Ternasky, who is principal-in-charge on the project, says that the design of Hotel Solamar reflects its location as a gateway building. "In that gateway corner, we created what looks like an old warehouse building that would have been in that area," he explains to GlobeSt.com. "Around it, we built the L-shaped hotel tower, so it looks almost like we built a new building around an old building."

The old warehouse portion of the project is four stories high, while the tower is 10 stories high, which serves to "transition the Downtown skyline from the three- to four-story buildings in the Gaslamp Quarter to the seven- to 30-story buildings around Petco Park," according to the architectural firm's literature on the project. And due to its position between these two pedestrian-friendly areas of the city, Hotel Solamar has been designed to take full advantage of the heavy foot traffic. "Knowing that there is going to be a lot of people walking, we want to make sure that the ground floor will have activity on all three sides, so we tried to not make a back door for the hotel," Ternasky says. The main entry and retail space entrances will be situated on J Street, with the hotel entry and restaurant bar on Sixth Avenue, and hotel ballroom functions located on Seventh Avenue. Completion of Hotel Solamar, which is being constructed by general contractor Davis Reed Construction, is slated for fall 2005. At build-out, it will be operated by Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group of San Francisco.