Residents On Wicker Park Hotel Plan: 'It Looks Like An Office In Schaumburg'
Wicker Park residents met a revised plan to build a hotel on the site of a gas station with a palpable lack of enthusiasm.
George Nediyakalayil originally proposed building an eight-story, 97-room boutique hotel at North and Ashland avenues last August. Residents were turned off by what they called architect Ron Vari's "generic" design, the height of the project and how it would add traffic to an already congested intersection near the Kennedy expressway.
Residents at the latest community meeting for the hotel were divided. Some opponents still felt the hotel's designs lacked flair (view the designs here), while supporters of the project say it will help all businesses nearby, DNAInfo reports. It may be all moot unless Nediyakalayil can sway Ald. Brian Hopkins (2nd), who hasn't indicated if he will back the project. [DNA]
