Celebrity Status Brings More than Glitz:
World Famous Chef Charlie Trotter Pulls the Strings behind the Cuisine at New Chicago Hotel
Luxury Hotelier
For some the term "celebrity" conjures grandiose images of red-carpet runways, glamorous balls and VIP entrances. But for Charlie Trotter, namesake of the world-renowned Charlie Trotter's restaurant in Chicago (www.charlietrotters.com) and leader of the forthcoming dining experience at Chicago's Elysian Hotel and Private Residences (www.elysianhotels.com), the word has a different connotation. (More...)
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Vacation Dream Homes: The Elysian
Travel + Leisure
A grand Beaux Arts–style courtyard serves as the entrance to this Lucien Lagrange–designed high-rise in Chicago's Gold Coast neighborhood. (More...)
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Gilded Age Redux: Gold Coast Luxury Units Keep Rising
Chicago Tribune
Marilyn Perno loves to walk. Really loves to walk. So after raising her family in the Washington, D.C. area, and later living in Naperville, the born-and-bred Chicagoan, as she describes herself, helt it was time for a return to her pedestrian-friendly roots — this time to the Gold Coast. (More...)
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At Home: The 5-Star Hotelier: David Pisor
Chicago Tribune Magazine
Pisor will be in an unusual position when his Elysian Hotel opens in the Gold Coast in November 2008. "Most five-star hotels aren't run by owner-operators. Guests will benefit from our ability to do whatever it takes ... without any interference ... to make this property intimate and luxurious," he maintains. It's a claim he and his wife, Hilary, make good on in their own home, where comfort and closeness envelop and bond the whole family. (More...)
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Vision Quest: David Pisor's Elysian Hotel and Private Residences Aspires to Give the World's Most Luxurious Hotels and Condos a Run for Their Money
Chicago Social
For anyone who grew up reading books about Eloise — the tyke who terrorized the Plaza Hotel in New York — grand hotels represent a world of elegance and sophistication. But in recent years, that refinement seems to have been replaced by sleek, all-too-edgy hotels that dress their employees in hipster-friendly black and sometimes neglect basic luxuries in favor of more gimmicky services. Chicagoan David Pisor hopes to turn that trend around with his new project, the Elysian Hotel and Private Residences, a lavish condo/hotel hybrid located at 11 E. Walton St. that is scheduled to open in the fall of 2008. (More...)
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Trotter to open two restaurants at Elysian
YoChicago
Imagine having a restaurant operated by world-renowned Chicago chef Charlie Trotter in your house: just a quick jaunt down the stairs and you’re chowing down on naturally raised Summerfield Farm lamb shoulder with garlic, aged manchego, and parsley. The future residents of the Elysian Hotel and Private Residences, under construction at 11 E Walton St in the Gold Coast, will have two Charlie Trotter’s restaurants under their roof: a dinner-only spot and a casual place open all day. (More...)
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VACATION HOMES
ROBB Report
Three new developments in Chicago signal the ascent of the condo-hotel. In 1885, Chicago’s Home Insurance building opened on the corner of La Salle and Adams Streets as the world’s first skyscraper. The 10-story edifice, which featured a steel frame that supported the walls, introduced a new structural form that forever altered the way people work and where they live. Today, three construction projects in the Windy City are at the forefront of a movement that may change the way people travel and where they buy second homes. (More...)
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INFO JUNKIE / Story Maker
Crains
David C. Pisor, 42 is CEO of Elysian WorldWide LLC, a Chicago-based real estate development firm that is building the 60-story Elysian Hotel and Private Residences downtown. What interests him: The New York Times. “I like the breadth. I’m looking for lifestyle, business, technology, design. I’ll see a piece on a resort in Southeast Asia and be inspired by a unique service offered at the hotel.” (More...)
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Marketing Mania
Midwest Real Estate
His regal silver coif, furrowed brows and role as the distinguished, yet eccentric, owner of a rare goods company on one of TV’s most popular shows has Jones Lang LaSalle executives certain John O’Hurley can set their retail business apart from the crowd by featuring him in print ads. (More...)
