look at Six Projects Under Construction in Chicago's South Loop [Curbed Chicago]
- Major Construction Effort Continues Around McCormick Place [Curbed Chicago]
- Construction Workers Dig In Around McCormick Place [Curbed Chicago]