Chicago Tribune from Chicago, Illinois • 39

Chicago Tribune, Monday, September 22, 1986 Section 4 3 Business AU-suite hotel on city horizon By David Ibata $6 million all-suite hotel, the first of its kind attempted here, is being planned for the 222 N. A hi LaSalle St office building i i If i i i I i i 1 1 I '1H II II I Tribune photo by Em Cox Jr. Puzzles Grand Club Suites will occupy the sixth and seventh floors of the 222 N. LaSalle St office building, which received a new west-side annex and sloping glass penthouse in Its recent renovation. 1st Chicago to trim 350 jobs A spokesman for First Chicago parent of First National Bank of Chicago, confirmed a published report that the company plans to eliminate about 350 positions, out of a workforce of 14300, by the end of 1986, but he said that "no mass layoffs are planned." Spokesnan Anthony Zehnder said the positions are being eliminated bankwide and that some of the employees affected will be offered other jobs.

He said the move results from a reorganization of the company begun this year and an ordinary review of operations. He wouldn't confirm a projection, attributed to sources by Gain's Chicago Business, that more than 1,000 employees could be laid off by the end of 1987. He said First Chicago still stands by its statement in April that there wouldn't be major layoffs. 1st National VP resigns Curtis G. Anderson, 45, executive vice president and head of the financial products group at First National Bank of Chicago resigned Friday "to pursue other interests in the investment banking field," the bank said.

Anderson had been lured in January, 1984, from Citibank in New York. A spokesman said he didn't know Anderson's plans. AMC sets sites for screens AMC Entertainment the Kansas City-based movie-theater chain, said it plans to build 12-screen theater complexes in Bloomingdale, Aurora and Calumet and a 10-screen complex in Vernon Hills. The sites, which were acquired by AMC from Urban Diversified Properties of Chicago, are all near or contiguous to major shopping malls in those suburbs. AMC also said it is looking for sites for two 10-screen complexes near its existing six-screen theaters in Hoffman Estates and Naperville.

Last month, AMC announced plans for a major expansion here, but didn't disclose any sites. Tin loss may be $400 million Malaysia said it had sold at a loss most of the tin it bought between mid-1981 and early 1982 to support the metal's price. Malaysian officials didn't disclose the size of the loss, but some reports suggested it may exceed $400 million and that the country may have been left with 60,000 tons of unwanted tin after its efforts in 1981 and 1982 to corner the tin market Toyota plans 33 price hike Toyota said it will raise prices on its 1987 models by an average 3.3 percent Last year, Toyota's prices rose by about 9 percent because of the devaluation of the U.S. dollar against the Japanese yen. Toyota said the price of the 1937 Toyota Tercel will increase by 1.7 percent, to $5,898, while the Toyota Deluxe Camry's price will increase by 5.9 percent, to $10,798.

Newspaper seeks $15 million The St Louis Globe-Democrat may have to cease publication if it doesn't get $15 million in taxable industrial revenue bonds it is seeking from a Missouri agency. William Franke, chairman of Veritas which acquired the financially troubled newspaper this year, said the money is needed to buy presses and find a new home for the paper, which contracts with outside printers and leases office space. De Luxe writes in Cheque EJ De Luxe Check Printers Inc. of St. Paul, has acquired Cheque Enquiries Inc.

of Chicago. Terms weren't disclosed. Cheque Enquiries verifies new accounts for financial institutions. It had 1985 sales of $1 million. in downtown Chicago.

The Puzzles Grand Club Suites is scheduled to open in July, with 62 suites on the sixth and seventh floors of the 26-story, square-foot building. The hotel's developer, the Castle Group limited partnership, signed a 15-year lease valued at approximately $25 million for 63,000 square feet, said C. David Koontz. The name "Puzzles" is intended to convey that the facility will be more like a private club than a hotel, said Koontz, president of Dorincourt Castle's general partner. "Nobody will forget that name, either," he said.

