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Hotel Florence P3

Development of the Historic Hotel Florence and Hotel Florence Annex

The Hotel Florence and the Hotel Florence Annex are located in the Pullman Historic District on the south side of Chicago. The Hotel Florence was built in 1881 as a 65-room hotel, cost $100,000 to build, and was designed by Solon Spencer Beman. The Hotel Florence Annex is a major addition to the Hotel Florence that was built in 1914. They are located just south of the former Car Works at the intersection of 111th Street and St. Lawrence Avenue, and were placed on the National Register of Historic Placed in 1969. The Illinois Historic Preservation Agency (now part of IDNR) took title in 1991.

Update

On Tuesday, April 1, 2025, IDNR published a Request for Solicitation for the development of the Historic Hotel Florence and Hotel Florence Annex.

Information about this opportunity can be found online.

MANDATORY Pre-Bid meeting will be held via Webex on Wednesday, April 16, 2025 at 10 a.m. CDT. 

MANDATORY Walk throughs will be scheduled for individual teams the weeks of April 21 and April 28, 2025. 

Responses are due on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 at 3 p.m. CDT. Responses will be received through E-Builder only.

Questions should be submitted to IDNR either via Form 12 included in the RFS or through E-Builder’s Q&A Board.

July 31 update:

Qualified Offerors List

The below offerors have submitted offers that have been deemed material complete and are still in consideration for being awarded this solicitation. These offers will be evaluated by the RFS Evaluation Team.  

1.) Farr Associates Group

2.) Lindsey Block Design Group

3.) Maverick Hotels & Restaurants Group

4.) Valenti Group

5.) Bailey Edward Design, Inc. Group

After evaluations, a short list of two to three vendors will be selected for interviews. These interviews will be virtual and are slated to be up to 45 minutes. All offerors mentioned above should have interview material ready for presentation in the event that they are chosen. Interviews are tentatively scheduled for the week of Sept. 8, 2025. Offeror will be notified via email if they are selected for interviews. 

Reference Information Documents

What's the project about?

The Illinois Department of Natural Resources (IDNR) is looking for a team to enter into a public-private partnership for the development, restoration, and operation of the Historic Hotel Florence and Hotel Florence Annex located within the Pullman State Historic Site in Chicago, Illinois.

  • IDNR has been granted this authority by the Reimagining Hotel Florence Act (20 ILCS3407/45-1) 
  • P3 agreement is to rehabilitate, restore, renovate, maintain, and operate the hotel for a term of 75 years. 
    • At the discretion of the parties, the P3 could also include portions of the Pullman Factory (North Factory Wing, Rear Erecting Shop, train car display building, and the ADVANCE passenger rail car).
  • This selection is for the offeror, the design, preservation, and construction teams, and the operational and/or management team. No other selections/procurements of services relating to the development of the Hotel Florence and Annex are expected after this procurement. 
    • Additional selections for other P3 opportunities for the Pullman Factory may be made at some point in the future, if they are not included in this P3 selection.
  • Selection will be based on qualifications, experience, project plan and budget, and BEP participation and past performance.

Why are we doing this?

  • Opening the site to be used by the public and reactivating the property.
  • Leveraging the $21 million in state funding.
  • Rehabilitating the hotel, annex, and grounds.
  • Restoring and preserving the Pullman Factory (at the discretion of the IDNR and the agreement of the offeror).
  • Managing and maintaining the hotel, annex, grounds, and, if applicable, the Pullman Factory.