Roanoke Building To Become Extended-Stay Hotel Through Tax Incentive

DOWNTOWN — The Roanoke Building at 11 S. LaSalle St. will undergo an $88 million renovation to transform the office building into a Residence Inn by Marriott, thanks to a property tax incentive approved Thursday by the city.

Aldermen voted Thursday to grant LaSalle Hotel Partners LLC a Class L Property Tax Incentive that would reduce property tax assessments on the building for the next 12 years, for a total savings of $13.8 million, which the development team was expected to reinvest in rehabilitating the property’s historically significant elements.

Interior renovations will transform the 35-story tower into an extended-stay hotel with 375 suites, an open lobby, meeting room space and new mechanical systems.

The project will also include restoration to the building’s nearly 100-year-old exterior, including replacing windows and repairing aging masonry. Updates will include adding a green roof and building a new entrance along LaSalle Street.

The 330,000-square-foot Roanoke building was built between 1915 and 1925 by the architectural firm Holabird & Roche, and features a Portuguese Gothic Revival-style, with Italianate details, according to a release from the City Council.

In 2012, plans to build a hotel in the building were stalled by a disputebetween a development team and its lender.

It is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and was designated a Chicago Landmark in 2007.