Purple Hotel: enough with the sitcom, already

[the_archfiend]

Just when you thought that the badly written episode of Hot l Baltimore that the Purple Hotel debacle has become was nearing its end, another ugly surprise rises up and bites you in places you should've kept better protected:

The owner of the abandoned landmark known as the Purple Hotel in Lincolnwood has until the end of the year to submit plans for its revival, or the village could renew efforts in January to tear it down.

Village officials heard some of the plans for the site at 4500 W. Touhy Ave. during a Dec. 4 meeting, and are scheduled for another update on Dec. 18.

Jake Weiss, president of Weiss Properties, is working with architect Jackie Koo on plans for the site. A principal partner in North Capital Group, which purchased the hotel and the surrounding 8.5 acres for $8.3 million in June, Weiss told village officials that he plans to turn the site into a boutique hotel with 208 rooms, a roof garden, fitness center, spa, and a 41,000-square-foot building that will house restaurants and a banquet hall.

He played a video and brought drafts of his plans and vision for the property. But he has not formally submitted those plans for zoning approval.

Lincolnwood trustees questioned him about financing and whether he plans to open an independent hotel or plant a "flag" for a chain out front.

"I don't know if you need a flag," Weiss said. "It's my preference to have a flag. It's finding the right flag. Once you sign a flag, you sign millions of dollars to get out of it."

Sure. this, of course, comes from the same guy who was perhaps just a wee bit off when he previously promised retail space equivalent to 40,000 square feet or better and then offerered up something far less extensive later on. And why is he already talking about getting out of a deal that was being offered up as a hypothetical?

Let's just say his attorney didn't come off as being particularly forthcoming concerning Weiss' plans, either:

Harold "Hal" W. Francke, a lawyer for Weiss, addressed the trustees' concerns during the meeting.

"It doesn't do us any good if as a board if you're not comfortable with this vision," he said. "Jake's in this position. He doesn't want to keep spending time on it. He's already invested $10 million into it. Just like you, he's hoping to get his flag."

He is? Funny, Weiss implied separately that he wasn't. Ah, well. Different pages and all, I guess...

"He's prepared to move forward and make it a boutique hotel.

"We want to proceed," Francke continued. "We gave you a very detailed indication of what was done and what is to be done. We'll definitely get that in on time. We'll get very detailed information on what remains to be done for a very specific request."

Sure. Just like last time when he missed a deadline for a simple demolition permit, right?

Lastly, what would any of this be without the introduction of a lovely bit of substance-free fluff from Mr. Weiss?

"What's interesting is that there are so many individuals connected to the site," Weiss said later in an interview. "When you have a base of individuals connected to the site, that goes a long way. Maybe we can put together a website where people share their stories. I want the public to be part of the renaissance."

Wow. Just wow.

Paragraphs like that make you wonder if Weiss ever moonlights as a public relations flack. Or a high-powered advertising exec.

Regardless of what he does in his spare time, here's hoping that Weiss makes something actually happen as a consequence of that hard December 31st deadline. As you can tell from this Fancyclopedia 3 link, the place was quite central to the development of Chicago fandom in the past; It'd be a real pity if the Lincolnwood Village Board and NCP just continued to let it rot.