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While no one was looking, construction crews moved in to the site of a proposed South Loop hotel and began work. A parking garage on the site at 1101 South Wabash was razed in February.
Hoteliers Su-Mei Yen and Hui-Hsein Bert Yen announced plans for a dual-concept, 281-room hotel on the site. One will contain 196 rooms under the Homewood Hilton banner. The other will be an extended-stay Wabash Suites with 85 guest rooms. The Yens started construction so soon because the site is being built as-of-right, according to Curbed, meaning there are no zoning changes.
The Yens have been in development mode in 2016. They also landed a $36M loan for the Whitehall Hotel, which they're using to expand it by 108 rooms. [Curbed]
