Logan Square’s New Boutique Hotel Will Incorporate Vintage Grace’s Furniture Sign
Renderings reveal design plans for the hotel at 2618 N. Milwaukee Ave.
LOGAN SQUARE — Plans to convert the Grace’s Furniture building into a boutique hotel are moving forward.
Not only did scaffolding recently go up, but also the developers and local leaders, including Ald. Carlos Ramirez-Rosa (35th), intend to host a community meeting on the project in early June, according to a flier that has not been made public yet that includes a final rendering.
The meeting is set for June 6 at Norwegian Lutheran Memorial Church, 2614 N. Kedzie Ave., from 6:30–7:30 p.m.
At the meeting, the development team — LG Development and Marc Realty — will pitch neighbors on the project, at 2618 N. Milwaukee Ave. As of October, plans included 44 hotel rooms and two restaurants, with help from hotel operator Holiday Jones and Fifty/50 Restaurant Group.
Redevelopment of the building, one of the most prominent structures overlooking Logan Square and the Illinois Centennial Monument, has been held up for years by a legal battle over the billboards on the side of the building facing the square.
The city banned billboards on the side of the building in 2013, and the billboards’ owner, Visualcast, fought the measure in court. The city won the lawsuit and the last billboard was removed in May of 2016.
Grace Martinez, whose family has long owned the building, has said the legal wrangling hindered the redevelopment of the building, as potential tenants didn’t want to be bothered with a court fight or a deal with Visualcast.
As part of the hotel plans, the developers are planning to tear down the billboard wall. They were issued a city permit to do so in April.
Ramirez-Rosa didn’t immediately return a call seeking comment Monday afternoon.
