Richard Branson’s Virgin brand has announced its first hotel location in Chicago. The long-awaited Virgin Hotels name, expected to tie in with existing Virgin travel offers such as Virgin Atlantic and Virgin America, announced October 24 that it has purchased the Old Dearborn Bank Building, a 27-storey structure and Chicago landmark.
Designed in 1928, the Art Deco building is currently used as office space, but will be converted to a hotel and reopened in 2013 as the Virgin Hotel Chicago.
Virgin said in a statement that the property “has significant historic and architectural features that will be restored and recreated” — it is expected that the hotel will boast 250 guest rooms, although further details on planned restaurants, lounges and public areas were not provided.
Further properties in the pipeline include Los Angeles, Miami, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, and London, the firm said. The Virgin Hotels brand, announced last year, is expected to offer accommodation competing with upscale lifestyle or luxury chains such as W Hotels, Andaz or InterContinental’s Hotel Indigo.