A rendering of a proposed hotel on Navy Pier. (Courtesy of Navy Pier Inc.)

Navy Pier wants a boutique hotel on its east end and this summer will begin vetting real estate firms to build, finance and operate the proposed five-story venue, officials said Wednesday.

Requests for proposals would follow shortly after narrowing the pool of developers, but the hotel still needs to be approved by the Chicago Plan Commission. It wasn’t clear how Navy Pier would address to a 1973 ordinance that bans private development east of Lake Shore Drive.

Steve Haemmerle, executive vice president of Navy Pier Inc., which operates and manages the pier, said the 150- to 225-room hotel would be adjacent to exhibition space Festival Hall. It would be built on top of an existing two-level dining and entertainment structure, but its final height would still be lower than the tallest surrounding structures, such as the Grand Ballroom, Haemmerle said.

“We’re certainly very optimistic and we think the hotel will be wonderful addition to Navy Pier,” Haemmerle said. “It’s our expectation that we’ll be able to find a development partner who will think likewise.”

It would be that hotel developer’s responsibility to drive year-round occupancy, he said. While the 3,000-foot-long Navy Pier draws about 9 million visitors annually, attendance falls significantly in winter months.
Chicago hotel analyst Ted Mandigo said if the hotel is approved, Navy Pier has a marketing challenge ahead.

“I think skeptical is a polite way to phrase it,” Mandigo said about the proposed hotel. “It has its challenges. They might find a tourism development firm who says ‘Yeah we want to get in that game…’ but I don’t know the name of that company yet.”...Continue Reading

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