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It's not always about location
Illinois Real Estate Journal
Condo-hotels are giving the baby boomers across the country new ways to live and vacation in luxury. From celebrity chefs to specialized spa treatments to attentive staff, those who invest in condo-hotels are getting much more than a time-share. While some experts argue that brand name and location are the major selling points of any condo-hotel, the developers seem to always be looking for ways to one-up their competition. High-end amenities are becoming standard and the comforts of hotels and home are being combined into luxurious living spaces. (More...)
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Newest hotels to develop part-time Chicagoans who buy luxury condos
Daily Herald
Even in marketing hotel-condominium units, the brand is important. So an ambitious Chicago startup called Elysian Worldwide LLC, which hopes to grow an empire of hotel-condo resorts starting with a planned new Gold Coast building, is marketing what it considers a high-end European courtyard feel, with considerable success: it has pre-sold 70 percent of its hotel-condo units at prices between $480,000 and $950,000. (More...)
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No end in sight for hotel condo craze
AP Business
Even in marketing hotel-condominium units, the brand is important. So an ambitious Chicago startup called Elysian Worldwide LLC, which hopes to grow an empire of hotel-condo resorts starting with a planned new Gold Coast building, is marketing what it considers a high-end European courtyard feel, with considerable success: it has pre-sold 70 percent of its hotel-condo units at prices between $480,000 and $950,000. (More...)
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Trotter to develop Elysian eatery
Chicago Tribune
Charlie Trotter is opening a second fine-dining restaurant in Chicago, but you’ll have to wait almost two years to eat there. Trotter on Wednesday was unveiled as the “iconic chef” tapped to develop the restaurant, plus a casual restaurant at the Elysian Hotel, under construction at 11 E. Walton St. (More...)
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Trotter to oversee Elysian Food Service
Illinois Real Estate Journal
The Elysian hotel-condo development will enlist the help of star chef Charlie Trotter for the food service aspects of the hotel. Trotter will create a restaurant for the Gold Coast project as well as oversee a three-meals-a-day room service operation. While Trotter has been involved with hotel projects around the world, he has yet to work with one in Chicago. “In 20 years, this is the first project we’ve taken in our own backyard,” Trotter said during a Wednesday press conference. (More...)
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Chicago Chef Charlie Trotter to Open New Restaurant
AP Business
CHICAGO -- Charlie Trotter, an iconic chef whose name is synonymous with Chicago’s gourmet cuisine, wants to dish out a second helping of his five-star meals. Trotter, a Chicago native whose self-titled restaurant draws gourmands and members of the expense-account set, announced Wednesday he plans to open a second Chicago eatery in a new 60-story luxury hotel and condominium project. “We’re excited to deliver not just a stamped-out, high-end experience, but something that is really personal and something that has a genuineness about it,” Trotter said in an interview Tuesday with The Associated Press. “I can’t wait.” (More...)
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The Elysian Hotel and Private Residences
New York Times
WHAT: Hotel and residential development
WHERE: Chicago
AMENITIES: Restaurants and a spa and fitness center, among others
PRICES: Condominium-hotel units from $480,000; private residences from $2.6 million
STATUS: Construction began a few months ago and should finish in 2008. (More...)
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Financing in place for Elysian
IR Reports
Despite questions about the hotel-condo market in Chicago, a New York subsidiary of a global capital provider is financing $203 million for the Elysian Hotel and Private Residences. The Elysian, to rise 60 stories at State and Delaware streets in the Gold Coast neighborhood, will be financed by Hypo Real Estate Capital Corp., a subsidiary of Hypo Real Estate Bank International based in Stuttgart. The floating rate construction loan will be for three years with a one-year extension. (More...)
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Splitting the difference
Chicago Tribune
Some folks dream of a second home by a lake, where the night sky is black and quiet, save for the crickets’ collective chirp. But others prefer a second home smack in the heart of the city, where the lights never dim, the party never ends and no cricket in his right mind would dare venture. Realtors have a name for people who keep their suburban family homes but buy downtown condos in the city: splitters. (More...)
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Posh hotel going up in Gold Coast suits Trotter's taste
Chicago Sun-Times
Charlie Trotter is checking in downtown. The chef who elevated the dining scene in Chicago with the 1987 opening of his eponymous restaurant in Lincoln Park said Wednesday he will open a second restaurant in a luxury hotel under construction in the Gold Coast. “We’re going to do something that doesn’t exist in this city at this time,” Trotter said. (More...)
