VINTON, Va. – The Town of Vinton wants to build a new hotel to attract more people to its downtown area.
It’s in the early stages right now as it’s currently seeking developers who have until Friday to submit their proposals.
Town Manager Richard Peters said the hotel will sit at the entrance of downtown Vinton. He also hopes the hotel will have about 100 rooms.
The original process for the hotel started in 2015. Then, they started looking for sites.
He said the main goal of the hotel is to help support local businesses, especially with all the wedding venues, entertainment attractions and proximity to Smith Mountain Lake and Explore Park.
“We feel like there’s a lot of people passing through town doing a lot of activities here, whether it be sports or recreation or other businesses, and to have that hotel in town is important because as folks stay here and hopefully, they’ll get to venture out and spend some of their dollars in the community while they’re here,” said Peters.
A few local businesses in the Town of Vinton agreed that it would be great for the area.
“It’s more foot traffic coming down, you know people, coming to spend the night or the weekend at the hotel will come down and take a look at our restaurants. Maybe come into my store [and] visit some of the other great stores and restaurants here. So, I think it’s good,” said Patrick Patterson, owner of Pollard Street Pawn and Gun.
Additionally, Marybeth Dudley, owner of Vinton’s Professional Hairstyling and Barber, said it will help as tourists visit the area.
“I think we’ll get people from out of town out of the area with the hockey arena up the street and everything else with them, people playing hockey and doing other sports in the area. Maybe it will draw even bigger businesses and Rosie’s and other places in town,” said Dudley.
There’s no timeline for the hotel, but again the Town of Vinton is seeking proposals from developers until this Friday.
Vinton is also hoping to start the Gish Mill Project soon. It will feature Airbnb-style apartments and two restaurants.