A Hotel Is Part Of Navy Pier's Next Phase Of Renovations

By Chuck Sudo in News on Jul 10, 2014 9:45PM

Image via Navy Pier, Inc.

A five-story boutique hotel containing as many as 225 rooms, a new water fountain, outdoor seating made from recycled materials, a new lake pavilion and small pocket parks are among the features of the planned facelift for Navy Pier. Navy Pier, Inc., the company that manages the state’s largest tourist attraction, revealed the plans for the second phase of the “re-envisioning” project Wednesday.

But let’s talk about the big ticket item, the hotel. The five-story structure is expected to be located next to Festival Hall and built above Navy Pier’s current dining and entertainment area, but there are questions about the price tag and whether tourists would want bird’s-eye views of a frozen Lake Michigan in winter. The first phase of renovations is currently underway, at a price tag of $115 million funded by bonds issued by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority that owns Navy Pier and McCormick Place. Navy Pier remains open during the construction.

Navy Pier, Inc. spokesman Nick Shields had a “What? Me Worry?” approach speaking with the Sun-Times about the second phase of the project. Shields intimated bidding on a contractor for the hotel could take place as early as late summer. As for the cost of building the hotel or how big it would ultimately be, Shields said it’s too early to worry about that.

The hotel would add an additional 54,000 square feet of commercial space to Navy Pier and both Pier officials and architect James Corner, who’s designing the project, believe there’s plenty of demand for added retail space. Navy Pier regularly attracts between 8 million and 9 million tourists regularly; 70 percent of them come from the greater Chicago area. Officials hope to boost tourism to the facility by an extra 2 million a year.