A long-dormant hotel development in downtown Skokie may soon be gaining momentum, as officials announce a Chicago-based developer has risen to the top of interested parties looking to take on the deadlocked project.
Of the eight to 10 developers to express interest in the site, located at 4930 Oakton Street, only Murphy Development Group has taken “the bull by the horn,” village attorney Rodney Lewis said, and submitted a formal design plan.
“The Murphy Group decided they really wanted to take the lead and be the first to come to us with a proposal,” Lewis told Skokie trustees at their Oct. 5 Board meeting.
“They came and met with the village and laid out some ideas, preliminary ideas…At this point in time, they’re not the chosen developer, so I hope I didn’t say that prematurely, but they are the ones that are going to lead in terms of putting together the concrete proposal.”
Although the group is compiling final numbers for village staff on expected total costs for completion, Murphy Development would not be able to take on the project until first receiving the village’s signoff, Lewis clarified.
Further construction on the site has been in a stalemate since 2023, after general contractor Russell Construction sued the hotel’s developer and owner E&M Strategic Development over allegedly failing to pay millions of dollars in associated project costs to build the planned Homewood Suites by Hilton hotel.
The project’s lender, X-Caliber Capital, later sued E&M Strategic Development in February 2025, alleging that the group defaulted on their construction loan due to cost overruns, according to the village’s website
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.The stalled development has remained in foreclosure since, with an arbitration panel hearing held last month for all lienholders involved, Lewis previously confirmed to the Board.
Lewis said Monday that the village was originally named as a defendant in the suit, but its legal counsel was able to convince a judge to absolve the village of responsibility and direct involvement in the pending litigation.
After the September hearing, which asked both Russell Construction and E&M to submit a joint status report, the arbitration panel ruled they would decide Oct. 23 as to whether or not they will allow a temporary stay on making a legal decision or reschedule the arbitration for a future date, according to Lewis.
“We expect that the arbitration panel is going to extend the stay and continue to give people time to try to work this out and develop something that’s going to be beneficial for all involved,” Lewis told the Board Oct. 5
“What the village and its team has been doing, is trying to make sure that not only are we proposing or asking for proposals from potential developers who can complete the project, but also for the lien holders to discount what they’re looking for…to make it more attractive for a developer to come in.”
Village Manager John Lockerby added that Murphy Development has previously worked in Skokie, serving as a developer on a property just down the street from the abandoned hotel – Highpoint at 8000 North – a 12-story luxury apartment complex located at 8000 Lincoln Avenue.
“[That project] was in a similar situation, where it needed someone to come in and complete the development,” Lewis said.
In response to a question posed by Trustee Kimani Levy as to whether Murphy Development is pitching a continuation of the hotel concept originally intended for the site, Lewis said that as of now, it is “100% the hotel concept. That is their intention, to move forward in that capacity.”
Skokie Mayor Ann Tennes said the Board will continue to provide regular status updates to residents on the hotel, with the next update coming sometime before the end of the calendar year.
While Tennes couldn’t name a specific date, she clarified that it will likely depend on the results of the Oct. 23 arbitration decision.