The Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority owners of McCormick Place, is acquiring a new site for development to build a 1,200 room headquarters hotel adjacent to McCormick Place at an estimated cost of $400 million. The announcement was made today by the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority, Mayor Emanuel and Governor Quinn.
MPEA will utilize revenue-based financing during the construction phase and will later seek to add the financing of this property, along with its other facilities, into its expansion project debt structure. This will then allow for the additional income generated by the second hotel property to be used to aggressively grow the conventions and meetings business in Chicago.
Construction is said to start in late 2014 and will create nearly 2,500 construction jobs and 500 permanent, local jobs. The new headquarters hotel will allow McCormick Place to add approximately 15 new mid-market events per year, generating roughly 80,000 attendees. The hotel will be located between Indiana and Michigan, along the south side of Cermak, with the front facing Michigan Avenue. Upon completion, convention visitors will be allowed to us it as their headquarters while they are visiting Chicago. It will also offer onsite function space to handle large food and beverage operations as well as large meetings and general session.
“Building a headquarters hotel next to McCormick Place is a major step in taking Chicago’s convention and meeting business to the next level,” said Jim Reilly, MPEA Chief Executive Officer. “Hundreds of additional hotel rooms within walking distance of McCormick Place will strengthen our competitive edge and attract new business to Chicago. It also will generate hundreds of new full time and construction jobs and increase the vitality of the neighborhood surrounding McCormick Place. This is a great demonstration of how McCormick Place will continue to be a powerful economic engine for our region.”
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