After months of site preparation, a tower crane is ready to take construction vertical for a $300-million Marriott hotel on the Sunset Strip.

The Marriott Edition - which is being developed by a joint venture between Marriott International, the Witkoff Group and New Valley - will rise from a 1.37-acre site at Sunset Boulevard and Doheny Drive.  With 148 guest rooms and 20 condominiums, the hotel is expected to become the West Coast flagship of the Edition brand.

Plans call for two mid-rise structures, designed by John Pawson and boutique hotel pioneer Ian Schrager.  A boxy 13-story building will front Sunset Boulevard, while a nine-story structure will be located on the rear of the property along Harratt Street.  Renderings portray the hotel with a series of cascading garden terraces.

Completion of the hotel is expected in the second half of 2018, at which point the Los Angeles Times reports it will command room rates between $400 and $500 per night.

A number of other boutique inns are also in develompent along the Sunset Strip, including a James Hotel at the $300-million Sunset La Cienega project.