It’s been more than 40 years since a national brand has opened a new hotel in any of the Chicago communities located south of the city’s Hyde Park neighborhood. That is about to change.
That’s because the Pullman Hotel Group is set to bring a nationally branded Hampton by Hilton Hotel to Pullman, a $30 million, 101-room hotel that will serve visitors to Chicago’s Pullman and Roseland communities.
When construction is complete, the Hampton will be the first nationally branded hotel developed in Chicago’s Pullman community.
Construction is expected to begin in early 2026, with the hotel opening in either late 2026 or early 2027. The Chicago Plan Commission earlier this month approved the development.
Antony Beale, alderman for Chicago’s 9th ward, said that the hotel is just the latest step in a years-long economic investment the Pullman/Roseland areas.
“This builds on everything that we have done over the years,” Beale said. “This will just add to the new jobs and opportunities we are seeing in this community. It will be the perfect addition to the restaurants and industrial buildings that have already opened here, an addition to the thousands of jobs that have already been created here.”
The Pullman area has seen plenty of investment during the last several years. This includes the opening of the Pullman National Park’s Visitor Center and the Pullman State Historic Site.
The historic site includes the neighborhood’s famous clock tower and administration building, while the national park covers the entire Pullman community, celebrating its history as the United States’ first planned industrial community.
The neighborhood has also seen the opening of the 180-acre Pullman Park that is home to two SC Johnson and Gotham Greens industrial facilities, a Whole Foods Midwest Distribution Center and Amazon delivery center. Several new restaurants and retail centers have recently opened in the neighborhood, too, including the first Chick-fil-A in Chicago’s South Side, Potbelly Sandwich Shop, Culver’s and Lexington Betty Smokehouse.
“People are coming from all over to visit Pullman with the national park and historic site,” Beale said. “It has become a destination, a place for recreation and a place for people to eat and drink in the community. There is shopping here. The only piece we were missing was a place for people to lay their heads. Soon they will be able to stay in the community when they visit.”
Why has it taken so long for Pullman to get a new hotel? The answer is complicated. But Beale said that the Pullman and Roseland area suffered a void for many years with businesses leaving the city’s South Side.
As that changed, and the businesses returned, it boosted foot traffic and spending in the communities. That in turn made the area once again attractive to a national hotel brand.
“Businesses are coming because they see the traffic rising here,” Beale said. “They see the void that needs to be filled. We have created a positive atmosphere in the area, and we are seeing the results of that.”
The Hampton might not be the only new hotel opening soon in the area, either. Beale said that he and local officials are looking at adding at least one more new hotel to the community after the Hampton opens.
“We did a market analysis. We can support two hotels here, no problem,” Beale said.
The new Hampton will be 62,000 square feet and rise four stories. It is being built at 111th Street and Doty Avenue along Interstate-94 and the Bishop Ford Expressway. Beale said that the hotel is projected to create 25 new jobs once it opens.
The hotel will feature a business center, exercise room, indoor pool and on-site surface parking. The Pullman Hotel Group is using a Chicago Recovery Grant to assist with buying the property on which the hotel will sit from Chicago Neighborhood Initiatives.
