Los Angeles-based AEG (Anschutz Entertainment Group) recently announced that it is planning a new, $500 million Marriott Hotel in Downtown Los Angeles. The 755-room hotel will be an expansion of the existing JW Marriott L.A. LIVE, which opened five years ago.

Designed by Gensler, the 38-story tower will cover 60,000 sq-ft site at the northeast corner of Olympic Blvd. and Georgia Street. It is planned to offer ground-floor retail, a second floor pool deck, with signature restaurant and bar, and two levels of underground parking. The project, along with the existing JW Marriott L.A. LIVE and neighboring Ritz-Carlton, will give Downtown LA 1,756 rooms and more than 200,000 sq-ft of function space, making it the second largest hotel in California, says AEG.

The new Marriott will also share the hotel spotlight with the $1 billion, 73-story Wilshire Grand project, currently under construction a couple blocks away. This project is being developed by Korean Air Lines Co, and is and scheduled for an early 2017 opening.

AEG, which also developed STAPLES Center (home of pro basketball's Lakers and Clippers, and hockey's Kings) and the four million sq-ft L.A. LIVE, says the new Marriott is expected to create more than 3,500 construction-related jobs and more than 500 full and part time jobs when the new tower opens. The downtown area’s transformation began with STAPLES Center’s 1999 opening and accelerated with the development of the various components of the $3 billion L.A. LIVE over the past decade, most recently culminating in the 2014 opening of the Courtyard by Marriott and Residence Inn properties.

The new Marriott hotel tower will be directly connected to the existing 878-room JW Marriott L.A. LIVE and 123-room Ritz-Carlton Los Angeles hotels by means of a bridge across Olympic Blvd.  In addition to two levels of below grade parking and ground level retail space, a second floor amenity deck will include a restaurant, bar/lounge, fitness center; executive lounge and pool area with cabanas.  The gross building area of the hotel, including parking, will be around 650,000 sq-ft.

AEG intends to proceed with this project as soon as it completes the necessary arrangements with the City and Marriott. Construction is currently contemplated to begin in late 2015 or early 2016, with the new hotel rooms and facilities scheduled to open in 2018. AEG has not named a contractor as yet.