“The Chicago City Council has approved a Class L tax incentive for the redevelopment of the Hoyt Building at 465 W. Cermak. Located within the Cermak Road Bridge District, the building sits along the south branch of the Chicago River on the south side of W. Cermak Rd. Developer Windfall Group is behind the mixed-use adaptive reuse.
“Originally designed by architects Nimmons and Fellows and completed in 1909, the facade was designed with brick piers ornamented with limestone and terracotta details. The entrance to the Hoyt Company’s offices on the second floor is centered on the Cermak Road elevation with an ornamental terracotta surround. On the interior, concrete columns support large, open floor plates.
“With SPACE Architects + Planners on board for the adaptive reuse, the redeveloped building will hold a 4-star extended stay hotel, a grocery store, retail, dining, entertainment, a spa, and a medical center. The larger development will include new retail and a parking garage on adjacent lots.
“The development will have a minimum investment of just under $5 million, with the expenditure of $32.3 million in qualifying rehabilitation expenses. This expenditure exceeds the 50% minimum investment required to qualify for the Class L tax incentive. As outlined, the development will have a total tax abatement of approximately $15.5 million over the 12-year period of the tax incentive. (Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 2/25/24)
“‘The Hoyt Building has been vacant for decades,” said Windfall Group CEO Eddie Ni, but in the future, it will serve as a gateway to both Chinatown and Pilsen.’
“Historic preservationists applauded Windfall’s proposal and said the former wholesale grocery warehouse, designed in the Prairie-style by Nimmons & Fellows and completed in 1909, represents a time when even industrial properties included artistic flourishes.
“‘We’ve had many false starts on this site over the last decade or more, Ward Miller, executive director of Preservation Chicago, said. But this can be a transformative project that not only ensures the reuse of a wonderful building, one that honors the era’s frequently forward-looking architecture, it can also show the city and many others how industrial buildings are significant and shouldn’t be demolished and replaced by bland shopping centers.
“Chicago developer R2 in 2015 proposed transforming the five-story, 300,000-square-foot structure, part of the landmark Cermak Road Bridge District, into an office development, but that and several other potential deals eventually fell through. It’s been disappointing, according to landmarks commission member Alicia Ponce, who recalled at last month’s meeting how this summer she found herself staring up at the Hoyt Building while kayaking down the river.
“‘I’ve loved this building for such a long time, she said. I’ve always wondered, when is someone going to do something?
“Miller told commission members the project shows how important it is to establish landmark districts such as the Cermak Road Bridge District, which was created in 2006 and includes several other warehouses across the river in East Pilsen.
“‘Thank you most of all for making this a landmark district, having the faith that this would one day, even if it was more than a decade later, have a transformational effect on a neighborhood, he said.
“‘We see the power of landmarks here.’ (Rogal, Chicago Tribune, 9/7/23)
Read the full story at the Chicago Tribune and Urbanize Chicago
- Chinatown warehouse slated for redevelopment into four-star hotel with offices, retail, Brian J. Rogal, Chicago Tribune, 9/7/23
- City Council approves Class L incentive for redevelopment of Hoyt Building; The historic building at 465 W. Cermak will be adaptively reused, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 2/25/24
Tax Incentives Approved For Pacifica Of Chicago In Chinatown, Ian Achong, Chicago YIMBY, 2/28/24
- Class L incentive approved for redevelopment of Hoyt Building; The historic building at 465 W. Cermak will be adaptively reused, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 9/18/23
- Chinatowns Historic Hoyt Building to Transform into Four-Star Hotel in Chicago, Richard M. Sullivan, Hoodline, 9/8/23
- PRC approves redevelopment of Hoyt Building; The building at 465 W. Cermak will be adaptively reused, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 8/9/2
- Windfall Group bags tax incentive for riverfront Chinatown hotel plan; Redevelopment of Chicago’s W.M. Hoyt Building at 465 West Cermak has previously run into walls, TRD Staff, 9/8/23
- Cermak Road Bridge District Chicago Landmark Designation Report 5/1/2003