The old Aloha Motel on Cicero Avenue is trading roadside vacancy for a very different kind of check-in. This week, BEDS Plus broke ground on a roughly $15 million overhaul of the former Ashburn motor inn, setting it up to reopen as a transitional shelter with private rooms, on-site case management and short-term stays meant to move people into permanent housing. The project marks a major expansion of the nonprofit’s shelter presence on Chicago’s southwest side.
According to the Chicago Business Journal, BEDS Plus paid about $2.8 million for the shuttered Aloha Motel and is financing a renovation that publication pegs at about $15 million. The redevelopment will create 55 units and is being branded the Cicero Avenue Transitional Shelter.
What the shelter will include
BEDS Plus says the property at 8515 S. Cicero Avenue already has 55 rooms with private bathrooms and can house up to 80 people, and the rehab will add accessibility upgrades, an elevator, on-site laundry and dedicated clinical space. The organization describes a model that pairs private rooms with 24/7 staffing and professional case management so guests can be connected to longer-term housing options.
Funding and partners
The Illinois Housing Development Authority’s Non‑Congregate Round filings show the Cicero Avenue Transitional Shelter on a list of rehab projects submitted for HOME‑ARP or similar funding, with IHDA listing BEDS Plus as the applicant for the Chicago project. Local design firm WJW Architects has been promoting a capital campaign tied to the conversion and has shared early design concepts.
How this fits citywide efforts
The Aloha Motel project is part of a wider push in Chicago and across Illinois to expand non‑congregate shelter capacity by turning motels and hotels into sites with private rooms and on-site services. Longform reporting in Chicago Magazine and local coverage from Block Club Chicago have detailed similar conversions and recent city spending aimed at improving shelter conditions and growing the stock of single-room spaces.
In its FY25 newsletter, BEDS Plus told supporters the agency purchased the building in March 2025, with construction expected to run through the fall and a grand opening targeted for Winter 2026. The same newsletter notes an IHDA award toward the project and outlines the group’s plan to keep services operating at alternate locations while the motel is under renovation, offering donors a timeline and funding snapshot of the Ashburn overhaul.
