Las Vegas-based commercial real estate and hospitality developer LaPour is advancing plans for an adaptive reuse project to convert a 19-story office tower at Arizona Center in Downtown Phoenix into a proposed 340-room JW Marriott.
The development would convert the existing office building into a hotel with approximately 15,000-square-feet of meeting and ballroom space on the 18th and 19th floors, outdoor event venues, food and beverage concepts, a resort-style pool, fitness center and Club Lounge. The pool would overlook Arizona Center’s 1.5-acre grotto.
The project is located approximately a half-block from the Phoenix Convention Center. A planned 240,000-square-foot expansion of the convention center is expected to further increase visitation and demand for hotel accommodations. Other nearby demand generators include Arizona State University’s Downtown Phoenix campus, the Phoenix Biomedical Campus, more than 450 technology companies, ASU’s new medical school and Chase Field.
“Downtown Phoenix has undergone a transformation in the past few years since we last developed the AC hotel next door at Arizona Center,” CEO and founder Jeff LaPour said in a statement. “The market has reached a pivotal moment with population growth, significant new multifamily investment, convention activity and tourism continue to accelerate, yet the market remains underserved when it comes to luxury hospitality.”
According to LaPour, the project’s location and proposed brand were factors in the development plans. In addition, he noted the existing office building has several characteristics that are well suited to a hotel conversion, including 13-foot floor-to-floor heights, expansive glass with city and mountain views, oversized guest room layouts and floor plates designed for the proposed hotel configuration.