Big rehab work awaits Waukegan’s Karcher Hotel
BY DAN MORAN dmoran@stmedianetwork.com November 2, 2011 8:20PM
Waukegan Main Street executive director Violet Ricker of Waukegan removes art work from the windows of the Karcher Hotel in Waukegan. The Artspace Group has taken ownership of the hotel and is developing the Karcher Artspace Lofts. | Thomas Delany Jr.~Sun-Times Media
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Updated: January 2, 2012 1:43AM
If there are no ghosts inside the Karcher Hotel, it would not be from a lack of atmosphere.
In what was once the lobby of the 83-year-old structure, debris from one of several aborted renovation projects sits in 10-foot pyramids. The railing on a winding staircase to the mezzanine is held together with what looks like electrical wire.
On the upper levels, where eight elderly residents were killed by smoke from a Christmas Day fire in 1984, most of the walls have been cleared out, but outlines from the original hotel rooms are carved into the concrete floor.
In rooms that still feature signs of the past, nearly all of the toilets have been shattered, and chunks of tile crunch underfoot. Puddles of water soak into ancient carpets. Elevator shafts carry nothing but drafts.
But as of this week, the $12.5 million process of clearing out the past has officially begun.
“I’ve been waiting a long time (for many of you what seems like an eternity) to share this news,” Artspace Inc. Director of Property Development Heidi Kurtze said in an e-mail sent to supporters Tuesday afternoon. “The Karcher Artspace Lofts project is officially closed and will start construction (Wednesday).”
City spokesman David Motley said that was indeed the case, with the final construction permits being issued Wednesday and equipment starting to arrive on what is expected to be a 12-month project.
As word spread about Minneapolis-based Artspace closing the financial end of the deal and receiving the keys to the boarded-up building, Waukegan Main Street Executive Director Violet Ricker said she had already heard from prospective residents.
“There will be tenant information sessions in May,” Ricker said. “What we’re encouraging people to do now if they want information is go to www.artspacewaukegan.org and join the mailing list, and they’ll keep you up to date.”
The renovated Karcher is slated to contain 36 live/work units — featuring a mix of one-, two- and three-bedroom models — for artists and their families.
According to Artspace, the finished product will have “open floor plans, uninterrupted gallery walls and abundant natural light. The project will feature exposed ductwork, and simple finishes will give the units a contemporary loft style look and feel.”
The residential units will be installed on floors two through nine, while the ground floor will feature 2,400 square feet of “complementary small businesses” and non-profit organizations.
The original Karcher contained some 140 rooms, along with a restaurant and a boutique on the ground floor.
While it has been vacant since the 1984 fire, it hasn’t been completely dormant, with renovation efforts that included an attempt in the early 1990s to bring in a mix of retail shops, office space, a health club and penthouses.
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