Groundwork is underway at the site of a new $25 million Marriott brand hotel, and construction is expected to begin this year on the $48 million Hagadone Hospitality Co.'s Sherman Tower project, both in downtown Coeur d'Alene.

The Marriott project, dubbed AC Hotel Coeur d'Alene, is being developed by Bozeman, Montana-based Providence Development LLC.

Parker Lange, development manager at Providence Development, says building permits have been secured for the hotel project, and construction crews are mobilized at the site.

"We'll be under construction until probably early summer of 2027. That's what we're targeting for an opening date," says Lange.

The hotel is being built on two connected parcels that make up more than a quarter of the city block at 602 E. Sherman, next to the Parkside Tower.

Originally designed as a six-story, 131-room hotel, Lange says the project has been altered, and development is moving forward with five fewer rooms for a total of 126 guest rooms.

King-size beds will be offered in about 55% of the rooms, and the remaining guest room accommodations feature two queen-size beds. The property also will feature outdoor patios with views of downtown Coeur d'Alene, a fitness center, onsite guest laundry facilities, a rooftop bar, boardroom and meeting space, and onsite underground parking.

"We're starting to dig a hole for the underground parking," Lange says. "I anticipate by summertime that we'll be at grade, and then later this year, we'll be going vertical."

The Richardson Design Partnership LLC, of Salt Lake City, is designing the hotel. Dick Anderson Construction Inc., of Missoula, Montana, is the contractor, and Lake City Engineering Inc., of Coeur d'Alene, is providing engineering services.

Separately, Hagadone Hospitality's proposed Sherman Tower expansion of the Coeur d'Alene Resort will add another lodging option in downtown Coeur d'Alene, according to permit application information on file with the city of Coeur d'Alene.

The proposed site is one block north of The Coeur d'Alene Resort, on the north side of Sherman Avenue, between First and Second streets, which is about a half-mile west of the AC Hotel Coeur d'Alene project.

As envisioned, the Sherman Tower project will involve the construction of a 15-story tower with 139 guest rooms, each with views of Lake Coeur d'Alene to the south and west. Additionally, a 6,000-square-foot restaurant with a seasonal rooftop bar, about 4,000 square feet of retail and office space, and structured parking are included in the plans.

The project design has received unanimous approval from the city of Coeur d'Alene's design review commission, according to the resort's website.

Construction is expected to begin this year, with an anticipated opening in 2027. Upon completion, the Coeur d'Alene Resort is slated to have a total of 477 guest rooms.

Spokane-based Garco Construction Inc. is listed as the contractor for the Sherman Tower project, permit application data shows.