HYDE PARK — A boutique hotel is in the works for Hyde Park, according to Ald. Leslie Hairston (5th) and Smart Hotels LLC.
At a meeting hosted by Hairston Tuesday night, Smart Hotels made its first pitch to the community to build what Smart Hotels President Ed Small hopes will be a 90-room hotel that reflects the narrative of the Hyde Park neighborhood.
The 21,000-square-foot lot, located at 1401 53rd St., is currently home to a parking lot owned by the University of Chicago. If all goes according to plan, Smart Hotels will purchase the lot and the groundbreaking would be set for spring 2016 followed by about one year of construction.
While renderings weren't yet available, Small said the hotel will feature a restaurant on the ground floor and a patio area on the Dorchester Avenue side of the building.
This will be the fourth hotel project in Hyde Park since 2013.
"This is not only an appropriate use of the land," Small said, "but the best use."
He added that the proposed hotel will complement the Hyatt Place hotel, 5225 S. Harper Ave., which is within walking distance of the new site.
Hyatt Place opened in 2013 as part of the university-led redevelopment of the Harper Court shopping center.
A former Ramada at 4900 S. Lake Shore Dr. is currently finishing a remodeling project under new ownership by La Quinta Inn and Suites. Architect Jeanne Gang is also working on a 26-story hotel and apartments project for the Silliman Group called Solstice on the Park at 56th Street and Cornell Avenue.
Neighbors in attendance took opposing views of the proposal. While some had concerns about parking, traffic and obstructed views because of the hotel, others commended it for contributing to the vibrancy of Hyde Park that they've seen brighten the neighborhood's streets in recent years.
Small said the height and mass of the building will be "sympathetic" to the surrounding area and comparable to nearby buildings. In response to parking concerns, developers are planning for one parking spot for every six rooms, or about 15 parking spaces total.
"The best indicator is our experience today," Small said. "We planned for one parking spot for every four rooms at the Hyatt, and the trend is showing one spot for every six rooms currently."
Should parking needs at the new hotel exceed that of the Hyatt's standards, Small said guests can park at the nearby Hyatt and take a shuttle back to the boutique hotel.
GREC Architects, who spearheaded the Los Angeles boutique hotel, Ace Hotel, will be the design architects for the proposed project.
"We have great bones on 53rd Street and throughout Hyde Park to work with," said Greg Randall, principal for GREC. "We have the opportunity to create something new … not an overly contemporary building, but also not a building that would attempt to mimic the past. We have context here. We have a neighborhood to respect."
The hotel will hire approximately 50 employees, and Small said they're committing to hiring locally and will work with local youth job organizations.
"I know that I have a really great talent pool here in the 5th ward," Hairston said. "Part of growing and putting businesses into the community is to provide opportunities for people who live in the community to be a part of this process."
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