Navy Pier Is Getting A New, $90 Million Hotel
By Mae Rice in Arts & Entertainment on May 2, 2016 3:38PM
A new $90 million, 200-room hotel will grace Navy Pier by 2018, Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Navy Pier leadership announced Sunday. Construction on the project will begin next year.
The hotel will be a first for the pier, with "breathtaking and unparalleled views of the Pier, lake and city," Navy Pier, Inc. President and CEO Marilynn Gardner said in a statement.
Developed and privately funded by Rosemont's First Hospitality Group, the five-story hotel will be built above the south-facing Festival Hall terraces, in Navy Pier's east entertainment district. Jackie Koo, the designer behind The Wit, will design it; plans so far include bay windows and balconies made of steel and glass.
The new hotel is part of an effort to bring 55 million visitors a year to Chicago in 2020, Emanuel said in a statement. It's also part of an effort to get locals to "rediscover" the area, Navy Pier spokeswoman Tammy Chase told the Tribune.
This hotel announcement comes just shy of Navy Pier's 100th birthday, which the city has honored with various new developments, including this one and Navy Pier's new Ferris wheel, which opens Memorial Day weekend.