Purple Hotel: Let. It. Just die. Already.

[the_archfiend]

The saga of the Purple Hotel (former site of Six Capricons as well as at least one Duckon and a couple of Reactors) continues to be one of those stories that goes on for so long and follows such a torturous path that you're left wondering if the damn thing will ever end. That end may well be in sight, though. Witness the following from the Chicago Tribune:

Jake Weiss, of Skokie-based Weiss Properties, said he is trying to entice Marriott to ink a deal for the hotel before he can talk about other opportunities on the 8.5-acre triangular site.

Weiss was called before trustees Sept. 19 for an update on the progress, having recently missed a requirement outlined in his agreement with the village to postpone demolition.

The conversation was also informed by a stinging letter recently issued by the village's Economic Development Commission, which accused Weiss of a bait-and-switch between his original vision for the property and what he is marketing to prospective tenants.

The letter said Weiss Properties and partner North Capital Group originally promised to 75,000 square feet of retail space on the site, which also includes two adjacent properties, but was now looking at less than 20,000 square feet.

We "believe a significant retail component is critical to the success of this development," said the letter, approved by four of the five EDC members. "The Commission is both concerned and cannot support these apparent changes reducing the magnitude of the retail component for this development."

Interesting. A previous piece from the Skokie Patch (quoted here, of course) notes that the North Capital/Weiss Properties development plan initially offered 40,000 square feet of retail space. Did Weiss shade the truth even more than he was accused of doing in that Patch article? Perhaps. But that's a moot point right now, as the following indicates:

If Weiss fails to follow the agreement, he is bound by covenant to demolition the hotel, according to Village Attorney Steven Elrod.

That being said...

Look, I have as much of a nostalgic feeling for the PH as anyone else who either attended or (in my case) started attending fan-run SF conventions back in the day. Its day is past, though; piss-poor management of the facility by its previous owner and a seeming lack of concern for multiple health code citations (and the fines they generated) caused it to close, and that same owner's incredible stubbornness kept it shut for over five years before someone coughed up enough money to purchase what has been an derelict commercial property for over half a decade. And now that developer is effectively telling Lincolnwood to drop their pants and bend over just like the previous crew did for years.

Is it any wonder why that thing is still sitting there like some long-dead giant insect that's been attacked and eaten from within by parasites?

I don't know how this will end, but knocking the building down and paving the site over would be a tender mercy at this point.

Comments

[unhipster.livejournal.com]

BURN IT DOWN AND SALT THE EARTH.

[the-archfiend.livejournal.com]

Now, see, that's the sort of perfectly straightforward response I expected from you. >:)