Alhambra Hotel
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Alhambra, California - Entitled
The proposed complex is located on a prominent urban thoroughfare and contiguous an existing hotel and a restaurant. The site layout celebrates the intersection of Commonwealth Ave and Elm St by creating an entry plaza that stretches along the main avenue with an outdoor seating area and a landscaped pedestrian community area incorporating water features and shaded by an undulating decorative trellis. There is a clear separation between the vehicular and pedestrian circulation.
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To minimize the traffic impact, the access to the proposed complex shares the existing curb cut in Commonwealth that currently serves the parking of the existing restaurant and hotel. From the entry driveway the vehicles (cars, taxis and buses) can access to the handicapped parking, loading areas, hotel drop-off and the proposed parking garage. The proposed traffic can exit to Elm Street and from there be distributed to local streets, alleviating the traffic impact to Fremont Ave. The pedestrian access is provided through the entry plaza facing Commonwealth towards the cafe and hotel lobby. From the parking garage located at the rear of the site, pedestrians will access the buildings through marked crosswalk at paved low-traffic areas.
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The Complex ground floor is dedicated to a commercial cafe and the rest to the hotel operations, including a small number of flexible meeting rooms for hotel guests. The upper levels are dedicated to 134 hotel rooms, including 115 Standard rooms, 9 Junior Suites, 9 Deluxe Suites and a Presidential Suite with an exclusive terrace garden. There are two levels of covered parking and one level of roof parking, providing 194 parking spaces while only 171 are required by Zoning Code.
The Complex's architecture is articulated by creating three interconnected buildings decreasing in height from 68 feet to 42 feet with an intermediate building height of 53 feet. Addressing sustainable principles the project is proposing solar panels in the highest building and the use of recyclable materials through the structure and finishes.