Groundbreaking held for new Hobart hotel

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  • Photo by Pauletta Haworth/Hobart Democrat-Chief A groundbreaking was held Nov. 6 near the site of a new Red Lion Hotels Corp. hotel named GuestHouse. The hotel will be built on Highway 183 inside the Hobart city limits.
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HOBART – A new 60-room Hobart hotel is scheduled to open in early September 2021, which will give the city more hospitality space for large-scale sports and community events.

GuestHouse, a brand of Red Lion Hotels, will offer 20 extended stay rooms, 20 rooms with two queen-size beds and 20 rooms with king-size beds. GuestHouse will be the largest hospitality facility in Hobart. Currently, the city has one motel and a bed-and-breakfast.

Hobart Chamber of Commerce Director Nancy Ledford said the new hotel will be located across from the city’s updated softball complex, which plays host to several large tournaments each year. In addition, Hobart hosts multiple wrestling tournaments which typically require participants and their families to stay overnight in Hobart or surrounding communities.

“I just think it’s an awfully big plus for our city,” Ledford said. “It’s going to be great to welcome more visitors to our town.”

Hobart is home to the General Tommy Franks Leadership Institute and Museum, which is a 9,500 square-foot world-class facility that includes a gift shop, galleries with memorabilia and artifacts from Franks’ personal collections, traveling exhibit and meeting facilities.

Cultural items from around the world, unique military equipment and one-of-a-kind historical photographs are highlights of the museum.

Franks was the U.S. general who led the fight against the Taliban in Afghanistan in response to the September 11, 2001, attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. He also oversaw the 2003 invasion of Iraq and the overthrow of Saddam Hussein.

A groundbreaking for the new hotel was held Friday, Nov. 6 with community and city leaders attending.

The hotel will employ about 15 employees when it opens next year, Ledford said.

GuestHouse will also bring more money into the city coffers with the sales and hotel/motel taxes. Hobart has a 5% hotel/motel tax and a 4% city sales tax.

Morgan Mullenix, public relations manager for Red Lion Hotel Corporation, wrote in an email that the company is finalizing its agreement with the owner of the hotel property. She also wrote in a separate email that additional questions could not be answered until the pact is signed.

The hotel isn’t the only good news for Hobart’s economic development. Todd Hancock, president of the Hobart chamber, said the Kiowa Tribe intends to build a new casino at the intersection of Highway 183 and Highway 9. Tribal representatives could not be reached for comment about the details. In addition, new restaurant and truck stop are planned for the same area as the casino and hotel, Hobart City Manager Ashley Slaughterback said.

“The City of Hobart along with our economic developer, Terry Heilig, have been working on another project. We want to get a travel center/truck stop on the corner of Highway 183 and Highway 9. There is a great need for this with the increasing load of travel up and down Highway 183,” she said. “We are currently in the early stages of this project. We thought the travel center would be the first to kick off, however, plans have changed a bit. We hope to see that happen in the near future.

Hancock, who also owns the Hobart newspaper and tag agency, said this type of economic development will help replace the SKF manufacturing firm that left town three years ago and eliminated 200 jobs. The company had been in Hobart since 1978.

Kiowa tribal officials have approved funding for the new casino, but the tribe is still dealing with the federal government, the chamber president said.

“We’re really excited about our prospects of having a Kiowa casino, the new hotel and a restaurant to accommodate the hotel,” Hancock said. “It will create more jobs and tax revenue for Hobart. A lot of people have worked very hard to have that area ready with utilities.”

Slaughterback said the city council and the Hobart Economic Development Authority gave land to the Kiowa tribe for the casino. The trust land documents are still awaiting signatures from government officials in Washington, D.C.

“We are hoping to see that project move forward in the near future,” Slaughterback said. “Hobart is seeing a positive and much-needed uptick in economic growth.”