Written By Editor on July 23, 2014

Rapidly-expanding San Francisco hotel chain Kimpton is once again active in Chicago’s Loop.

Loop Spy Ryan sent in this photograph of work starting on the boutique hotelier’s new project at 39 South LaSalle Street.  You may already know Kimpton most recently from its new Hotel Palomar in the Near North neighborhood.  It is also the brand behind the Hotels Monaco, Allegro, and Burnham in the Loop.

The 1894 office building was designed by William Le Baron Jenney as the New York Life Insurance Company building.  It was originally a 12-story building, but like many Loop buildings, was designed with vertical expansion in mind.  It’s now 14 stories, and was named a city of Chicago landmark in 2006.

The new Kimpton hotel is expected to have slightly over 200 rooms when the conversion of the 39 South LaSalle office building into something more plush is complete.  The name of the hotel is up in the air right now.  This is Kimpton’s fifth hotel in downtown Chicago, and it’s already used its usual names: Palomar and Monaco.