"It's like 'Apple Computer. "Our clientele will consist of seasoned business travelers who don't want to stay in a traditional hotel, people doing business both in this 222 N. LaSalle building and in the 14 million square feet of occupied office space within two. blocks of us." John R. Lanahan, principal at the accounting firm of Laventhol Horwath, said: "The rationale is to attract the frequent corporate traveler who comes to Chicago from New York or Washington, D.C., once or twice a month and stays at the Ritz-Carlton." Laventhol assisted Dorincourt in seeking a suitable office building, along with Howard Ecker a real estate brokerage; Michael Arenson Associates, an Evanston architect; O'Hara Associates, an Oak Brook interior designer; and Robert P.

Leroy, a hotel consultant and former general manager of the Drake HoteL "It takes the business traveler out of a large hotel atmosphere and puts him in an intimate, club-type facility that provides complimentary light breakfasts and dinners, large suites and room rates that probably will be comparable to the Ritz," Lanahan said. Rates are expected to range from $165 to $700 a night, with single occupancies averaging $225, Koontz said. The suites will be 750, 1,000 or 1,200 square feet. The recently finished 222 N. LaSalle project was a joint venture of Tishman Speyer Properties and the Crown family interests.

The partners renovated the former Builder's Building and built an annex immediately west and a glass-sloped penthouse across the two structures. Suited for a hotel, the building's floors are small enough to permit rooms around its perimeter without a lot of wasted center space but large enough to accommodate, on two floors, the 50 to 70 suites Laventhol figures is the optimum for a club-type hotel, Lanahan said 'Our clientele will consist of seasoned business travelers who don want to stay in a traditional hotel, people doing business within two David Koontz, president, Dorincourt Inc. suites. There also will be a bar, library, billiards table and three 18-seat boardrooms. Every suite will have a king- or queen-size bed with down comforters and six pillows each; living room; "honor bar" stocked with snacks, liquor, soft drinks and fruit juices; two to three televisions; three telephones; and a bathroom with lavatory, shower, whirlpool tub and dressing area.

"Each guest will be assigned a steward who may have only six suites under his care," Koontz said, making it like having "your own, personal concierge." Koontz added: "If you visit Chicago frequently, you can leave with us suits, shirts, ties, toiletries and so forth. Next time, you'll be coming, just let us known when you'll arrive and well set up your room. All you'll need to bring is a briefcase." Other amenities include limousine, valet, shopping and gift-wrapping services; loaner pagers; and a 24-hour kitchen. The hotel will employ about 40, including people fluent in French, German, Italian, Japanese, Spanish and, possibly, Chinese, Koontz said. The Chicago Puzzles is to be the first of a number of properties nationwide, with the others expected to open in New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco in 1988.

"It's our goal for the next seven years to open 20 Puzzles across the U.S. and, ultimately, to go into major international trade cities, such as London, Paris and Sydney," Koontz said. Hit Uitf fif itiiiiiiitiHi The property also has strong corporate tenancy, with the affiliated firms of Henry Crown Co. and Material Service Corp. occupying 150,000 square feet totaL It overlooks the Chicago River and, at the north end of the LaSalle Street financial district, is close to the Merchandise Mart and Apparel Center.

Koontz said the building's zoning permits a hotel A guest will stop Erst at a desk in the LaSalle Street lobby. Here, he will be assigned a bellhop to carry his luggage and lead him to two elevators dedicated to the hotel. The guest then will check in at the main desk on the sixth floor, which will admit him to the suites. The set-up aids security no-strangcr should be able to wander into the hotel which Koontz said was a key consideration particularly for female business travelers. The centerpiece of Puzzles will be a "living room" with plush furniture, extensive brasswork, oak paneling and etched glass and staircases leading to a wraparound balcony and 7th-floor 1 1 iim (i! 1 1 it i I 1 1 I HtliiMintiHiiiniiHiiMii.