Shenandoah to break ground on new hotels in 2014

The city of Shenandoah has not had to implement many economic development strategies recently, as businesses regularly seek the city out.

"We have a lot of development and a lot of companies coming to us and wanting to expand, so we do not do a lot of active economic development," City Administrator Greg Smith said. "We certainly do keep our eyes and ears open for the relocation of corporate offices and large retailers that may be a good fit for us."

However, that will not prevent the city from experiencing significant development growth this year, especially in hospitality. Smith said the city is 12 to 18 months away from potentially doubling its hotel rooms.

Two hotels have broken ground—including the 124-room Courtyard and 116-room Home 2 Suites—and two other hotels have submitted construction plans for review. The 166-room Holiday Inn and 120-room Staybridge Suites could both break ground this year, while other hotel developers have shown interest in Shenandoah, Smith said.

He said the city has been so successful with its economic development, Shenandoah will consider whether to add a full-time Convention & Visitors Bureau director in 2014 after former CVB Director Linda Woods retired last year.

"The question we're asking is, 'Do we need a full-time CVB director or can the management of the CVB be handled by an existing staff member?'" Smith said. "Then [the city could] potentially hire another staff level position or do more contractual-type employment when events come in."

The potential for future NCAA events within the city would have been a contributing factor to the potential hire of a CVB director, Smith said. However, the NCAA already named Shenandoah as the host city for the 2015 and 2017 Division III Swimming and Diving Championships in December.