Developer aims to banish memories of Lincolnwood’s Purple Hotel

For years, the 8.5 acres at the northwest corner of Touhy and Lincoln avenues has been an aggravation to the upper-class suburb of Lincolnwood. It’s the former home of a hotel that hosted salacious parties, had a minor role in a political scandal and a place in local lore as the site of mob hit.

The old Purple Hotel, a former Hyatt that hit the skids, was torn down in 2013, and its highly visible land has been vacant ever since. But its current owner said that starting in March, he’ll begin turning the blight into a sight to behold.

Richard Tucker, CEO of Tucker Development, said he will break ground next March on a $170 million project that he hopes will create a focal point for Lincolnwood and erase some of the old memories. His plans call for 300 apartments, 70,000 square feet or retail space and two Marriott-affiliated hotels totaling 220 rooms.

“We want to create a very desirable place to be,” Tucker said. The development will be branded as District 1860, a crowd-pleasing reference in a town named for Abraham Lincoln, who was elected president in 1860.

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Tucker’s firm got control of the property last March for $10.7 million after working its way through village approvals. Prior plans for the site fell apart, including a proposed retail and hotel complex that village officials thought would have maximum impact on tax revenue without adding families that would need local schools.

The town’s attitude changed after Barry Bass, a real estate broker, was elected village president in 2017. “We didn’t want to repeat the mistakes of the past,” he said. Bass called Tucker a “top-notch developer” who meets his commitments.

A project that relied heavily on retail wasn’t feasible, Tucker said, so he convinced Lincolnwood that adding apartments for a variety of customers, from young families to empty nesters and others who are renters by choice, was important to getting a deal done.

CallisonRTKL, the architecture firm for the project, has proposed a design that includes outdoor space for the residents with a pool, lounging area and a dog park. Tucker said he expects to charge monthly rents of from $800 to $1,000 less than newly built properties downtown.

Lincolnwood has agreed to provide $31 million in tax-increment financing to cover the developer’s costs for public improvements, said Steve McNellis, the village’s community development director.

Nothing, however, has ever been easy with the site. Another developer, Lake Forest Real Estate, has sued Lincolnwood officials, accusing them of blocking its attempts to acquire the site. Tucker and Bass said the suit will have no impact on the construction timetable.

The allegations in the suit are “pretty wild and far-fetched,” Bass said, declining further comment. Lake Forest could not be reached.

The old Purple Hotel, named for its distinctive bricks, was closed in 2007. It opened in 1962 as a Hyatt, an investment of the Pritzker family, and was a popular choice for weddings, graduations and bar mitzvahs.

In 1983, mobster Allen Dorfman was slain in the parking lot, an unsolved crime. The hotel’s fortunes fell and in its later years, without the Hyatt affiliation, it became known for sex and drug parties, some referenced in court testimony by convicted political fixer Stuart Levine.

When other guests complained about the debauchery, a former hotel manager blamed them for getting on the wrong elevators.

Sun-Times Media/Brian O’Mahoney