Preliminary work on the Hyatt Place hotel coming to Thomas Street in the eastern edge of downtown Athens begins within a matter of days, as demolition work gets under way on the old Square One Fish Co. restaurant building, the contractor and local engineer working on the project said Thursday.

Tommy Goodyear, project manager for Augusta-based R.W. Allen, contractor for the Hyatt Place work, and Charlie Armentrout of local engineering firm Armentrout Matheny Thurmond, which is working with Wakefield Beasley, the metropolitan Atlanta-based architect for the downtown hotel, met with representatives of the Athens-Clarke County Planning Department and other county government departments Thursday for a review of plans for the hotel’s foundation.

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