Groundbreaking ceremonies were held Thursday afternoon at Fairfield Bay for the city’s new and first hotel. Paul Wellenberger, mayor of Fairfield Bay, said yesterday the city has long needed a place for visitors looking at the area as a possible retirement community.
Cobblestone Hotel and Suites will be built adjacent to the Fairfield Bay Conference Center on Lost Creek Parkway. (For more information on the hotel development, click here.)
For quite a while, the conference center had been closed for lack of funds to keep it serving the area. It had long been the been the Bay’s premier event venue for all kinds of group activities. It was completely renovated with a grant and today serves as an active community center.
One of Wellenberger’s main reasons he ran for mayor was to revitalize the center and find a company to put a hotel in the bay.
By yesterday, both campaign promises have been for filled.
A crowd of around 350 that packed the convention center welcomed several dignitaries to the groundbreaking, including State Sen. Missy Irvin and Gov. Asa Hutchinson.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson greets a visitor at yesterday’s groundbreaking for the Cobblestone Hotel & Suites in Fairfield Bay / Image via Fairfield Bay, Arkansas Facebook page / Simulated image of project when complete posted above
“This community represents the best of Arkansas,” Gov. Hutchinson told the audience. “It’s people who enjoy a high quality of life. It’s people who understand the importance of community and helping neighbors. It’s a community that understands hard work and that really is what is reflected in this gathering today that the list that the mayor had of people who contributed to this conference center and the future of this center with the hotel addition represents everybody pitching in and working hard. That is the best of Arkansas. That’s the best of Fairfield Bay.”
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