“A historic building in Chicago’s Fulton Market that housed the original Schwinn bicycle factory in the late 1800s is in line to be converted to a 140-room hotel serving the city’s ever-expanding former meatpacking district.
“Developer Fulton St. and its partners hope to begin renovating the vacant Lake Street Lofts building at 910 W. Lake St. into a Drift-branded boutique hotel by the end of this summer, CEO Alex Najem told CoStar News.
“The Chicago-based developer has a signed letter of intent with Drift to manage and invest in the $75 million project, which is expected to open in fall 2025. Najem said. Drift is part of Irvine, California-based TMC Hospitality, the company also behind the Bode hotel brand.
“Drift Fulton Market is expected to have a rooftop bar and restaurant with skyline views, a lower-level speakeasy, and a high-end collaborative workspace on the ground floor. The developers are in talks with local food-and-beverage operators and a New York-based company to run the flexible work area, Najem said.
“‘We’re going to renovate the building to last another 100 years,’ Najem said.
“The six-story building at the corner of Lake and Peoria streets was completed in the 1880s, and in 1895 it became the original factory of the Arnold, Schwinn & Co. bicycle maker.
“A venture of local architect Pat FitzGerald in recent years converted it to an 89-unit apartment building, before a Fulton St. venture bought it for $49 million in December 2022 with plans to include it as part of the 919 W. Fulton office project.
“That 11-story project was scaled back to secure $233 million in construction financing last year. The developers decided to use the Lake Street building to address what it views as a dearth of hotel rooms in the expanding area, which a CoStar analysis found to be the fastest-growing urban office market in the country in recent years.
“Rooms will be relatively large, averaging 300 to 400 square feet and ranging up to 1,500 for the penthouse suite, TMC Hospitality co-founder and CEO Philip Bates said.
“‘The building itself just captures the historic Chicago warehouse charm perfectly,’ Bates said. ‘It’s the original Schwinn bicycle factory with exposed ceilings, great floor-to-ceiling height and wood pillars that are so charming. It just adds to the character of the building. You couldn’t build it again with this kind of charm.’
“‘We think Fulton Market stands out from the crowd when it comes to office rents, residential rents, retail rents, food and beverage,’ Bates said. ‘We love it. I think it’s one of the best submarkets in the country. It’s where our guests want to be. You can do anything you want to do in Chicago and then you’re around the best dining experiences you can find in the city.’ (Ori, CoStar News, 5/30/24)
Preservation Chicago advocated with urgency to ensure that the former Schwinn Bicycle Factory at 910 W. Lake Street was included in the Fulton-Randolph Market Chicago Landmark District in 2015 despite strong opposition. Fortunately, the building was included in the Landmark District which prevented its demolition and played an important factor in its important contribution to the dynamism of the Fulton Market District.
Read the full story at CoStar News
- Original Schwinn Bicycle Factory To Become 140-Room Hotel in Chicago’s Fulton Market; Developers Plan To Convert Building Into Drift-Branded Property With Rooftop Restaurant, Ryan Ori, CoStar News, 5/30/24
- Fulton Market apartment building set for hotel conversion, Danny Ecker, Crain’s Chicago Business, 5/31/24
- Hotel Could Be Coming To Fulton Market Inside Original Schwinn Bicycle Factory, The 140-room boutique hotel would be inside a vacant six-story building that had been converted to apartments, Block Club Chicago, Melody Mercado, 6/5/24
- Fulton Street Companies plan hotel conversion for Lake Street Lofts; The building at 910 W. Lake housed the original Schwinn Bicycle Factory, Lukas Kugler, Urbanize Chicago, 6/5/24
- Fulton-Randolph Market District Chicago Landmark Designation Report 2015