A note of gratitude goes to J.S. Capitol Construction, the developer of the Centre City project that is soon to break ground.

Meeting Tuesday with city, parking authority and redevelopment authority officials, J.S. Capitol offered a solution for the financing and construction of a 225-space parking garage. The Michigan-based developer committed to acquiring the property, building the three-tiered garage and selling it to the parking authority. Centre City also will include a Marriott Springhill Suites Hotel and retail shops anchored by a Rite Aid pharmacy, all to be built by J.S. Capitol.

Speed is of the essence, particularly with the Rite Aid, currently located across Main Street, under the deadline of a lease that expires later this year. While J.S. Capitol wants to break ground as early as February, uncertainty over the parking garage threatened to unravel the rest of the deal.

City officials in attendance — two each, no more, from city council, the parking authority and redevelopment authority to avoid Sunshine Act violations — say the arrangement will be faster and cheaper because government won’t be directly involved. Government will be involved indirectly, since all construction is regulated by zoning, safety and labor standards.

Cheri Scott and Richard Schontz, the two council members in attendance, said the savings could be significant — perhaps as much as $1 million less than original cost projections.

A sale price for the finished garage will have to be negotiated, but it’s a happy circumstance for both parties if the starting point of negotiations is $1 million lower than anticipated. The city and parking authority would have to approve the developer’s proposal before an agreement would be finalized.

J.S. Capitol’s offer to build the parking garage is significant, and not just because it gets the Centre City project off the blueprints and onto the property.

It signifies the company’s firm belief that its project will turn profits, not only for J.S. Capitol but also for the city. A multistate commercial developer could easily walk away from any deal and go elsewhere, but in our case the developer upped the ante, signaling its commitment.

A company with J.S. Capitol’s experience and resources does its research, and the demographic for Butler is simply too good a deal for the developer to walk away.

If a Michigan company can be lured to a long-term, multimillion-dollar commitment to our community, perhaps we should be able to see that kind of potential in ourselves, too.