Correction: An earlier version of this article quoted a community official as saying Fulton Market Kitchen would close if the hotel was approved and replaced with a new restaurant. Fulton Market Kitchen managing partner Daniel Alonso said that is untrue and the restaurant has no plans to close.
WEST LOOP — The West Loop could be getting another boutique hotel at Peoria and Wayman streets with a new proposal from the building's owners.
A requested zoning change would allow them to build a fifth floor at 310 N. Peoria St. and remodel the interior for a 28-room boutique hotel with a ground-floor restaurant, according to the West Loop Community Organization.
The organization will host a community meeting with 27th Ward Ald. Walter Burnett Jr. to review the project at 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Catalyst Ranch, 656 W. Randolph St.
The building would grow to 70 feet and make room for a 3,000-square-foot restaurant, with the entire project spanning from 310-13 N. Peoria St. and 901-11 W. Wayman St.
One of the owners of the building also has a stake in Fulton Market Kitchen next door at 311 N. Sangamon St., but Fulton Market Kitchen won't be affected, said Fulton Market Kitchen managing partner Daniel Alonso.
Alonso said Wednesday that the restaurant has a 10-year lease, and "We plan to continue to be ... in the Fulton Market Corridor for years to come."
It would also not affect the adjoining Nealey Foods, a longtime wholesale meat distributor at 900-18 W. Fulton St.
As the building is registered as a Chicago landmark, it would not include any parking spaces.
The four-story side of the building is vacant.
Burnett said he favors bringing more hotels to the West Loop to support the neighborhood's many higher-end restaurants and other businesses. They also provide jobs and need less parking than residential buildings.
"In order to keep these nice things here, we need to bring in outside people who spend money, and the best way to do that is a hotel," Burnett said Wednesday. "So I think the more hotels we can have in the community, the better."
However, Burnett said his opinion depends on how neighbors feel about the proposal after the Nov. 14 meeting.
The project would be in line with the West Loop Design Guidelines, according to the West Loop Community Organization.
