A stunning example of Venetian Gothic architecture, the Chicago Athletic Association building makes an iconic statement along the landmarked Michigan Avenue streetwall. Designed by Henry Ives Cobb circa 1893 as a private athletic club, the building was most recently vacant and threatened with demolition. In transforming the historic building into a 241-key boutique hotel, extraordinary care was taken to preserve the building’s design legacy while creating a contemporary hospitality environment that pays homage to Cobb’s original design.

HPA's adaptive reuse transforms the historic building into a boutique hotel with banquet facilities, multiple restaurants and retail spaces, and a new rooftop addition overlooking Millennium Park. 

Over the years, the main Michigan Avenue elevation was augmented by an L-shaped Madison Street annex and a series of floor additions and renovations. Significant effort was made to link floors that did not connect or were offset by as much as five feet. A common design language, using color, texture and millwork, was created to stylistically unify interior spaces dating from the 1890’s to the 1950’s.

The extensive rehabilitation included restoring 18,000 SF of ornamental plaster, 32,000 SF of historic wall paneling and bas relief, and the white ceiling “stalactites” in the White City Ballroom. 

A new glass-enclosed rooftop deck sits on a “floating” deck supported by cantilevered trusses and reinforced columns at the building’s core. The high-performance building features entirely new mechanical, electrical and plumbing systems.