OLD TOWN — The shuttered O'Brien's Restaurant is ready for its next stage in the transition to a hotel hotspot as the city has issued a demolition permit for the building at 1528 N. Wells St.
The City Council approved a 13-story luxury hotel on the site last year after contentious community debate. The city issued a demolition permit Tuesday for the property.
Yet Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. (27th) backed the project after developers agreed to trim it down to 13 stories, saying they "cried like a baby" in making the concession.
"The neighborhood has been evolving," Burnett said at the time. "We call it Old Town, but there's really nothing old that much."
The 200-room "four-star" hotel has been designed to include a rooftop lounge, a patisserie, meeting rooms and a white-tablecloth restaurant, while the boisterous neighborhood favorite O'Brien's will reopen within it as well when the project is completed next year.
Developers Condor Partners and Chicago Development Partners did not immediately respond to requests for comment on when demolition and construction might begin.
