A rise of hotels have been added or are expected to open across West Loop

West Loop used to be an area with nearly no hotels for travelers to check into and relax during their stay in Chicago. By the end of 2019, it seems as though project developers have seen the potential success for the hotel industry in the city to flourish, as many new proposed projects include hotels or hotel components.

The Neighbors of West Loop Development Committee (NoWL) has noticed 10 active concepts for hotels in West Loops throughout the years. These projects have either been completed and opened for business or awaiting approval or openings.

NoWL Committee Chair Matt Letourneau commented on how the new projects will provide a great number of benefits to the West Loop Area and its citizens in a post on the group’s official website in July 2019.

“Like any development, the new properties will add to the tax base and create hundreds, if not thousands of jobs,” Letourneau said in his post. “Some of them will also contribute to the Neighborhood Opportunity Bonus, which helps bring investment into local infrastructure. Hotel guests also provide a boost to the local economy as they visit nearby shops and restaurants.”

The first recently opened hotel came with Soho House from Shapack Partners on 111 N. Green St. in 2014. Following this, several other hotels followed suit and established business in the West Loop.

This includes the grand openings of both Ace Hotel from Sterling Bay on 311 N. Morgan St. in the Fulton Market District and the Publishing House Bed & Breakfast on 1134 W. Washington Blvd. in 2017.

There were also three hotels that opened in 2019 – the Hoxton Hotel on 200 N. Green St., Hyatt House on 113 N. May St. and Nobu Hotel on 848 W. Randolph St.

Four additional hotels have already been proposed and have yet to be approved. These are the Pendry Group hotel at 1025 W. Fulton Market, a Dream Hotel at 215 N. May St., an Equinox hotel at 725 W. Randolph St., and a Tokoyo Inn Hotel at 320 S. Clinton St.

Letourneau also spoke of the negative effects new hotels can bring, such as increased taxi and other transportation traffic and crime rates.

For a long period of time, the Crowne Plaza at Halsted and Monroe was the only main hotel visitors could stay at. Having been built in 1960 and renovated in 2005, the 398-room hotel overcame foreclosure after West Loop recovered from its 2008 recession.

The Starr Hotel, formerly on 617 W. Madison St., was torn down in 1982 for the construction of Presidential Towers and its parking structure that was finished by 1986. It was most famous for being the location where mass murderer Richard Speck was arrested in 1966.

Letourneau believes that, regardless of if the new hotels are help or harm West Loop infrastructure, that the hotel projects are sure to be completed.

“Time will tell if these new hotels are meeting a need or oversaturating the market,” Letourneau said. “In the meantime, they are in the West Loop to stay.”