DEVELOPER AIMS TO BUILD MULTIPLE HOTELS, CONVENTION CENTER IN CHICAGO

CHICAGO — Chicago developer Anshoo Sethi is aiming to finance a multi-hotel complex and convention center near O'Hare International Airport, in part, through the U.S. Immigrant Investor Program, also known as EB-5. The project, proposed by Sethi and the International Regional Center Trust of Chicago (IRCTC), would combine convention center facilities and several hotels on the same site. Over the course of the 24-month construction period and first 10 years of operation, the development is projected to produce a total economic impact of $2.6 billion, according to IRCTC. The development will be financed, in part, by the federal EB-5 program, created by Congress in 1990 to stimulate the U.S. economy and which offers a path to U.S. residency for foreign investors. Plans for the project, which is named A Chicago Convention Center, include eco-friendly architecture and design and high-tech amenities.