The Chicago Plan Commission gave the first round of approvals for a 26-story hotel that would be near the Obama Presidential Center, despite concerns from neighbors.
Aquinnah Investment Trust, headed by veteran real estate developer and lawyer Allison Davis, said the hotel would include up to 250 rooms. It would also have retail and office space, as well as amenities like a pool, outdoor terraces and conference center.
The Woodlawn project at 6402-6420 S. Stony Island Ave. would be next door to Island Terrace Apartments, an affordable housing building.
Aquinnah owns three parcels of land at the site, and the city owns the other two. Officials from the city’s Department of Planning and Development said Thursday it will sell the plots to Aquinnah at fair market value, creating a “superior project” with enhanced green space.
The hotel doesn’t have an official operator yet, nor is funding in place. But the development team told commissioners they’re confident in their ability to find an investor for the estimated $100 million project.
Davis, who was Barack Obama’s first boss out of Harvard Law School, told commissioners he has completed 13 developments in Chicago, including The Columbian high-rise at 1160 S. Michigan Ave. But most of his projects have “been in the neighborhoods,” he said.
“What I’m trying to do is to go places other people don’t go and make the neighborhood better,” Davis said. “This is certainly an example of that. … We have a catalyst in terms of the Obama Presidential Center.”
It’s estimated about 800,000 people will visit the Obama Presidential Center annually, Davis said, and “they gotta stay somewhere.”
The presidential center is expected to open in 2026. When Obama visited the site in June 2024 to thank workers at a topping out ceremony. At the time, construction of the presidential center and museum was more than halfway complete.
Community pushback
Last month, local stakeholders, Ald. Desmon Yancy (5th) and his staff, attended a community meeting for the hotel project. The development team said it made several changes to its proposal based on the community feedback. The hotel tower’s height was reduced by four stories and more food and beverage opportunities were added.
“We’re in need of bringing something vibrant to the community,” Yancy said. “I also believe that bringing this hotel there, along with the Obama Presidential Center, signals that the South Side is a great place to invest your money. It’s great community.”
But many of the concerns Woodlawn and South Shore residents have expressed still remain.
Residents organized a protest against the proposed hotel in April. Held by the Obama Community Benefits Agreement Coalition, protesters said the presidential center has attracted “predatory” developers and increased rents in the surrounding area.
The coalition, which includes groups such as Southside Together, have proposed a Community Benefits Agreement to protect neighborhood residents. The agreement covers property tax relief, mortgage refinancing and rental assistance. It has also received verbal support from Mayor Brandon Johnson, though it has not been approved by the City Council.
Christian Ephriam, housing organizer for Southside Together, said Yancy and the city need to do more to ensure residents secure a Community Benefits Agreement.
The coalition plans to keep organizing after Thursday’s approval vote. Members of the union Unite Here Local 1 also attended the meeting and urged for jobs that pay above minimum wage so workers don’t get priced out of their neighborhood.
“All across Woodlawn and South Shore, we’re seeing folks getting pushed out, getting displaced and trying to come together and fight and organize for affordable housing and against displacement,” Ephriam said. “We’re just going to keep on fighting it until we get a CBA.”