Hotel demolition begins
by CYRYL JAKUBOWSKI
Demolition of the Purple Hotel began Tuesday after the Lincolnwood Village Board of Trustees approved a new agreement with North Capital Group for the redevelopment of the site at its meeting Aug. 20.
Village manager Timothy Wiberg said that North Capital Group, which purchased the property for $8.3 million at a bankruptcy auction last May, is moving ahead with the demolition of the derelict hotel.
North Capital Group plans to seek a new planned unit development for the site by April. The company’s plans call for replacing the building at 4500 W. Touhy Ave. with a new development on the 8.5-acre site that will feature a hotel, retail space, offices and a public gathering space.
North Capital Group has secured joint venture agreements with the real estate management firm Urban Retail Properties and the hotel management company Super Host Enterprise.
Previous plans called for the renovation of the building into a "boutique" hotel and the construction of 30,000 to 40,000 square feet of new retail and office uses A one-story strip retail building at 7350 N. Lincoln Ave. and the former Suits 20/20 building at 4560 W. Touhy Ave. have been demolished.
The board granted an extension for the company to backfill the property once it is excavated, remove concrete and spread topsoil.
The key provisions of the new agreement are that North Capital Group will provide site security, install fencing, control rodents and pests, remove garbage and weeds, remove standing water, apply for land use relief by April 1 and install a landscaping feature at the intersection of Touhy and Lincoln avenues. The village retains its authority to demolish the building and place a lien on the property if the company fails to fulfill the requirements.
