ROGERS PARK — Underneath a giant white tent at the southwest corner of Albion Avenue and Sheridan Road in Rogers Park sits a budding 145-room hotel that developers hope will be completed by the end of 2016.
Despite the recent snap of cold winds and ice, crews were out Monday working on the mostly-covered structure.
Renderings at the work site show how the hotel will tentatively look during the day and night, and vary only slightly from early renderings, mostly in details of the building's facade.
At the hotel's ground level will be 9,500 square feet of retail space managed by Loyola's Lakeside Management Group, while the rest of the hotel, which is set to be a Hampton Inn, will be managed by developer Atira Hotels.
The hotel would be categorized as "limited service," said Sanjeev Misra, Atira's president, and would not include a restaurant or bar. But there would be a fitness center and a kiosk for customers to buy pre-packaged food.
In early October, university officials, as well as Ald. Joe Moore, broke ground at the site.
While the plan has been in motion for years, it has drawn both support and criticism from neighbors.
According to an earlier email Moore sent to residents, the hotel should be up and serving guests by early 2017.
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