McCormick Place Mega-Hotel, Rendered; Wright's Coonley House on the Cheap; More

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And now the latest from Curbed Chicago, covering everything you need to know about the city's neighborhoods and real estate...

SOUTH LOOP— Architecture firm Pelli Clarke Pelli was chosen this week to design a 1,200-room Marriott convention hotel near McCormick Place. The public didn't have the luxury (read: right) of viewing competing proposals during the bid and selection process, and so our decision-makers awarded us with a cantilevered modernist square with a domed center that together resemble ravioli.

RIVERSIDE— The "bedroom wing" of Frank Lloyd Wright's subdivided Avery Coonley House compound has a buyer under contract at an almost-unbelievable price. The 3,000-square-foot, half-acre property re-listed as a short sale in July and is set to close at or near $354K. She needs a little work, but is still a wonder.

AVONDALE— Curbed chatted with a proud Avondale homeowner who rebuilt an abandoned 3-flat into a wildly original single-family abode. The property, purchased for $5,000 through a city home acquisition program, got a $250K transformation with a corrugated metal exterior and bright greens, oranges, and reds leading the way.

LINCOLNWOOD— The infamous Purple Hotel, once ground zero for mobsters, entertainers, and swingers (not mutually exclusive), has bitten the dust. And like a phoenix from the ashes rises a "new urbanist" complex with hotel rooms, apartments, and intensive shopping. Or so that's what's been proposed and newly rendered.