Never been one of my favorite buildings (a bit too cold, corporate for my tastes, a metaphor for out-sourcing and selling off pension plans, moving to Bermuda for tax advantages, and all else that is wrong with American business culture), but nevertheless an interesting development, so to speak. I apparently don't have any photos of it, just the indirect shot above where the right frame of the photo contains a portion of the building.
Designed as an office tower by acclaimed architect Mies van der Rohe, the former IBM Building is about to get a major update, complete with bellhops and bathtubs.
The owner of 330 N. Wabash Ave. has sold 12 floors of the building to luxury hotel developers for $46 million.
Prime Group Realty Trust, owner of the office building that sits along the Chicago River, closed the deal Tuesday with a joint venture of Oxford Capital Group LLC of Chicago and LaSalle Hotel Properties of Bethesda, Md.
[snip]
The new hotel will be located across the street from the hotel, residential and retail development under construction by Donald Trump.
"We love the location," said John Rutledge, chief executive of Oxford Capital. "The fact that it is next to the Trump tower … only validates that this is a good location for a hotel."
The unnamed hotel is described as a "five-star, superluxury hotel" and will occupy floors 2 through 13, with an option to buy the 14th floor. Rutledge estimated it will cost from $100 million to $200 million to convert the office space into a hotel.
John Keeling, senior vice president with PKF Consulting, an international real estate consulting firm, said office-to-hotel conversions are commonplace. The reason, he said, is that a hotel can yield more per square foot than an office building.
[From Luxury hotel planned for portion of former IBM Building -- chicagotribune.com]
