Sept. 14–The planned 1,200-room convention hotel to be built just west of McCormick Place will be operated by Marriott International Inc., convention officials decided Friday.
The hotel, expected to open in late 2016 next to the West Building, will be a Marriott Marquis, the company’s premium convention center brand.
The board of the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority approved the 10-year contract for hotel operations. Its net value to Marriott, in today’s dollars, is $13.6 million over the life of the deal, according to a spokeswoman for the authority, the state-city agency known as McPier.
Marriott agreed this hotel would be the only Marriott Marquis brand in the Chicago area, McPier officials said. They said the contract and its detailed provisions will not be made public until the deal is finalized and signed.
Marriott’s proposal beat out one by Hilton Worldwide, the other finalist. That deal would have netted Hilton an estimated $15.8 million, McPier officials said.
Hyatt Hotels Corp., which operates the recently expanded Hyatt Regency McCormick Place on the exhibition campus, was among a number of major brands that also competed for the contract.
The $400 million hotel is part of a larger project that will include a multiuse arena that will host DePaul University basketball and a 500-room boutique hotel.
Ultimately, the authority will own the larger convention hotel, financing its construction with bonds backed by hotel revenues. Land acquisition costs will be paid for with city of Chicago property tax funds earmarked for economic development.
The authority also awarded a $7.9 million contract Friday to real estate firm Jones Lang LaSalle Americas Inc. to manage construction of the entire project, which aims to create an entertainment district next to the convention center.
Jones Lang LaSalle was the low bidder.
The authority’s board took two more steps toward assembling the necessary properties for the project.
It voted to pay $1.95 million for one of four storefront properties it hopes to purchase in the 2200 block of South Michigan Avenue for development of restaurants and clubs adjacent to the planned Marriott.
The property, at 2215 S. Michigan Ave. in the Motor Row historic district, does not house an ongoing business, according to the authority.
The board also authorized the pursuit of a property at 14th Street and Michigan Avenue that could be turned over to Lakeside Bank in exchange for its current branch site at Cermak Road and Indiana Avenue, which is needed for the arena project.
The authority recently filed eminent domain lawsuits to attempt to acquire that property as well as a nearby parcel owned by CenterPoint Properties Trust.
kbergen@tribune.com
Twitter @kathy_bergen
