New Bathhouse will go up in West Loop
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Rendering of the new spot. Courtesy of Gensler Design
A trendy New York-based bathhouse concept is coming to the West Loop.
Driving the news: Fulton Street Cos. and design firm Gensler recently announced the project at the long-abandoned parking lot at 1010 W. Madison St.
Details: Plans call for a 40,000-square-foot structure, in partnership with Bathhouse, which has locations in Brooklyn and is opening a spot next year in Manhattan.
- Chicago's bathhouse will have a large spa, multiple pools, a restaurant and a rooftop pool. There are no plans for retail space, instead featuring two-story concrete arches on the ground level.
The intrigue: The project is a departure from the original plan to develop a 10-story residential building with 25 condominiums on that plot.
- The plans changed due to the downturn in the condo market.
Flashback: The upscale bathhouse will reside at the epicenter of the gentrified neighborhood that Time magazine called the "Land of the Living Dead" in 1949.
- Cheap hotels, saloons and, you guessed it, bathhouses lined "Skid Row" up until the end of the 20th century.
- Those '40s-era bathhouses may not have charged $250 for a massage and scrub, though.
What's next: According to Crain's, construction should begin in early 2024 with plans to open in 2025.