Bulley & Andrews

Bulley & Andrews, LLC completes multi-phased Swissotel Chicago renovation and expansion

Chicago, Ill. (July 20, 2009) – Two decades ago, and originally built on what was once a golf course, the Swissôtel Chicago burst onto the hospitality scene. Today, the hotel, located in the heart of Chicago, recently completed a multi-phased expansion and renovation that has truly made it a state-of-the-art facility.  

Bulley & Andrews, LLC, one of Chicago’s leading general contractors, completed the renovation and interior expansion to the all glass triangular hotel.  Their involvement on the project included upgrades to all the existing 632 guest rooms and the interior buildout of a 30,000 square foot, two-level event centre which boasts a 15,000 square foot ballroom and three junior ballrooms.

The upscale hotel located at 323 East Wacker Drive, is an ideal spot that puts guests directly in the heart of the vibrant city of Chicago.  With vacant land hard to come by in Chicago, the opportunity to expand the hotel is what makes this project so distinctive.  In turn, the complexity of the renovation and expansion posed a number of challenges for the construction team.    

Renovations to 632 rooms:  strategies and obstacles

Work on the guest rooms began in December 2007.  With direction from the Swissôtel management, the Bulley & Andrews’ team started from the fifth floor and worked their way up to the forty-first floor. With a total of 36 floors, the construction team worked at a pace of renovating 10 to 15 floors at a time.  

“We had to complete the 550 room renovations in four short months,” said Chris Knapp, project manager for Bulley & Andrews, LLC. “Although we were working on multiple floors at a time, each group of floors had a schedule of just seven weeks to complete.”

The refurbishment of each room required the removal of existing furniture and carpet, the repainting of each room, installation of a new shower and vanity as well as new carpet and furniture.

The coordination of deliveries was among the many challenges that the B&A team faced.  Because of its prime location in Chicago, the hotel had a noise restraint which prohibited deliveries to the hotel before 8 a.m.  This made it difficult for delivery companies to battle the heavy Chicago daytime traffic.  Once furniture was delivered, the complex coordination process continued, as the team had only the use of the hotel’s freight elevators which are shared by food services and housekeeping.  

Overcoming several obstacles, the team completed all but 100 rooms by April 1, 2008.  Phase two of the room renovations, which included the remaining rooms, started in December 2008.  It continued through a busy December holiday season and was complete by February 2009.

Meeting and conference space doubled: tactics and challenges

Previously offering 27,000 square feet of meeting space, the Swissôtel doubled the square-footage of their meeting and conference space to now total 50,000 square feet. The expansion encompasses two floors and boasts a 15,000 square foot state-of-the-art ballroom, pre-function areas, a floor of three smaller ballrooms, a banquet kitchen, bathrooms and other support elements.  The renovation also includes 20,000 square feet of lobby and service corridors on the first and second floor.

Furthermore, as part of the renovation plan, the third and fourth floors of the hotel were renovated and converted from meeting space into guest rooms, escalating the total room count to 660.  Some of the meeting rooms on these floors remained but were refurbished for a fresh, new look.

Working on a tight schedule and in a fully operational hotel, Bulley & Andrews completed the event centre in nine short months. The new facility opened in May 2009 and is now one of the largest event venues in Chicago.  The modern facility features pillarless ballrooms, which offer unobstructed views for meeting attendees and hotel guests. It also includes state-of-the-art technology with wireless internet capabilities, 400 amp service, extensive flexibility in lighting control and fiber optic cabling.

Experienced design and construction team

A skilled and experienced design and construction team was essential to the success of the project.   A. Epstein & Sons International Inc. provided the architectural design for the project.  

“From the start, the construction team had a vested interest in working together to accomplish our goals,” said Jack Breisacher, hotel manager of Swissôtel Hotels & Resorts.  "The experience Bulley & Andrews brought to the project was invaluable.  They understood and managed the challenges associated with working amid ongoing hotel operations.” 

With a great depth of experience in the hospitality industry, Bulley & Andrews provided a strong leadership to the project.  Recently, they completed the interior renovation of the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile.  Their hospitality project portfolio also includes projects for the Ritz Carlton, Westin, Hilton and Hyatt. 

“It was a remarkable opportunity to be part of such a challenging project,” said Knapp.  “To see the transformation that the Swissôtel made from start to finish was very rewarding.”