Boylston Properties has announced plans to build a 148-room Marriott Residence Inn in Watertown.

The six-floor hotel, to be located on the former Charles River Saab site on Arsenal Street, will include a pool, fitness center and top-floor lounge and balcony along with other amenities. The building will be designed with energy-saving measures in HVAC, lighting and groundwater systems and employ sustainable construction and management practices.

Construction is expected to start late this year or early next year. The project will take approximately 14 months to complete, opening in the first quarter of 2016.

Boylston Properties will seek a Special Permit from the Town of Watertown over the next few months.

"A quality place for visitors to stay and residents to meet and enjoy is just what Watertown needs in an area that is improving by the day," William McQuillan, founder and president of Boylston Properties of Boston, said in a statement. "The Arsenal Street area of the East End of Watertown can be transformed into a more people-friendly neighborhood, a lively place where friends will gather."

In a joint venture, Boylston Properties acquired two properties in Watertown last summer, including the Arsenal Mall and the Harvard Vanguard Medical Assoc. building, from Simon Property Group Inc.

The architect for the Marriott Residence Inn is ADD Inc, in partnership with Group One Architects. Engineering and landscape design will be done by Watertown-based Vanasse Hangen Brustlin Inc.