Son of late Jay Pritzker, founder of Hyatt Hotels, has bought one of Chicago's historic Michigan Avenue buildings with plans of converting it into a boutique hotel.
According to Reuters, spokesman for the investment firm, AJ Capital Partners, announced on Thursday that the purchase will take place in collaboration with their investment company. In an email, Jeff Broaden of AJ Capital said John Pritzker and AJ Capital Partners will reportedly pay $13 million for the Chicago Athletic Association building, and another $47 million to turn it into a boutique luxury hotel.
The Chicago Athletic Association building was once the city's premiere gentlemen's club in the 1890s. William Wrigley purchased the Chicago Cubs in 1915 and adopted the club's logo for the team. The building's rare Venetian Gothic façade, was designed by architect Henry Ives Cobb, and is located along the city's Michigan Avenue Historic District, facing Grant Park.
This is the same location where President Barack Obama's presidential election victory rally was held in 2008.
"Whenever a building can be repurposed as close to its original intent as possible, that's always a plus," Jonathan Fine, executive director of Preservation Chicago told Reuters. "A boutique hotel has always been the ideal use for this building. There's some cache in saying you stayed in a hotel where William Wrigley once stayed. That's why people visit Chicago, for interesting stories like that."
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