By Terry Miller
Two plus years have passed since the initial ceremonial groundbreaking of one of Arcadia’s largest hotel projects ever approved by council, Le Meridien by Marriott.
The five-story building on the site formerly occupied by the Santa Anita Inn was set to open in the first quarter of 2020. Apparently, there have been some delays, but progress is shaping a new Arcadia landscape. Hopefully the public will soon get a glimpse of the architect’s imaginative combination of Art Deco elements, inspired by nearby Santa Anita Park, with Modernist features.
Architecture firm Architects Orange, interior design firm Linda Snyder Associates, and Snyder Langston have been tapped as the construction team to build the Le Meridien development. Plans call for a total of 223 rooms, as well as a specialty restaurant, a ballroom, and meeting spaces. The property will provide a cosmopolitan rooftop pool and bar with full food service.
The building will incorporate glass elements that glow at night, surrounded by lush gardens against the backdrop of the San Gabriel Mountains. A 24-foot long Redwood bench anchors the lobby’s 20-foot art-masterpiece glass wall, which has been hand-carved in California. “The bench is made from one of the original Redwoods, which was growing on the property and was carefully removed and repurposed preserving a piece of the site’s heritage,” according to a press release.
Le Meridien will also present a full-service spa adjacent to the property and a world class Asian-fusion dining experience in the hotel restaurant.
The hotel will span across a 6.5-acre site. That project, including Le Meridien and mixed-used full-service condominiums and shopping, is known as One Gallup Way.
