CHINATOWN — Construction on a long-planned hotel and retail development has been delayed again.
Developers say the harsh winter is to blame for construction delays at the half-finished building at the corner of Cermak Road and Archer and Princeton avenues.
Work is expected to resume "as soon as the weather is warm enough for 40 degrees," said Mandy Xu, a representative of developer Chicago America Real Estate.
Earlier this month, the company applied to add a fifth floor to the building at 253 W. Cermak Road, bringing its total number of hotel rooms to 108. Right now, the developers are still looking for a company to operate the hotel and for retailers to occupy the first-floor.
The site was "darkest for the longest time" prior to the demolition of the building that once contained a hospital, said community booster Gene Lee.
According to history texts, "The People's Hospital and Training School" at the corner of 22nd Street and Archer Avenue was where doctors treated everyone from gunned-down mobsters to victims of the 1919 race riots.
The hospital was eventually torn down, paving the way for what Lee called "a welcome addition to the community."
Xu said the construction work is expected to wrap up in early 2015, with plans to debut the hotel development in May.
