It is the most expensive project ever undertaken by the Arkansas Department of Parks and Tourism, but the state believes the new Mount Magazine State Park Lodge will be a big moneymaker.
It is been 35 years since the state’s highest point had an indoor retreat. That is when the U.S. Forest Service’s 26-room lodge burned to the ground.
The new lodge, a nearly $33 million facility with 13 additional cabins, is scheduled to open on May 1. It features 60 guest rooms, an indoor pool, a restaurant and conference room facilities.
Construction on the project started a couple years ago, and it is the fifth largest ongoing project in the state. However, a bond issue is taking care of the cost, which the Parks and Tourism Department will pay back with state park revenue.
The room rates in the lodge range from $79 in the winter to as much as $200 for a summertime suite.
In other business news, the president and CEO of the Greater Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce, Paul Harvel, will be the next head of the state’s chamber of commerce.
The Arkansas State Chamber of Commerce sent out an e-mail naming Harvel as its successor for Ron Russell, who announced his retirement last month. Harvel had led the Little Rock’s chamber for 21 years.
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