Not every 100-year-old hotel gets a second life. The former Write Inn Hotel in Oak Park is getting one.
Housing Forward, a nonprofit serving people experiencing homelessness in west suburban Cook County, has started construction on a year-long renovation that will turn the old hotel into The Oak Inn. According to Housing Forward's announcement on Oct. 15, the building will become a permanent home for the group's Interim Housing program and its RISE Center Medical Respite program.
"For nearly six years, our Interim Housing and Medical Respite programs have helped people stabilize, recover, and take the next steps toward permanent housing," said Lynda Schueler, Housing Forward's CEO. "The Oak Inn represents more than a renovated building - it is an investment in human dignity."
What the renovation includes
When the work is done, the 27,000-square-foot building will have 62 private rooms. Each one will have its own bathroom, a kitchenette and personal storage. Twenty-two rooms will be fully ADA-accessible.
The renovation also includes:
- Expanded clinical and case management offices.
- Community gathering spaces.
- An outdoor patio.
- Modernized building systems.
That last item is the one that'll catch a contractor's eye. Modernizing the systems in a century-old building, while adding a bathroom and kitchenette to every one of 62 rooms, means a lot of new plumbing, electrical and mechanical work threaded through an old structure. Making 22 rooms fully accessible adds its own layer of layout and fixture work.
How the building got here
Housing Forward started leasing the property in September 2020, during the pandemic. Schueler said the group saw a chance to rethink the old PADS shelter model. "We recognized an opportunity to rethink the PADS shelter model by replacing rotating, temporary-style sleeping arrangements with private accommodations that promote safety, healing, and stability," she said.
In November 2023, with help from Cook County ARPA funding, Housing Forward bought the building.
Two programs run out of it. Interim Housing gives people experiencing homelessness private rooms and support services while they work toward permanent housing. The RISE Center Medical Respite, run in partnership with Cook County Health, offers short-term care for people leaving inpatient hospital stays. Housing Forward says the programs have served more than 853 people since 2020, and 83% of them stayed stably housed after leaving.
While construction is underway, the people who were staying at the property have moved to the West Cook YMCA, where Housing Forward says they still have private rooms, meals and case management.
Housing Forward thanked a long list of funders, including the Illinois Housing Development Authority, the Cook County Bureau of Economic Development, the Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity, Senate President Don Harmon, House Speaker Emanuel "Chris" Welch, the Village of Oak Park, the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency and the Jewish Council on Urban Affairs.
It also named its project partners: IFF, LBBA Architects, Sollitt, Jenner & Block and Reed Construction. The announcement did not spell out each partner's role, so it doesn't say which firm is serving as general contractor.
The new name was chosen to reflect "the strength and resilience of the people Housing Forward serves and the deep roots the 100-year-old building has in the community," according to the group.
Housing Forward was founded by local congregations and community members to provide emergency shelter. Over more than 30 years, its work has grown to support people from the start of a housing or financial crisis through to long-term stability, with the goal of a future where homelessness is "rare, brief, and non-recurring."
Why it matters for Contractors
Hotel-to-housing conversions like The Oak Inn reward contractors who are comfortable with old buildings. Every room needs a working bathroom and kitchenette, so plumbers, electricians and HVAC crews will be busy, and the 22 accessible rooms call for careful layout, fixture and finish work. Clinical and case management offices add a bit of light commercial build-out to the mix. A year-long schedule, with residents moved out for the duration, gives crews room to do the work right, but surprises behind century-old walls are part of the deal. Contractors interested in supportive housing work in the western suburbs should get to know the partners on this team, and keep an eye on Housing Forward and IHDA for the next project like it.