Chinese-themed hotel, condo complex planned

By Lisa R. Jenkins

Developers Peter Siu and See Y. Wong of Wabash Properties recently unveiled plans for Chicago’s first-ever Chinese themed hotel and condominium complex. The Imperial Court Plaza Hotel will go up on the site of a vacant lot at 2150 S. Clark St. in Chinatown. The 15-story hotel will provide 20,000 square feet of retail space and more than 150 hotel rooms and executive suites.

“The Imperial Court will be unique, in that each part of the hotel will reflect a particular period in Chinese culture,” Wong said.

Designs for the top three or four floors will be inspired by the Tang dynasty (618-781 A.D.), with the middle floors devoted to the Sung dynasty (960-1279 A.D.) and the bottom floors to the Ming Dynasty (1368 to 1644). All artwork and furniture will be custom made in China.

“Chinatown is in major need of a hotel," Wong said. "And with its location so close to McCormick Place, I expect lots of conventioneers from Hong Kong, China, and Japan to stay at the Imperial Court Plaza Hotel.”

Construction will begin this summer or fall, and Wong said the result will have “a five-star hotel feel” with “reasonable” four-star prices.

Wong started his real estate career in 1987 and in 1988 founded Richland Realty, for which he currently serves as president and managing broker. Richland predominantly serves Chinatown, Bridgeport, and McKinley Park.

Wong specializes in land acquisition, planning, and marketing and has developed numerous successful residential projects. He also is CEO of Richland Mortgage Co., which offers custom financial solutions for residential and commercial real estate. The company operates eight Chicago-area branches, is licensed in six states, and lent upward of $300 million.

Wong’s community activities include serving as vice-chairman of the Hong Kong Club of Chicago in the early 1990s. He also founded the Young China Club, a non-profit organization dedicated to facilitating networking between young professionals and entrepreneurs in various industries.

He received former Illinois Governor George Ryan’s Award for Leadership in Business and Economic Development for connecting the Illinois and Hong Kong communities. Wong also co-founded the American Metro Bank, where he served as chairman from 1997 to 1999; he currently serves on its executive board. Wong also is a managing partner of the Hotel De Supreme in Dong Guan, China.

Although Chicago's Chinatown has a long history, the Imperial Court Plaza Hotel will be a first for the community.

The first Chinese immigrants arrived in Chicago in the 1870s after other Chinese had settled in California, Oregon, and Washington. T C. Moy arrived in 1878 and is considered the city’s first Chinese immigrant. After determining Chicagoans were more accepting of the Chinese than people on the Pacific Coast, he settled here and urged his family and friends still living in China to join him. Soon, more than 80 fellow Chinese had relocated to America.

The largest influx of Chinese came in the 1950s and 1960s, after Communists took over mainland China in 1948.