If you haven’t heard about it yet, yes, Wrigleyville will have a new hotel soon – the first ever within a stones throw from the ballpark. Talks are well underway for a Hyatt Hotel on the southeast corner of Clark and Addison too, but the smaller hotel, plus restaurant and bar, plus rooftop café on Clark is well beyond breaking ground. The signs are up, the façade is flawless, the permits are in place, and the building is beginning to look a lot like a boutique hotel. The corner of Clark and Addison is still jam packed with businesses from Sports World to Starbucks so we won’t go there just yet. As for the tiny, but attractive hotel on Clark Street, owner Tim Collins (owner of Main Event Tickets) is inching closer to a grand opening at 3469-75 N. Clark Street.
The Wrigleyville Hotel is set to stand at five stories high, with 42 rooms ($125-$250/night), and a predictable Wrigley Field theme. Some locals are opposed to the new hotel stating that it will only attract more traffic and congestion to the already jam packed neighborhood, while others think the hotel will bring jobs and increased business to local shops and restaurants. With friends, family and fellow Cubs fans living in Barrington and Sugar Grove, Patricia Hamlin is thrilled at the idea of a hotel that can accommodate them for a few days following a game. Lakeview Alderman Tom Tunney is behind the project as well, commenting that the hotel looks “gorgeous,” according to a Chicago Sun-Times report. So far, the hotel is set to open, but no one knows if this will happen before the 2011 Cubs season.
