By GUY C. DENECHAUD

The Maine Course Hospitality Group is seeking a demolition permit to remove existing structures in downtown Hanover in preparation for the construction of the Six South Hotel Hanover on a 17,600-square-foot parcel within a block of Main Street.

The new four-story, 69-room lodging establishment with underground parking is slated for development by the Freeport, ME company; it already has been approved by the town. An application for a building permit was filed this past fall; groundbreaking was expected to take place before the winter holidays.

Last summer, those who occupied the offices in the three-story brick building on the site made plans to relocate, with the developers remaining flexible on scheduling the necessary demolition and groundbreaking for the new hotel.

The management of Maine Course Hospitality hopes to have the new boutique hotel ready to open in fall 2010. The general contractor is Opechee Construction. Based in Belmont, NH, Opechee has been the exclusive builder for all of the Maine Course Hospitality Group’s projects.

The hotel, which will be owned and operated by the Maine Course Hospitality Group, will feature a small restaurant and lounge, fitness room, business center and valet parking.

“We envision the restaurant as being a nice intimate gathering place, both for discerning local diners and for our guests to come for meals or simply to have a drink,” said Peter Anastos, of the Maine Course Hospitality Group.

As of fall, the firm had 13 locations including Rockport, MA and Gilford, NH; two of its locations opened during 2009. Maine Hospitality Group has four more in the planning and development process including one under construction in Bath, ME and Six South in Hanover.

“The hotel will feature unique luxuriously appointed rooms and baths, and the hotel will have a business center and fitness area,” said Sean Riley, chief operating officer for the firm.

“We are excited about the overall design of the project and have worked hard to make it fit into the rich heritage that is evident throughout Hanover and Dartmouth College,” Riley said. “Both the college and the town have been very helpful to this end.”