AJ Capital Partners and Commune Hotels & Resorts has selected New York-based designer Roman and Williams to convert the Chicago Athletic Association to a boutique hotel. Still yet to be named, the hotel is expected to open in late 2014.
Originally designed in 1893 by Henry Ives Cobb, the Chicago Athletic Association boasts a Doge’s palace-inspired façade and ornate interiors and a history of being one of the most important and exclusive men’s clubs in the country. The building is widely considered one of the finest examples of Venetian Gothic architecture in the U.S. 

”[The building] exudes an air of a faded glamor, but has architectural bones that are beyond reproach,” says Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, principals of Roman and Williams. “We don’t hesitate to describe it as one of the most beautiful and highly detailed buildings we’ve ever been in.”
Roman and Williams describes their approach to the of the 240-room boutique hotel design as “the reanimation of a tremendous work of architecture. Our reverence for this monumental building cannot be overstated, but we want to breathe a new life into it, to care for it without treating it like a relic.”
The firm will convert the existing gym and running track into a large ballroom, while also adding a greenhouse structure to the roof, transforming the second-floor drawing room, and creating a sports room/pool hall/bar to pay homage to the building’s heritage as a men’s club.
