SALEM — The work before the work has started for a four-story Hotel, retail and residential project on the southern edge of the city's downtown.

RCG, headquartered in Somerville and which also has an office on Lafayette Street in Salem, plans to build a sprawling, three-piece development at Washington and Dodge streets.

Work started earlier this month to make the Parking area along Washington Street — in front of what is now a strip of retail storefronts — ready for construction.

"This is the first phase of the work at Washington and Dodge, to Accommodate the project," Mayor Kim Driscoll said. "There are utilities working through the Parking Lot that have to be relocated to accommodate a building going on top of there."

The work at this point is entirely utility-related, according to the mayor.

"There's a drain line there, sewer line there. The high voltage cable is there," she said. "That all needs to be relocated to accommodate the building."

The project packs in a number of uses, according to Driscoll. Effectively made up of three connected parts, the building is wrapped by Washington Street as it takes a corner toward Lafayette Street.

The entire project will have first-floor retail space, with a hotel on the northernmost part and a mix of uses, including residential and office space, in the rest. Part of the new building will sit on top of the parking lot, which requires relocating the utilities underneath.

"They're talking about finishing up through the summer," Driscoll said. "I think they have a year, but they're going to try to hit the right timeline with winter."

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