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Historic Pioneer Square building now a hotel

The Marriott Hotel opened in the 106-year-old Alaska Building, a historic building recognized for its significance in the Pioneer Square Preservation District.  Alterations to the building were reviewed by the Preservation Board, which included keeping the original windows and developing a creative solution for seismic upgrades.  To read more about the history of the building and its architectural significance, visit our Historic Preservation webpage on the Alaska Building: http://web1.seattle.gov/dpd/historicalsite/QueryResult.aspx?ID=248910891 .  To read more about the hotel, read the article below from the Daily Journal of Commerce.

June 23, 2010

Marriott hotel opens in Pioneer Square

By JOURNAL STAFF

Marriott has opened the Courtyard by Marriott Seattle Downtown/Pioneer Square. The 262-room hotel is in the 106-year-old Alaska Building at 612 Second Ave.

To accommodate a hotel, the building underwent a $54 million renovation. The seismic upgrade involved putting a new brace-frame structure in the crook of the L-shaped tower. The brace frame is connected by drag struts at all 15 floors of the building.

Twenty-six of the rooms are designed for guests staying 30 nights or longer, which might include people working on long-term projects or those relocating to the city. Extended-stay rooms have kitchens and sleeper sofas.

Marriott’s website lists the hotel’s rack rate at $189.

The hotel also has a restaurant and bar called The Bistro, a pool/fitness center, 4,600 square feet of meeting space in nine rooms, a business library and lobby. Guests can use a 52-inch touchscreen in the lobby to find maps, weather, news and local information.

The renovation was built by Opus Northwest Contractors, with Graham Contracting in charge of the seismic work.

Clark Design Group was the architect-of-record for the exterior, shell and core, and adaptive reuse. Degen & Degen was the interiors architect and architect-of-record for the restaurant.

The project’s original owner was 618 Second Avenue LP, which was made up of Kauri, Aerial Development, American Life and other parties. It is now owned by 618 Master Tenant LLC.

The Alaska Building was originally designed by architects Eames and Young, and housed a bank that served gold prospectors who were flocking to Seattle.

Marriott plans to hold a grand opening for the hotel next month.

Just a block away, Spokane developer Rob Brewster in 2008 renovated the historic Arctic Building into the upscale Arctic Club Hotel, with 120 rooms. That renovation cost $30 million.