A groundbreaking for the city’s new parking garage has tentatively been set for Oct. 19.

Mayor Tom Donaldson said he is still working out the plans for the ceremony with Thomas Construction of Grove City, the general contractor for the project.

“That’s a tentative date,” Donaldson said. “It is being coordinated between my office and Thomas Construction.”

Donaldson said Oct. 12 and 15 also have been pitched as possibilities.

The neighboring hotel project likely will have a different groundbreaking.

“I spoke with (developer) J.S. Capitol last night,” Donaldson said. “They’re still working out their plans. There’s no urgency with it.”

The 230-space garage and 76-room Marriott Springhill Suites hotel will be part of the Centre City Project at the corner of McKean and Jefferson streets.

Joe Gray with Gateway Engineers, which is handling engineering for the garage, said Thomas Construction expects to begin construction on Oct. 26.

Work on the garage will stop in the winter, then pick up again when the ground begins to thaw, Gray said.

“They don’t want to be setting steel in the winter,” he said.

Donaldson said both developers hope to get the foundations of the structures done before winter.

Donaldson said J.S. Capitol had previously hoped to get the shell of the hotel complete before winter so it could work on the interior of the building through the cold months.

“I don’t know if that can happen now,” he said. “They’re running out of time to do that.”

The mayor said he doesn’t see either project being completed before next October.

Financing agreements for both projects were finalized last month after years of planning.

The city redevelopment authority will be a 25 percent owner of the hotel, contributing a $2 million state grant to the project.

The city took out a $6.8 million bond issue to pay for the about $5 million garage and other projects.