BUCKTOWN — When Midtown Athletic Club debuts its expanded quarters in late July, there will be a dizzying number of amenities at the 575,000-square-foot fitness and hospitality complex anchoring the Fullerton and Damen avenues intersection.
From 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Saturday, the public can strap on virtual reality headsets at Churchill Park, 1805 N. Damen Ave., next to the 606, to check out the club's new digs and 55-room boutique hotel.
The $75 million expansion at 2020 W. Fullerton Ave. also includes "The Hotel at Midtown," which will cater to active travelers who want their wakeup call to be a fitness class, Michael Mahoney, Midtown’s senior vice president and general manager, told Chicago magazine.
Rooms at the hotel will average $200 a night, a spokeswoman said.
Evanston-based DMAC Architecture served as the architect and interior designer of Midtown Athletic Club and The Hotel at Midtown.
DMAC Architecture collaborated with tennis star Venus Williams' design firm V Starr Interiors on a tennis lounge and a "V suite," one of the hotel's four suites, according to a news release.
Williams played on Midtown’s courts as a junior tennis star alongside her sister Serena. Midtown will also feature EleVen by Venus Williams, Williams’ active wear line, at the club’s boutique shop.
The hotel also offers an executive conference room, meeting rooms and a private rooftop deck with Chicago skyline views.
Among the long list of club amenities are tennis courts, an outdoor pool that will be converted to an ice rink in the winter, two PGA Tour golf simulators and basketball and squash courts.
Midtown club membership dues for an individual are $180 a month, a spokeswoman said.
Situated in Bucktown near bordering neighborhoods Lincoln Park, Lakeview and Logan Square, the club was originally built in 1970 with a focus on tennis.
Steven Schwartz, CEO of Midtown Athletic Clubs, said the impetus for the revamp was to create "the world’s best athletic club and boutique hotel in our hometown of Chicago."
“Midtown Athletic Club and The Hotel at Midtown will offer our members and active travelers the best of boutique fitness programming and big-club amenities under one roof. Midtown has led the world of tennis for 50 years, and we believe this property will set a new bar in health-and-fitness hospitality for decades to come," Schwartz said.
In addition to Saturday's virtual reality tour, the public can pop by the club, 2020 W. Fullerton Ave. for tours from May 3-6. Learn more here.
