Rush Street hotel proposal does not get past Reilly

(Above) Rendering of a hotel project proposed for 740 North Rush Street in River North.

28-Jun-14 – A proposed hotel development for North Rush Street will not get support from 42nd Ward Alderman Brendan Reilly.

On a site that once housed a Giordano’s restaurant, a venture that included Albert Friedman, CEO and president of Friedman Properties Ltd., wants to build a 45-story, 620-room hotel. Reilly and River North Residents Association hosted a preview of the project at a community meeting on April 7, after which the alderman says he received “a tremendous amount” of feedback.

“The resounding overall sentiment was serious concern regarding the overall density of the proposal and the major traffic impacts and loading challenges associated with it,” wrote Reilly in his newsletter to constituents on Friday.

After meeting with developers and reviewing the proposal for the past two months, Reilly concluded the project “is simply far too ambitious for this location already surrounded by failing intersections…and high-density buildings.”

The alderman left the door open for the Friedman team to try again, saying he has encouraged them to “carefully consider the limitations posed by the infrastructure around their site and existing traffic conditions as they contemplate future development concepts.”