One LaSalle Street hotel digs in, another stalls amidst legal spat

Site prep starts for ‘mystery hotel’

Work on River North’s secretive Moxy hotel looks to be moving forward as crews and heavy equipment arrive on-site to prep the long-vacant lot at the northwest corner of Grand and LaSalle for development. Being built entirely “as-of-right” and therefore Flying under the city’s radar, the future Chicago branch of the Marriott’s boutique Moxy brand remains fairly murky.

Jay Koziarz

While a bit of digging revealed that the Chicago Moxy comes from River North developer Albert Friedman and partner White Lodging Services Corp, nothing about the physical design of the building beyond its eight-story height figure can be found. Chicago-based DLR Group is listed as project architect on Moxy’s first building permit, but no renderings or elevations of the upcoming hotel have been made available at this time.

Trouble down the street?

Saroki Architecture

Just three short blocks to the south, another hospitality project has reportedly hit some trouble. According to Crain’s, the 18-story hotel slated for the parking lot at the northwest corner of Hubbard and LaSalle is now at the center of a legal dispute between Michigan-based developer Jake Porritt and the real estate brokers who control the the property. The complaint from Porritt argues that he was deceived with regards to a sub-lease agreement to develop the land.

Designed by Saroki Architecture, the 18-story project was expected to contain 199 guest rooms, 5,360 square feet of ground floor retail, an indoor pool, rooftop terrace, and no on-site parking. Though the development was approved by the city of Chicago last summer, ground-breaking is likely some ways off given the project’s current legal woes. The site currently sits idle.

• Will legal battle kill this River North hotel deal? [Crain’s]
• Previous River North coverage [Curbed Chicago]