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CHICAGO--February 6, 2007--The 443-room Allerton Crowne Plaza Chicago,
the
historical landmark-designated 1922-24 Chicago property that helped
spur
the redevelopment of North Michigan Avenue into the city’s Magnificent
Mile,
has shed its Crowne Plaza affiliation to return to its status as one of
Chicago’s
legendary independent hotels, the property’s new owners announced today.Rechristened today as The Allerton Hotel – The Landmark on Michigan Avenue, the 83-year-old property has been operated as an independent for all but the six years it was affiliated with Crowne Plaza. The hotel is widely regarded as one of Chicago’s first high rises and is probably best known locally for its Tip-Top-Tap, the 23rd-floor club that served as the home of Don McNeil’s “Breakfast Club” radio show in the 1950s. “We’re delighted to be able to reintroduce the Allerton Hotel to Chicago as an independent and reclaim its historic role as a local and national trendsetter,” explained Rob Kline, president of Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group, LLC, which purchased the property in November 2006 from FelCor Lodging, L.P., in a joint venture with Perry Capital of New York. The new owners are currently implementing a design change intended to update the hotel’s public areas and guest rooms with contemporary features while maintaining its architecturally significant presence on North Michigan Avenue. Scheduled for completion later this year, the project includes relocation of the hotel lobby back to its original 2nd-floor setting, where it will be combined with the existing bar and restaurant, and conversion of the third floor into an elaborate ballroom and meeting space for weddings, banquets and formal events. The meeting space enhancements will be combined with future retail and restaurant partnerships to leverage the hotel’s status as one of only three hotels offering meeting and banquet space overlooking the Chicago Water Tower. Today’s announcement comes within a year of purchases by Oxford Lodging-led investment groups of two other Magnificent Mile-area hotels: the 1928 Best Western Inn of Chicago and the Holiday Inn Chicago City Centre. The three Chicago acquisitions give Oxford Lodging control of nearly 1,400 rooms in the heart of the city’s famed shopping, dining and cultural district. Oxford Lodging is investing more than $35 million to renovate and re-brand the three properties, and has assigned property management responsibilities to Kokua Hospitality, LLC, its affiliated property management company. “Oxford Lodging sees tremendous long-term growth potential in Chicago primarily because the city has done such a fantastic job capturing the business, group and leisure traveler,” said Kline. “We remain bullish on Chicago, and are thrilled to be playing a role in helping the city preserve and even recapture its glorious past.” Chicago’s first high-rise to be built with pronounced setbacks, towers and upper-story design elements encouraged by the new municipal zoning laws of the 1920s, the Allerton Hotel represents a rare Chicago example of North Italian Renaissance architecture, featuring decorative brickwork, carved stone details and a picturesque roofline evocative of Milan and Verona in the 14th and 15th centuries. Built over a span of three years by the Allerton House Company, a national chain of “club hotels” combining the services of a hotel with the sociability of a private club, the 25-story hotel is credited with helping to turn Chicago’s North Michigan Avenue into a chic boulevard of exclusive stores, restaurants and clubs that was later christened the Magnificent Mile. The hotel’s prime Michigan Avenue location between Huron and Superior streets puts it steps from the world-class shops, restaurants, museums, galleries and other attractions of the Magnificent Mile, including Bloomingdale’s, Lord & Taylor, Marshall Field, Neiman Marcus, Saks Fifth Avenue, Nordstrom, Nike Town, Apple Store, Hard Rock Café, Mike Ditka’s and ESPN Zone. Also within walking distance are the Chicago campus of Northwestern University, Water Tower Place, Chicago Children’s Museum, The Art Institute of Chicago, Museum of Contemporary Art, Navy Pier, the John Hancock Building and Shedd Aquarium. About Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group, LLC Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group, LLC is an advisory and investment firm focused on the investment, asset management, property management and renovation of high-quality lodging assets. Oxford Lodging’s principals have been responsible for over $6 billion of lodging investments and have asset managed over 100 upscale and luxury hotels, resorts and conference centers. The firm is currently responsible for a $4-billion, 13,292-room portfolio of luxury and upscale hotels, conference centers and resorts located throughout the United States and Japan. Oxford Lodging’s principals and employees are direct investors in 65% of this portfolio. Oxford Lodging is headquartered in San Francisco, with offices in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago and Tokyo. For more information on Oxford Lodging, please visit www.oxfordlodging.com. About Kokua Hospitality, LLC Kokua Hospitality is a property management firm affiliated with Oxford Lodging Advisory & Investment Group, LLC, of San Francisco. Purposely created by lodging management and operational experts as a management company with an investors’ sensibility, Kokua Hospitality blends the attention to detail of a customer service entity with the rigors of a real estate investment concern. The name (pronounced “koh-kooh-ah”) is Hawaiian for “to serve.” Based in San Francisco, Kokua Hospitality manages a growing portfolio of hotels and resorts nationwide. |
| Contact: XPR, LLC for Oxford Lodging Bob Ochsner 949-748-7000, ext. 100 The Allerton Hotel Frederik Houben, CHSP Director of Sales & Marketing 312-274-6412 |