Correction: An earlier version this story incorrectly misrepresented AC Hotel by Marriott's title.The article has been updated. The Daily Tar Heel apologizes for this error.
AC Hotel by Marriott Construction
The AC Hotel by Marriott on West Rosemary Street is set to finish construction some time in the next two weeks and is slated to open on Dec. 1.
The downtown hotel will be the first Marriott-branded modularly constructed project on the East Coast — which means factory-built guest rooms in Liverpool, PA were delivered to the construction site in Chapel Hill. Then these rooms were craned and “stacked” over a conventionally-built main level.
In a May press release, the construction process was described as ideal for an urban job site, as it cuts down on the duration of construction.
Andrew Strickland, the general manager of AC Marriott Hotel, said he thought the team has done a great job of designing the hotel to connect to the community through their feedback.
“It’s really going to connect a hotel to the community more than just being for an outside visitor,” Strickland said. “It’s going to be something the community can use more than just what you would think of as a typical hotel that someone is only going to use it if they need an overnight stay.”
The community response has been very accepting of the project so far, Strickland said. He hopes it can benefit the community by providing jobs for people in local neighborhoods, like the Northside neighborhood, rather than predominantly reaching out to Durham and Raleigh.