Evanston’s first new hotel in 15 years opened last week at 1515 Chicago Ave. Plans for the hotel were announced more than two years ago, and in April 2014, the City approved plans for the eight-story extended-stay Hyatt Hotel.
John Brooke, Chief Operating Officer of hotel owner Janko Hospitality, said he was very happy to have the new property open in Evanston and noted that there are still some finishing touches to work on, such as a green roof that is part of the plan to qualify the property for LEED Silver status.
The Hyatt House Chicago/Evanston has two meeting rooms, each with a capacity of about 60 people, as well as an outdoor terrace with a gas flame fireplace in the center of its seating area on the second floor. Plans for a swimming pool in the building were scrapped to expand the workout room area, said JoAnne Reifel, Director of Sales.
Guest rooms and suites in the 114-room hotel range in size from 400 to 700 square feet and many have a full range of kitchen features.
The property was previously the site of a one-story real estate and insurance office that had been built about 1950 to house a restaurant. That building was demolished in 2013 by the then-owner of the property.