Group Germain Hotels, a family-owned Canadian company, has announced it will be opening its second Alt Hotel in the Maritimes in 2017.

The four-storey, 148-room hotel will be situated near convention centres and tourist attractions in the downtown area of St. John’s, Newfoundland, on the northeast corner of Water Street and Prescott Street, overlooking the harbour.

“The announcement of the St. John’s opening brings our company one step closer to our goal of offering 20 properties to visitors across the country by 2020,” said Jean-Yves Germain, co-president of Group Germain Hotels.

Group Germain Hotels’ first Alt Hotel is located in Halifax, Nova Scotia and was opened in 2013. The new St. John’s location will be built on the grounds of the Marshall Brothers cellar, the only remaining marker of the former Marshall Brothers store that was in operation in the mid-1920s.

Old and new will come together as the outline of the cellar footprint will be incorporated into the hotel’s exterior landscaping and paving. Materials from the cellar will be excavated and displayed on the lobby wall, along with old photographs.