Viceroy Hotel (photo by Lee Bey)

The former Viceroy Hotel is expected to take a step closer to protected landmark status today.

The city’s Commission on Chicago Landmarks is scheduled to vote whether to recommend the city council grant‚ landmark status to the vacant six-story Art Deco hotel at 1519 W. Warren Blvd.‚  In addition, the commission will also vote on recommending the Viceroy—originally known as the Union Park Hotel—to the Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council for a possible listing on the National Register of Historic Places, according to the meeting’s agenda.

The two designations would make the 81-year-old building eligible for incentives that would help Heartland Housing and nearby First Baptist Congregational Church’s efforts to redevelop the property into a 90-unit, LEED-certified development for the homeless and unemployed.

Hotel Viceroy detail (photo by Lee Bey)

The city’s landmarks commission is also expected to recommend the West Argyle Historic District for inclusion on the National Register. The North Side historic district—bounded by Sheridan, Ainslie, Broadway and Winona—included 73 apartment buildings and homes built between 1898 and 1938. The Illinois Historic Sites Advisory Council is slated to meet March 5.