Four Years Past its Due Date, Striking Hotel Godfrey Readies for its Debut

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Last month, Chicago Magazine's Nina Kokotas Hahn had a preview of The Five Most Anticipated Chicago Hotels of 2014.  First to debut will be the longest in gestation.  Construction on the $42 million dollar project originally named the Duke Miglin stopped in 2008, and for most of the next four years, the orphaned, uncompleted building remained wrapped in protective sheeting as the Mummy of River North.   Then in 2012, Oxford Capital announced they had acquired  the property and would be bringing it to completion as the Hotel Godfrey.

According to Hahn, The Godfrey is now set to open on February 1st as the first in a tsunami of new hotel developments destined to bring the rebounding occupancy rates of Chicago hotels back down to their previous perilous lows.

As finally realized, the vision of Valerio Dewalt Train architects looks to be a handsome addition to River North.   The curtain wall of the stacked volumes of the LaSalle Street elevation make up in drama what they lack in finesse, putting the building's innovative staggered truss framing on full display.   It'll no doubt look even more striking when lit from within.

The longer, north and side elevations offer sculpted solid facades with grids of punched-in windows.

 

 They actually resolve more cleanly than the spectacular short-end curtain wall, especially when set off against the traditional ornament trimmed masonry of Oxford's Hotel Felix, flush next door.

Read More:

Mummy No More: Valerio's Staybridge About to Escape its Wrappings

The Mummy of River North

Staggered Truss: not as Painful as it Sounds

Mummy No More? Valerio's Staybridge about to Escape its Wrappings

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We've written several times about the project at 127 West Huron, referred to variously as the Duke Miglin, or Staybridge Suites Hotel.  It's the striking building designed by Valerio Dewalt Train using innovative staggered truss framing, where the sheets never made to the guest beds but instead have covered up the project's steel frame since the money ran out almost four years ago.

Now that may finally be about to change.  We received an email yesterday from John W. Rutledge, President and CEO of the Oxford Capital Group . . .

With regard to 127 W. Huron; after acquiring the loan, Oxford has now settled various claims on the project and has recently acquired full title from the original developer and as such is in the midst of a formal remobilization. Oxford expects  to deliver an upper upscale boutique/lifestyle hotel in 2013.

 With regard to the Langham Chicago Hotel; Oxford Capital Group, LLC remains the managing partner of the local Chicago based development team executing the project.  You’ll be pleased to know this project has formally commenced construction and we expect to deliver this luxury Langham Chicago Hotel in the summer of 2013.

The Langham Chicago, of course, is the project that's currently keeping the southern part of lobby of the Mies van Der Rohe-designed 330 North Wabash (aka IBM Building) under wraps while construction of the hotel continues.

 We wrote about it last on February 20, and a few days later the Trib's Blair Kamin reported that Mies's grandson, Dirk Lohan, who is doing the lobby redesign, is promising that any changes to the ground floor will leave Mies's original vision largely intact.

So get out cameras and take your pictures of the Mummy of Huron Street while you can.  2013 isn't that far off, and by then you may be seeing something a lot closer to what the architect originally intended . . .