On June 4, the Metropolitan Pier and Exposition Authority (MPEA) unveiled the completed $110 million expansion and renovation of the Hyatt Regency McCormick Place, a 1,260-room hotel on the convention center campus with new meeting and public spaces and upgraded amenities.
The hotel is now the fourth largest in Chicago.
Completion of the Hyatt project is the first step in a multi-year program to redevelop the area surrounding McCormick Place to attract tradeshows, conventions and large meetings by providing more entertainment and amenities onsite. Mayor Rahm Emanuel and Jim Reilly, CEO, MPEA, announced the program last month as part of the mayor’s Elevate Chicago tourism and tradeshow infrastructure initiative, which will generate thousands of jobs and hundreds of millions of dollars in economic growth.
“The City of Chicago’s economy continues to thrive on its ability to attract record levels of visitors, business travelers and conventions,” said Mayor Emanuel. “The expansion of the Hyatt Hotel will create hundreds of local jobs while boosting economic growth in the city. In conjunction with the Elevate Chicago initiative, the Hyatt expansion ensures that the city’s tourism and tradeshow infrastructure will [remain] a top competitor for business and recreational travelers from around the world.”
Construction of the new 460-guestroom tower, which includes 12 suites and two premium suites, began in December 2011. In addition to the tower, the hotel lobby has been expanded and renovated, and the existing 800-guestroom tower has been completely renovated.
“We are excited to showcase our new transformation,” said Paul Daly, general manager, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place. “Our state-of-the-art services and amenities combined with even more guestroom availability directly connected to the nation’s largest convention center allows Hyatt Regency McCormick Place to play an even larger role in both attracting and hosting Chicago’s top meetings and conventions.”
Larger in-house groups are now more easily accommodated due to Hyatt’s expanded guestroom inventory as well as seamless connection with McCormick Place Convention Center and access to 2.6 million square feet of meeting space. For smaller meetings and events, Hyatt Regency McCormick Place offers 50,000 square feet of in-house function space including the newly redesigned 4,000-square-foot Prairie Room. The 25,000-square-foot Hyatt Conference Center also underwent a complete renovation, and the hotel added three new boardrooms along with a new business center.
Additional touches at the new Hyatt Regency McCormick Place include renovations at Shor restaurant and M/X lounge, which underwent a seating and buffet expansion and added a second private dining room. The hotel’s coffee shop, Daily Grind, has been expanded and now features a new “fresh market” concept offering homemade breakfast and lunch menus using ingredients sourced locally.
Reilly said the Hyatt expansion and renovation marks the stepping off point for revitalization of the neighborhood surrounding McCormick Place.
“With a livelier neighborhood created by the McCormick Place Entertainment District and hundreds of new hotel rooms to serve convention-goers as a result of the Hyatt expansion and future development, there will be no contesting Chicago’s leadership,” said Reilly. “We have been eagerly awaiting this day, and I want to thank the leadership of Hyatt along with the men and women who work at the hotel and also those who built this terrific new property.”
