A ceremonial groundbreaking was staged Friday afternoon for the new Marriott Springhill Suite hotel in Butler.

It is the centerpiece of the Centre City project that also will bring a new Rite Aid pharmacy and a 225-lot parking garage downtown.

Art Cordwell, the director of the city’s redevelopment authority, was thrilled to host the ceremony after leading the project for the past three years.

“It’s very exciting,” he said. “I think this is a great day for the city of Butler, and I can’t say enough about all the people that worked so hard for so long to get us here.”

The hotel will have four stories and about 80 rooms, according to Paul Dunn, the director of JS Capitol Construction.

A preliminary first floor plan also includes a swimming pool and an exercise room for guests.

Final plans of the hotel cannot be completed until surveying of the site is done. That process is expected to take a month.

Construction on the new hotel is expected to begin in January.

Work on the Rite Aid could begin in late November, while the future of the parking garage is still dependent on the city financing the structure.