A short and practical synthesis of the PDE4 inhibitor K-34 (1) was developed. This synthesis was achieved in four steps and with a 58% overall yield. The unique spiro acetal was created with exceptionally high yield by utilizing the neighbor carboxylicacid assistance. This synthesis also features efficient ketone construction with 4-pyridinylmethyl anion 9 and ester 18, in which overreaction should