Cook County Hospital Redevelopment

The adaptive reuse development consists of a dual-branded 210-room Hyatt House / Hyatt Place Hotel, 71,000 square feet of medical office space leased by Cook County Hospital and Health System, and 25,000 square feet of retail, including a food hall and pharmacy. The project also includes a 4,400 square-foot museum commemorating the historical significance of the building.

The project team is pursuing Federal Historic Tax Credits and will apply for the building to be recognized as a Chicago Landmark as a result of the building’s historical significance. Cook County architects Paul Gerhardt and Richard Schmidt designed the building, which opened 1914, and is already listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Rehabilitation of the Cook County Hospital marks the end of a 16-year vacancy of the 104-year-old building.

Design features

The proposed eight-storey redevelopment will restore the original Beaux Arts terra cotta and brick front façade, while converting the interior into two separate but linked all-suite hotel properties on the east side of the building, with office space on the west, and retail on the first floor.

Architects Skidmore, Owings & Merrill have conducted extensive investigations of the building’s original design in order to inform their rehabilitation of a structure that has undergone several additions and modifications over the past century, as well as significant deterioration since it was shuttered in 2002.

For example, the original double height lobby with its monumental staircase will be restored with historic wall, ceiling and flooring finishes either restored or replaced.

Innovations

Financing for the project included a senior construction loan led by CIBC and Associated Bank, mezzanine debt provided by Ares, the monetization of federal historic tax credits, and equity provided by the members of CHDG.

The hospital building redevelopment is the first phase of a master development plan for the surrounding area, which sits at the heart of the Illinois Medical District and Chicago’s Near West Side.

The project is targeting LEED® Silver status.