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A new $12 million Marriott hotel in Frederick will be part of the Bethesda company's push for more environmentally friendly developments.

Plamondon Hospitality Partners of Frederick plans to open a 120-room TownePlace Suites by Marriott at the corner of Westview Drive and Executive Way next year. Construction on the 70,000-square-foot project is set to begin this week, said Peter Plamondon Jr., co-president of the company, which operates other hotels in Frederick and Hagerstown. A groundbreaking ceremony was planned for Wednesday.

Herman/Stewart Construction will oversee construction, Plamondon said. The Lanham company built Plamondon Hospitality's Residence Inn on Westview Drive, which opened in 2002.

The new hotel, with an indoor pool, fitness center and meeting space, will provide up to 30 jobs, Plamondon said.

"We've got fewer amenities, so we can offer lower rates than the regular Residence Inn," he said. Rates have not been set.

The hotel will be the first TownePlace Suites to receive a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification through the U.S. Green Building Council, he said. Among the environmentally friendly features will be energy-efficient lighting fixtures, low-flush toilets and a system to collect rainwater for the hotel's irrigation system.

There also will be a charging station that can charge two electric vehicles at a time, Plamondon said.

"We can now further accommodate government and business travelers who come here to do business at places like Fort Detrick," he said.

Marriott is the first in the hospitality industry to launch a green hotel prototype for its Courtyard brand that has been certified by the building council as part of its LEED Volume program, said Jefferson Thomas, senior design manager and LEED advocate for Marriott International, in an e-mail to The Gazette.

"Any Marriott hotel that follows these plans will earn basic LEED certification, or possibly higher," Thomas said.

Marriott has 78 hotels that are LEED certified or registered, including the Fairfield Inn & Suites at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and the Marriott Inn & Conference Center at University Maryland University College in Adelphi.

There has been more interest from travelers to stay at environmentally friendly hotels, said John J. Fieseler, executive director of the Tourism Council of Frederick County.

The new hotel "is a great barometer as the economy recovers," Fieseler said. "Plamondon and Marriott build projects they know will succeed."

Laurie M. Boyer, executive director of the Frederick County Office of Economic Development, said she is "very excited" about the new hotel, especially with its LEED design, and said the county's interest in renewable and sustainable growth makes the new hotel "a real jewel in our crown for people looking for those type of places."

Plamondon Hospitality Partners is part of The Plamondon Cos., which is the franchiser for Roy Rogers restaurants and operates 18 locations in Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia. The company also plans to open two new Roy Rogers eateries in Manassas and Front Royal, Va., Plamondon said.

The Manassas location is scheduled to open this month and the Front Royal restaurant is to open May 1.

chuntemann@gazette.net