CHICAGO—GlobeSt.com recently took a hard hat tour of the dual-branded Hilton Garden Inn/Homewood Suites by Hilton Chicago Downtown South Loop hotel now currently in progress. Located at 1101 S. Wabash Ave., the property began construction in 2016 is slated to be completed this spring—mid-March-mid-April.

While details have yet to be disclosed, on the tour, we learned that the 30-floor hotel property, which broke ground two years ago, will have approximately 196 Homewood rooms as well as 146 Garden Inn rooms.

“This is a new brand for our portfolio,” said Jose Ulloa, assistant corporate controller of SB Yen, who gave GlobeSt.com the site tour. “The location is what sells.” The hotel has a protected view facing Michigan since the front building, a Best Western, is also owned by SB Yen Management Group.

Not only is it the developer's first brand for its portfolio, but it is also their first dual property as well as their first ground-up build. “The site was a two-story parking garage that we had owned in the 1990s before we began the development process.”

When trying nail down a construction cost, we were told that while they couldn't provide an official number, they already owned the land and the cost for the build is “somewhere in the $130-$150-million range.”

According to Ulloa, parking in this part of Chicago is a premium and the property will have parking from floors two through seven. Amenities will be on the eights floor and units will start on the ninth floor. The 30^th floor will be home to a fitness center and the rest of what will be on the 30^th floor is still in the works, GlobeSt.com learns.

Another perk, design wise, according to Ulloa, is that all rooms have floor to ceiling windows. As for the ground floor, he says it will have a restaurant, but the concept is still being discussed.

When asked what made them decide on now, Ulloa simply said “this was the right time.” And as for why they decided on dual-brand, Ulloa said that it is “common in Chicago and just makes sense.” He continued that “when you do two brands, you are able to get greater efficiencies with greater operations on the back side.”

We recently caught up with Hilton executives as they officially celebrated their first tri-branded property in Chicago's South Loop, where John Greenleaf, global head of Hilton Garden Inn, said that same, noting that the benefits include realizing operational efficiencies and having food and beverage options that far exceed what they would be with one brand alone.

Instant Insights /

GlobeSt.com Gets Behind Look at Future Dual-Branded Chicago Hotel

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