Parking and design approved for AC Hotel on Colorado

Parking variances and designs for a new hotel on Colorado Street were given the green light by City Council Tuesday.

The $22-million project is planned to be a six-story AC Hotel at 120 W. Colorado St., across the street from the Americana at Brand.

Owned by Marriott, the hotel will be European inspired and feature high-end rooms and meeting spaces with limited service. It will have 130 rooms, an outdoor courtyard with a pool, meeting rooms and fitness facilities.

Though officials with the developer, Vista Investments LLC, said they do not expect all of the parking spaces will be used at the same time, they are proposing 130 parking spaces in accordance with the city’s zoning code, which requires one parking spot per room.

The variance was approved for the parking format, which adds 13% of inaccessible parking. Some parking spaces will be tandem style and others will have the ability to raise one car to a higher level to accommodate another car on the bottom level, which would require valet service.

The project will also feature public open space with seating areas on the ground level of the building, adjacent to Elk Avenue. Vagabond Inn and its parking lot, which currently occupy the project’s proposed location, will be demolished to make room for the new hotel.

Staff recommended adding several conditions to the proposed project before approval, including providing direct access from the hotel lounge to the Colorado Street right-of-way for pedestrians and revising the building facade surrounding the main pedestrian entrance to the hotel to better highlight the area.

Council members said they were pleased with the hotel’s design, along with the recommended conditions, and said it will work well with Glendale’s downtown.

“It’s our downtown core and it’s really the hub of all our exciting restaurants, clubs and retail with the Americana and the Galleria,” said Councilman Ara Najarian.

Councilwoman Paula Devine said she was grateful the project included accessible open space for the public and approved of the parking arrangement.

“I am excited for this project,” said Mayor Zareh Sinanyan. “It would complement what we’re trying to accomplish in Glendale.”

He noted that in the past eight years the city has been building up its downtown, and it has pursued projects with modern designs. However, at times, the developers have disappointed, he added.

“Sometimes what’s presented to the council doesn’t match what we end up getting,” he said. “The workmanship is cheap, the products they use are cheap. I’m not saying that’s what’s going to happen here. I’m hoping it’s going to be high end, and it is going to look genuinely modern.”

Vista Investments LLC has two years to submit a plan to the city and obtain a building permit, said Roger Kiesel, the city’s senior planner.

Once completed, the hotel is expected to generate $1 million in annual transient-occupancy taxes to Glendale.

Vista Investments officials did not give an estimate for when the project would be completed.

alejandra.reyesvelarde@latimes.com

Twitter: @r_valejandra