A New York-based developer and a local businessman seek city approval to build a 143-room hotel in Chicago’s Fulton Market in the latest example of the former meatpacking district rising above a sluggish real estate market.
The venture of Cogswell Realty and Erol Stapleton submitted plans to construct a boutique hotel at 1016 to 1020 W. Lake St.
The developers said in a statement that the wellness-focused hotel would be “a first-of-its-kind asset type in the dynamic Fulton Market neighborhood.”
It’s the latest in a series of ongoing or planned developments in the high-demand neighborhood, which has largely overcome broader economic challenges that have strained real estate markets throughout the country.
Recently in the area, developer Fulton St. landed a $233 million construction loan for an office development, a rarity nationally, and Fred Latsko put the building that houses the recently opened Guinness Open Gate Brewery on the market for sale. The Guinness brewery is one of just three worldwide. Offers for that property are expected to top $20 million.
Those two developers also recently landed a 10,000-square-foot restaurant lease with Heisler Hospitality for a building they co-own at 165 N. Morgan St.
The hotel planned by Cogswell and Stapleton will be 14 stories, topped by a rooftop lounge, according to plans submitted to the city.
If approved, the independent hotel has a planned opening in 2026, the developers said in a statement. The concept “will incorporate innovative strategies for sustainability, health and wellness,” according to the statement.
Designed by M Moser Associates, the project is expected to have more than 15,000 square feet of amenities, including a yet-to-be-named restaurant, according to the statement.
Twin Bridges Hospitality will manage the hotel.
Plans for the hotel previously were reported by Crain’s Chicago Business, which cited documents that were formally introduced to the City Council on Wednesday. The developers will need the eventual approval of the City Council for the plan to move forward.
Stapleton is CEO of home health care services company Provider Preferred Home Health, which is based in a three-story building within the development site at 1016 W. Lake St. The site also includes vacant land at 1018 to 1020 W. Lake.
Existing places to stay in Fulton Market include a Nobu hotel and restaurant, a Soho House private club and hotel and a Hoxton hotel.
The arrival of those hotels is part of a yearslong expansion of the once-gritty meatpacking district west of the Loop business district, which also has included residential towers, retail and restaurants.
Many longtime food industry businesses have sold their properties for redevelopment in recent years, often at multimillion-dollar profits.
During one recent five-year period, Fulton Market was the fastest-growing urban office market in the country, according to a CoStar analysis. Office tenants include the global headquarters of McDonald’s and Mondelez and the Midwest headquarters of Google.