City officials and developers today celebrated the long-anticipated garage and hotel project that business owners see as a catalyst for growth and tourism in Butler.

“It’s a new day and a new era in Butler,” said Mayor Tom Donaldson at this morning’s groundbreaking ceremony at the corner of East Jefferson and South McKean streets.

“We’re planting the seeds ... to start the ‘good old days’ for young people in Butler,” Donaldson said.

The event is the beginning of the end for two closely-tied projects — a 230-space parking garage and a 76-suite Marriott Springhill Suites hotel — that represent more than $12 million in economic investment.

Butler officials approved a bond sale for the garage project with its $3.975 million price tag this month. Grove City-based Thomas Construction, which won the bid for the project, is expected to begin construction next week.

It is unknown when the garage will be completed.

The hotel project, with a price tag of about $8.2 million, is expected to open sometime in late 2016, said Richard Goodrum, chief operating officer of the Paradise Hotel Group, after an expected construction time of 10 to 12 months.

The facility will offer about 600 square feet of meeting space, a fitness center, indoor pool, and “upscale, modern concept” design, Goodrum said.