A Luxury Edition Hotel Could Be Coming to Chicago’s Former John Hancock Center

One of Chicago’s most recognizable skyscrapers may soon begin a major new chapter.

According to reports, Chicago-based Hearn is in negotiations with Marriott International to bring a 350-room Edition hotel to the former John Hancock Center, now formally known as 875 N. Michigan Avenue.

If finalized, the project would transform nearly 400,000 square feet of underutilized office space inside the 100-story tower into one of the city’s most high-profile luxury hospitality developments in years.

A Major Shift for One of Chicago’s Most Famous Buildings

For decades, the former Hancock Center has been one of the defining pieces of Chicago’s skyline. Designed by legendary architect Bruce Graham and structural engineer Fazlur Rahman Khan for Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, the tower opened in 1969 and became an instant architectural landmark.

But like many office properties across downtown Chicago, the building has faced challenges in recent years as demand for workspace shifted after the pandemic.

Hearn had previously explored attracting medical office tenants to fill vacant space in the tower. Now, the strategy appears to be pivoting toward hospitality instead, a move that aligns with broader trends reshaping commercial real estate in major cities.

A Bigger Story About the Magnificent Mile

This potential hotel deal is happening alongside several other major investments on the Magnificent Mile.

Just across the street, MetLife recently announced a $170 million redevelopment of Water Tower Place, reworking the historic vertical mall into a more modern mixed-use destination with retail, dining and office space.

Nearby, the building at 830 N. Michigan Avenue also secured the Magnificent Mile’s largest lease in over a decade with the upcoming Candy Hall of Fame Experience.

Those moves are particularly notable given that vacancy along North Michigan Avenue has hovered near 28%, reflecting the challenges the corridor has faced since the pandemic accelerated shifts in retail and office demand.

Why Hospitality Is Becoming More Important Downtown

The potential Edition hotel also reflects a broader trend playing out across Chicago and other major cities: office buildings are increasingly being repositioned into hospitality, residential or mixed-use spaces.

Rather than waiting for office demand to fully rebound, owners are exploring uses that generate more consistent traffic and long-term value.

For the Magnificent Mile specifically, luxury hotels can help drive:

Tourism spending
Restaurant and retail traffic
Event activity
Additional foot traffic throughout the corridor

In other words, projects like this don’t just impact one building, they influence the surrounding district.

A New Era for an Iconic Tower

The former John Hancock Center has always represented Chicago ambition and architectural identity. Seeing part of the building transition into a luxury hotel signals how even the city’s most iconic towers are adapting to a very different real estate landscape.

And if the deal moves forward, it could become one of the clearest signs yet that the Magnificent Mile is entering its next phase—not as it was before, but as something new.

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Ranked among the top 1% of real estate teams in the Chicagoland market, Cory Tanzer and the Cory Tanzer Group are experts in helping buyers and sellers navigate today’s market across Downtown Chicago, the North Shore, and the Western Suburbs. Recognized for their neighborhood expertise in areas such as University Village, University Commons, South Loop, and Pilsen, the team helps clients stay one step ahead by understanding where the Chicago market is headed next.