Construction of a fourth Fulton Market hotel is underway, as the Chicago Department of Buildings issued a construction permit allowing for the Nobu Hotel Chicago to go vertical.

The project joins the Ace Hotel (which is ready to open), the Hoxton Hotel Chicago (which has a construction permit issued) and a 19-story hotel planned by Sterling Bay near the under-construction McDonald's HQ.

The Nobu Hotel may be one of the slowest hospitality developments to get underway in fast-changing Fulton Market. The Chicago Plan Commission OK'd the hotel last September (although the groundbreaking ceremony was held three months earlier). A foundation permit was issued last December and construction began in May.

The main holdup impeding construction centered around the building's height. Originally intended as an 11-story, 119-room hotel, the Nobu Chicago was scaled back to a seven-story, 90-room hotel after input from community groups before it was presented to the Plan Commission. According to the newest permit, the Nobu Chicago will rise to its originally planned 19 stories.

The Nobu Chicago Hotel is expected to open in 2018. The construction is estimated to cost $32.7M.