McCormick Place to Get New Hotel Tower–More Jobs for Near South Side

McCormick Place Hyatt Regency moved one step closer to adding a second tower with the Chicago Plan Commission‘s approval of the expansion at its Sept. 16 meeting. Near South residents hope the change will bring more money to the neighborhood, even as McCormick Place sees less convention business.

The 13-story expansion will add another 461 rooms to the existing 800-room hotel, said Jim Reilly, Trustee of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority. The new tower will be built on top of the parking garage already connected to the hotel.

Project architect Mike Hagen of TVS Design said the original plan of the hotel called for two towers, but at the time of construction in 1998, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority ran out of money so only one tower was built.

The extra rooms will allow more visitors to stay near McCormick Place when they attend conventions.

Even though the number of event attendees at McCormick Place was down in 2010, according to the Chicago Convention and Tourism Board, the Metropolitan Pier and Exhibition Authority hopes the $87 million construction project and renovation of the existing hotel tower will get more visitors to stay in the Near South neighborhood.

“It’s feast or famine,” said Reilly, as he explained that while hotel occupancy averages around 60 percent over the course of a year, during shows and conferences, all rooms at the hotel are booked. The people unable to book at the McCormick Place Hyatt stay at hotels downtown and in surrounding areas.

Allowing more people to stay at the McCormick Hyatt Regency should translate into a $15 million profit, said Reilly.

The project is being financed by the Metropolitan Pier and Exhibition Authority, a privately owned corporation, said Reilly, and is made possible by a 2010 debt restructuring.

The hotel expansion “will be an added asset to our neighborhood as we revitalize our area,” said Bonnie Sanchez-Carlson, president and executive director of the Near South Planning Board.

Getting more hotel space will bring jobs to the neighborhoods starting with about 425 construction jobs within the next three months and about 125 permanent jobs when the expansion opens in summer 2013, said Reilly.

The expansion will also add jobs to a much needed service sector in the neighborhoods surrounding McCormick Place, said Sanchez-Carlson.

While the Near South Side neighborhoods saw a residential boom starting about eight years ago, Sanchez-Carlson said the growth stagnated with the economic downturn. Neighborhoods were left full of residential space but lacking in services to support the population. The area needs more commercial and retail, she said.

Sanchez-Carlson said she’s happy more people will be able to stay at the convention center, and hopes extra rooms will encourage the growth of more businesses to serve additional visitors and residents.