Emanuel, Quinn Announce New Hotel Planned For McCormick Place

By Chuck Sudo in News on Feb 19, 2013 2:45PM

A rendering of the planned hotel for McCormick Place at Cermak Road, between Michigan and Indiana Avenues.

Plans are underway to build a 1,200 room “headquarters hotel” near McCormick Place that will solidify Chicago’s convention business and help the city better compete with Orlando and Las Vegas for convention business, according to an announcement this morning from the Mayor’s office.

The hotel, which will be build on the south side of Cermak Road between Michigan and Indiana Avenues, is expected to allow McCormick Place to add 15 mid-market events annually, attracting an extra 80,000 conventioneers, and will cooperate with the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place to host large scale events together. The new hotel is expected to cost the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority $400 to build. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and McPier CEO Jim Reilly touted the announcement as an economic boon for the city According to the mayor’s office, the project is expected to create 2,500 construction jobs and 500 permanent ones once the hotel is complete. Reilly said the project is “a major step in taking Chicago’s convention and meeting business to the next level.”

Reilly added:

”This is a great demonstration of how McCormick Place will continue to be a powerful economic engine for our region.”

Emanuel said the project further establishes Chicago as—wait for it—”a world-class city” and cement Chicago as “the best destination for any convention or trade show.” The project is also expected to benefit from the planned McCormick Place Green Line station Emanuel announced would be built in 2011. You may remember Emanuel proposed a $2 “congestion fee” parking surcharge on downtown motorists to help fund that project and a proposed rapid transit bus route connecting Navy Pier to a new transportation center near Union Station.