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Bright Lights, Big City
North Shore Magazine
Meet Mr. and Mrs. X Like many suburbanites, they spent their post-collegiate years in Chicago, working and playing and carving out their destiny. But when the children came along, the lure of green grass and good school was hard to resist. So they did what young city folk did then—and still do—many generations later. They went north. (More...)
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Condo-hotels create risks, opportunities for buyers
USA Today
If only Eloise could see the new rooms at The Plaza Hotel, where the famous 6-year-old children’s book character lived on the top floor. The bathrooms have marble vanities and chandeliers. There’s a mini wireless computer that can change the temperature, order theater tickets or make dinner reservations. And there’s a butler on every floor. “Charge it, please,” she’d say. When The Plaza reopens in spring — after a $350 million renovation — you, too, will be able to live at the landmark building on Central Park South. (More...)
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Developer Sees First Project as Brand Flagship
Hotel Business
CHICAGO—The rage that is condo-hotels has inspired yet another residential real estate developer to come over to lodging, this time not only looking at building one project, but establishing a branded hotel company and an operating arm. First time hotel developer David Pisor, CEO, Elysian Development Group, is set to break ground here on Walton St. for the 60-story Elysian, which is held by the first Elysian Properties. Part of a joint venture with global investment group Arcapita, Inc., the estimated $245 million project includes 188 hotel suites and 51 pure condominium residences. The project, designed by noted hospitality architect Lucien LaGrange, is slated to be finished by year-end 2008. (More...)
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Broadening Luxury Segment Is Paving The Way For High-End Condo-Hotels
Hotel Business
NEW YORK—Luxury may be more of a state of mind than a price point nowadays, but it’s a money-driven concept that connotes top-of-the-line experiences and serves, nonetheless, as a lure for both hoteliers and consumers who want not only to be a part of the luxe life, but to benefit from it as well. A simple perusal of any condo-hotel prospectus, for example, basically proves the point: no one’s building mixed-use projects with fabulous midscale residences; everything – from the carpeting to the FF&E to garage space – is touted as being at the luxury level. And it’s easy to see why: A room with luxury carpeting is perceived as better than a room with carpeting, even if there’s no difference in the carpet product itself. (More...)
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Second Homes
Chicago Tribune
The hotel room of your choice always will be waiting for you – if you buy it. The latest real estate wrinkle imported to Chicago is the hotel-condo. Five downtown properties have announced they are going the hotel-condo route. Or, some call them condo-hotels. The product is the same either way. Basically, you buy a room in a hotel, stay there when you’re in town and receive payments when others use it. (More...)
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Hotel Condos
BDC
A few years ago, developer Kathleen Webb wondered about the viability of a mixed-use project that her firm was planning in Arlington, Va. Webb, a principal at the JBG Companies, Chevy Chase, Md., says the property, located in the Roselyn business district near the USA Today building, was approved for a 360-room hotel and office tower. The project had a lot going for it: a spectacular location near Key Bridge, with a view of Georgetown across the Potomac River, and a prestigious architecture firm, New York-based Pei Cobb Freed & Partners, as designer. (More...)
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Rooms With A View
Heartland Business
The revitalization of the downtown has become a big trend in real estate development. Old factories are being converted into mixed-use centers, aging office buildings are being rehabilitated and every spare inch of land is being developed. These new and revitalized developments are attracting more and more people downtown, creating a greater need for housing. As land is already scarce in big cities, developers have begun looking upwards when it comes to housing, building condominium projects that offer a range of amenities and features in a downtown environment. (More...)
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Two new condominium hotels offer unique lifestyles
Chicago Tribune
Resort, vacation areas and even large cities such as New York have long operated with timeshare or buyer-lease programs for frequent guests. Now two developers have decided to bring that model to Chicago. By the end of 2007, both Trump International Hotel and Tower and the Elysian Worldwide will open condominium hotels in Chicago. And both developers are betting that the model will work here. And, their gamble seems to be paying off. Trump has sold 70 percent of the available units, and the Elysian has sold 60 percent of its units. (More...)
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