Innovative approaches to accessibility

Chicago adaptive reuse project yields new Hilton Hotels

By Ted Jarosh

Carving new hotels out of an antiquated Chicago office building is no small feat. Include unique approaches to accessibility, and the feat grows even more impressive. That is precisely the achievement wrought in Chicago’s Central Loop, where Phoenix Development, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture, general contractor Leopardo and Daccord construction management partnered on a trophy project for Hilton Hotels.

So impressive was the result that the project captured the Preservation Excellence Award for adaptive re-use by the Commission on Chicago Landmarks in 2022.

A Fitting Choice

A Frost-and-Granger-designed building boasting Classical Revival styling, the 1904 structure at 226 West Jackson Blvd. once housed Chicago and Northwestern Railroad offices and later headquarters for City Colleges of Chicago. The National Historic Landmark proved to be a fitting choice for an ambitious adaptive reuse project which would see the office building transformed into a 135-room Hilton Garden Hotel on the lower floors, and above it a 215-room Canopy by Hilton Hotel.

Hospitality in Commercial Construction Hilton Hotels

The 248,000-square-foot, 16-story project involved completely razing the interior of the building and constructing 350 rooms and suites within the building shell. The two hotels were given separate firstfloor lobbies preserved from the building’s original design, as well as 2,500 square feet of conference rooms, and one fitness center for each of the hotels.

The project also required the complete removal and rebuilding of the building’s existing 15th floor to create a brand-new 16th floor restaurant and lounge. A half dozen building elevators were renovated, and a seventh added.

The highest floors feature glass and metal enclosures that surround the rooftop dining spaces, taking on classically inspired aesthetics along with modern sensibilities. These floors also incorporate substantial biophilic elements, including landscaping and greenery, that together deliver a fresh vibrancy to the formerly unoccupied rooftop.

Following the conversion of the building from offices to two high-end hotels—each with its own unique personality, selling points and room rates—both hotels welcomed their first guests in September 2021. The independent rooftop lounge and bar was unveiled early in 2022.

Trailblazing accessibility

The conversion of the historic building into hotels is also notable for the number of accessible features built into its Hilton Garden Inn component. In addition to an accessible business center, concierge desk, elevators, fitness facility, restaurant, meeting rooms, parking, entrance, registration desk and routes through the hotel, it provides accessible guest rooms with entry or passage doors offering 32 inches of clear width.

Seeking to create additional space within accessible guest rooms, Hartshorne Plunkard Architecture and Phoenix Development chose to install pocket door frame kits from Johnson Hardware to guide the rooms’ pocket doors. Space is at a premium in most hotel rooms, and that’s even more the

Hospitality in Commercial Construction Hilton Hotels

case in accessible rooms requiring freedom for wheelchair movement. The pocket door frame kits permitted wider door openings to allow wheelchair and walker movement in and out. The kits also enabled more efficient use of space because doors slide into walls as opposed to opening out.

Heavy-duty pocket door frame kits were chosen on the basis of offering the durability necessary to endure daily use in a commercial setting where guests typically give the doors plenty of use. Even though they are built to hoist heavy solid-core doors weighing up to 400 pounds each, the door kits deliver easy gliding, sliding back and forth with only minimal effort.

No more than 5 pounds of force are required to move the doors. In addition, the Leopardo Companies carpenters found the kits were easy to install, including everything needed to implement their use in a commercial steel stud framing application.

Versatile enough to be adapted for non-standard wall thickness as well as block masonry walls, the kits can also be cut down to accept smaller-sized doors. Nylon-encapsulated ball bearing wheels roll smoothly and quietly, and their tripod rocker design equalizes door weight across all the wheels, helping prevent failure of wheels. The jumpproof hardware design helps ensure doors will not jump off their tracks.

Pocket door frame kits were used in the bathroom areas of the ADA-compliant rooms within Hilton Garden Inn.

An Ideal Location

Much of Chicago’s recent downtown growth, including growth within the white-hot Fulton Market enclave, has been westward from the city’s historic Loop central business district. Therefore, it made sense for Hilton Hotels to seek new hotel locations on the west side of the Central Loop.

The company found just such a location at the corner of Franklin and Jackson Streets, across the street from Willis (formerly Sears) Tower, where officials declared a century-old office building could be turned into 21st Century hotels. From that advantageous corner, travelers would not have a problem strolling to a multitude of Chicago’s Central Loop attractions. They also would be within a 10-minute walk of Millennium Park, the Chicago Riverwalk, State Street shops and a broad selection of award-winning restaurants.

The location also provides outstanding access to many transportation conveniences. The site is just a few blocks west of the Dan Ryan Expressway and north of the Eisenhower Expressway, and is approximately two blocks from Union Station, into which Amtrak trains from every corner of the nation arrive and depart each and every day.

The Chicago Transit Authority (CTA) Quincy L station is a two-minute walk northeast, offering rides on Brown, Orange, Pink and Purple Lines. And nearly a dozen CTA bus routes crisscross this Loop district on their way to the North, South and West Sides.

This imaginative and dramatic adaptive reuse project results in several critical upsides. A handsome, century-old building will be preserved, in keeping with the belief of many sustainability experts that the greenest new buildings are reborn old ones. As well, visitors to Chicago—including those who benefit from ADA-compliant features—will have two more luxe Loop hotels to serve them for decades to come.

Ted Jarosh leads the self-perform division of Leopardo Companies—a recognized industry leader in construction with the resources to build world-class projects using innovative processes across every major sector. As project executive, he oversaw the drywall, painting, carpentry and labor services completed for the Hilton Garden Inn and Canopy renovation project located at 226 W. Jackson in Chicago.