LOGAN SQUARE — A single-room occupancy hotel has reopened inside a historical Logan Square building after a gut rehab that took about five years.
The Logan Square SRO hotel, 2001 N. California Ave. opened under new ownership in April and has been consistently full since, owner and manager Luke Blahnik said.
The hotel has 28 single-occupancy rooms with queen and twin beds and 20 bathrooms, some of which are shared and across the hall from the rooms. Each fully furnished room includes a sink, mini-fridge, microwave, smart TV and work station. The rooms are designed for short-term stays, and free laundry is available in the basement.
“As a real estate broker, I see the need for short-term housing,” Blahnik said. “We wanted to give something to the neighborhood where family members and friends could stay when they come to town.”
While the neighborhood has bed and breakfasts and a plethora of Airbnb offerings, there are few hotels and short-term living options. There is another SRO apartment building in Logan Square at 2611 N. Sawyer Ave. run by Full Circle Communities.
Since reopening, the upscale Logan Square SRO hotel has attracted flight attendants, health care workers, people who are visiting family and people transitioning between housing, Blahnik said.
People often book the rooms for one to three months, and many have extended their stays, Blahnik said. The hotel requires a minimum stay of three nights.
“We tried to make it comfortable and clean, and it is just outrageously expensive to fix a building up right now,” Blahnik said. “Our rates are a product of the market rate and how unbelievably costly is it to do a rehab.”
The hotel rooms are $1,500 a month for the smaller rooms and $2,100-$2,200 a month for the larger rooms — or $50 a night and up to $70 a night, respectively. The rates are comparable to Logan Square rooms listed on Airbnb, which range from $70-$100 and up per night, according to the room rental website.
The building, which Blahnik bought in 2019, was an SRO apartment complex for almost 20 years under Zap Management and was built in 1984, according to Google Maps and the property sale listing.
The ground floor of the building was home to Los Artista Food and Liquors, which closed in 2020 after almost 20 years in business.
When Blahnik, also the co-owner of Avondale Bowl, took over the Logan Square building, it was in desperate need of repair, and the rooms were infested with bugs, he said. Blahnik decided to keep the concept for the property but gut the interior and rehab all the rooms and staircases.
Sixteen bathrooms were added in the rehab. Previously, there were only four bathrooms for the three-story SRO apartment complex, Blahnik said.
A cafe and bar is planned for the first floor of the building, with a patio in the back, Blahnik said. The yet-to-be-named cafe is under construction and will open this year. It will serve food and drinks in the mornings and afternoons and canned beer from local businesses at night, and it will feature local comedy acts, DJ nights and other events, Blahnik said.
“Hopefully it can be like that third place for the community,” he said.
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