Irvine, California-based contractor R.D. Olson kicked off construction of a $60 million AC Hotel by Marriott in Pasadena, California, the company announced June 6 in a news release shared with Construction Dive. 

Plans for the 100,000-square-foot, 194-room facility include a rooftop bar and lounge with views of the San Gabriel Mountains in the nearby Angeles National Forest. That area will be open to the public via a dedicated elevator, while hotel guests will be able to access a private elevator bank to get to their rooms, according to the release. 

The six-story infill project on Colorado Boulevard will rise from an existing parking lot, where design accommodations were made to preserve existing old growth trees. 

Marriott describes its AC Hotels as “thoughtfully designed” destinations. Mixed-use attributes include 5,000 square feet of leasable space on the first floor and event space. Interior design elements include wood surfaces, fireplaces, water features and large format windows. Rooms will range from singles to penthouse suites on the sixth floor.

The project is being developed by Welcome Group, with structure engineering from Saiful Bouquet, both of Los Angeles. San Francisco-based AXIX/GFA served as architect, with interior design by Denver-based Wild Muse. 

The groundbreaking comes during a time when office and hotel planning has softened, dragging down the rest of the nonresidential market with it. That said, the sector enjoyed a robust first quarter in 2023 as a recovery in travel demand coming out of the pandemic led to a reinvigorated pipeline of projects.  

The build will be R.D. Olson’s fourth AC Hotel by Marriott, with previous projects completed in Maui, Hawaii, Los Angeles and El Segundo, California, according to the release.