Business leaders gathered in Rhinelander Monday to celebrate the groundbreaking of a new hotel.
The Holiday Inn Express & Suites will offer 99 rooms at its location just off Highway 17 near the Rennes Health and Rehab Center.
Construction is just getting underway, but it’s expected to be complete by next July, in time for peak tourism season.
“We know, having built businesses here and raised families here, we’ve always needed some improvement in our temporary housing called hotels,” says Tim Thorsen, an investor with the Hodag Hospitality Group. “We hope to be able to be proud to bring in, whether it’s a future employee interviewing in the area or it’s someone staying over at the dome, or the ice area or in town, that we can have them stay at a facility that Rhinelander can be proud of.”
Rhinelander Mayor Kris Hanus says the development is a promising sign for the city.
“This is the first hotel in about 20-plus years to be erected in our great city,” he says. “When this is completed in roughly nine months, this will be a great asset to the hospitality industry, the school district, and anyone else who wants to come up here to play and enjoy our beautiful city in the Northwoods.”
A new hotel might not be all that’s in store for Rhinelander.
Thorsen says he envisions a bar and restaurant opening near the hotel, and several new businesses along the stretch of highway.
He says he hopes the area becomes Rhinelander’s north business commercial center.
