Developer reveals plans for 175-room hotel across from Wrigley Field
By David Malone, Associate Editor
Hickory Street Capital, a development company owned by the Ricketts family, owners of the Chicago Cubs, has revealed the first look at the seven-story, 175-room hotel that will sit across from Wrigley Field at the northwest corner of Clark and Addison.
While the hotel is not a baseball brand and the developers decided to forgo a sports themed motif, they still wanted to connect it to Wrigley Field. They felt the name was the perfect opportunity to accomplish that goal.
Named for Zachary Taylor Davis, the architect of Wrigley Field, the hotel will be called Hotel Zachary and will embrace the entire Lakeview neighborhood, and not just the historic ballpark that sits beside it, The Chicago Tribune reports.
While Wrigley Field is an important part of the development, with the hotel drawing inspiration from the ballpark, the development team is stressing the importance of creating a year-round experience for guests, one that will include a multitude of restaurants, cocktail bars, and a Wintrust Bank. The hotel and its offerings are meant to engage neighbors, residents, and tourists, baseball fans and non-baseball fans alike. In order to do this, a major emphasis has been put on food in an effort to provide a neighborhood feel to the area.
Two restaurants have been announced so far; Fifty/50 Restaurant Group will open a West Town Bakery and Folkart Restaurant Management will launch a two-story restaurant and cocktail bar that resembles the group’s Billy Sunday restaurant in Logan Square. The other restaurants will be revealed in the coming weeks. A McDonald’s will also be included in the 238,000-sf project.
The 175 guest rooms will reside on floors three through six while hotel reception and 1,500 sf of meeting space will be on the second floor. Hotel Zachary will be part of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts franchise and will be operated by Davidson Hotels & Resorts. It is expected to be open for Opening Day 2018.