Charleston developer Michael Bennett has picked a partner to help run the luxury hotel he is building on Marion Square.

Bennett Hospitality will work with Salamander Hotels & Resorts to operate Hotel Bennett, which is under construction on King Street and is scheduled to open in fall 2017, the companies announced Thursday.

The hotel will have 179 guest rooms and suites, a signature restaurant with views of the park, a bar and lounge, a rooftop pool with cabanas and a bar, a spa, a French patisserie and event and meeting space, according to the announcement.

“I purchased this property more than two decades ago, and the hotel is being constructed with the same classical character and quality as buildings from over a century ago,” said Bennett, the hotel’s owner and the founder of Bennett Hospitality.

He said the builders are using limestone, marble, bronze and copper to complement the city’s architecture. “Hotel Bennett will be viewed as one of the city’s enduring landmarks,” he said.

Why Salamander

Salamander was founded in 2005 by Sheila C. Johnson, who is also vice chairman of Monumental Sports, owner of the NBA’s Washington Wizards, the NHL’s Washington Capitals and the WNBA’s Washington Mystics, according to the announcement.

The company has Charleston experience at the top. Salamander President Prem Devadas led Kiawah Island Golf Resort for more than a decade and opened The Sanctuary at Kiawah Island hotel. He is a former chairman of the board of governors of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

“A luxury hotel in the best location in the best city in the world should have the best team,” Bennett said. “At the time, I was advised by then-Mayor Joe Riley to take the 100-year view with the hotel’s design and construction, and I’m following a similar strategy regarding its management.”

Johnson said her company is glad to join the project.

“We are delighted to have the rare opportunity to team with Michael Bennett and his family to operate what will become one of the finest hotels in America,” she said.

Bennett Hospitality’s management team is led by Managing Director Marty Wall, who spent nearly two decades with Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts, the announcement said.

A site with history

The hotel’s site once held the original west wing of The Citadel, South Carolina’s military college, and most recently was home to the Charleston library, according to the announcement. The Washington Light Infantry, which owns Marion Square, worked with Bennett on the project.

The park hosts events including the Charleston Wine + Food Festival, Charleston Fashion Week, the Southeastern Wildlife Exposition and the Charleston Farmers Market. Many of the hotel’s rooms will have balconies facing Marion Square and King Street.

The plans include what the announcement calls Charleston’s first classic Ladies Bar, with an etched-mirror ceiling and pink marble reclaimed from the former library for its floor, bar and tabletops.

The hotel is named for Bennett’s family, which owns the property. His father once shined shoes across from the hotel site during the Great Depression, the announcement said.

City leaders weigh in

Mayor John Tecklenburg said the hotel “will open up to Marion Square creating an extension of the public realm that will be enjoyed by our citizens and make us all proud.”

Former Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. called Bennett’s decision to work with Johnson’s company “brilliant.”

“We are thrilled that Michael Bennett is building this world-class hotel, which is incredibly important to the Charleston community,” said Helen Hill, CEO of the Charleston Area Convention & Visitors Bureau.

The announcement noted that Travel + Leisure readers ranked Charleston the top city in the world to visit in 2016.

Who is building it

The architects of record are Buck Lindsay of Lindsay Pope Brayfield Clifford & Associates in Atlanta and Chris Schmitt of Schmitt Walker Architects in Charleston. Fairfax and Sammons Architects of New York City are the design architects. Balfour Beatty Construction is the general contractor, and Design Continuum Inc. of Atlanta is the interior designer.

The hotel has joined the Preferred Hotels & Resorts Legend Collection. Its guests will get preferred reservations at Bennett Hospitality’s nearby restaurants and theater, including The Victor Social Club, Michael’s on the Alley, Vincent Chicco’s, Rue de Jean, Coast, Virginia’s on King and the Charleston Music Hall.

With businesses, restaurants and a 1,000-seat music venue, Bennett has been instrumental in the redevelopment of King Street, according to the announcement. Charleston Magazine recently named him the King of King Street in its “40 Movers and Shapers” story, the announcement said.