This spring, Commune Hotels & Resorts will open the restoration of the iconic Chicago Athletic Association, which is being converted to a 241-room luxury lifestyle hotel.
The two-year restoration project is the result of a partnership between AJ Capital Partners, Geolo Capital, Agman Partners, Commune Hotels & Resorts, Chicago-based Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and design firm Roman and Williams Buildings and Interiors.
“As a fourth-generation Chicagoan, a devotee of architecture and a student of all things Chicago history, I’m honored and humbled to be part of the Herculean efforts of the builders and craftsmen who came before us to create a building for the ages,” said John Pritzker, chairman of Commune Hotels & Resorts and founding partner of Geolo Capital. “We look forward to achieving our vision of breathing new life into the building and reintroducing the powerful spirit of the Chicago Athletic Association to the next generation of Chicagoans and travelers alike.”
Founded in 1890 during a period when athletic associations were created as places to foster business and social networking, the Chicago Athletic Association was started by a collection of prominent families whose names have become synonymous with American sport and athletic commerce, such as Wrigley, Comiskey and Spalding. The Chicago Athletic Association will continue to celebrate its social-club atmosphere and sports-driven heritage amid restaurants, lounges and ballrooms.
Originally designed by prominent architect Henry Ives Cobb in 1893, the Venetian Gothic 250-foot (76-meter) tower, deemed a Chicago landmark, was designed to give the Chicago Athletic Association a distinctive identity when viewed from the lakefront by visitors of Chicago World’s Fair. Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Roman and Williams collaborated on the hotel’s restoration, taking extra care to keep elements of the building’s late-19th-century architectural details intact and creating a contemporary atmosphere that pays homage to Cobb’s original design. From colossal fireplaces with bas-relief woodcarvings, 19th-century stained-glass windows and ornate marble staircases, the Chicago Athletic Association parallels the narrative of American cultures and aesthetics.
“During this process, we have been devoted to preserving the character and details in this historic building while creating a new language in our designs for the Chicago Athletic Association. This approach is to activate the building for a new generation so that the spirit and energy that it had in the last century continues through into the next century,” said Roman and Williams Principals Stephen Alesch and Robin Standefer.
Chicago Athletic Association will feature 17,000 square feet (1,579 square meters) of event space, an interactive game room, curated retail space Madison Hall and multiple culinary experiences including a rooftop bar with views of Millennium Park and a Shake Shack by Danny Meyer’s Union Square Hospitality.