One month after filing plans for a $500-million expansion of the J.W. Marriott hotel complex at L.A. Live, sports and entertainment giant AEG will present details on the project to the Downtown Los Angeles Neighborhood Council’s Planning and Land Use Committee. The proposed development, which is being designed by global architecture firm Gensler, calls for the construction of a 38-story hotel tower at Olympic Boulevard and Georgia Street featuring 755 guest rooms and approximately 17,800 square feet of street-fronting retail space. Ancillary uses would include a fitness center, a rooftop pool, an amenity deck and multiple food-and-beverage venues. Renderings portray the J.W. Marriott expansion as a modern steel-and-glass tower, with a sloping roofline and an architectural spire which soars 539 feet above street level. The project is the latest skyline-altering development to take full advantage of the city’s decision to eliminate mandatory rooftop helipads for all high-rise buildings. Like many other developments within the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District, the tower would feature prominent digitial signage. The second component of the project calls for the construction of two floors atop the nearby Olympic West Parking Garage, creating an additional 170,000 square feet of meeting, exhibition and event space for the hotel. Although the proposed development would expand the J.W. Marriott’s operations into off-site buildings, AEG intends to link the complex through a series of pedestrian bridges. One would span Olympic Boulevard, allowing guests in the expansion tower to access hotel amenities located across the street. Two additional bridges would connect the new event space to the hotel’s existing 100,000-square-foot conference center, which adjoins the L.A. Live Regal Cinema complex. The Downtown News has reported that the project is scheduled to break ground in early 2017. When completed, the expanded J.W. Marriott would feature a total of 1,756 guest rooms and 270,000 square feet of conference space, making it one of the largest headquarters hotels in the country. This upgraded status comes as the city pushes to add new hotel stock within walking distance of the Los Angeles Convention Center, which has struggled for years to compete with regional rivals due to a shortage of exhibition space and guest rooms. Additional convention hotels in the works include a two-tower, 1,100-room complex announced last month by the Lightstone Group. The proposed $350-million expansion of the Convention Center also creates the possibility of up to two 1,000-room hotels being built on its 54-acre facility.