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Contact: Marty Guthmiller, Orange City Development Corp.,

712-541-1030;  guthmilm@ochealthsystem.org

ORANGE CITY DEVELOPMENT CORP. ANNOUNCES SIGNIFICANT PROJECTS

New Hampton Inn, Casey’s General Store expand community’s hospitality and services

Orange City Iowa, July 9 2013 — The Orange City Development Corporation (OCDC) announced today two significant projects designed to contribute to economic growth, residential and visitor services, and tourism for the community and northwest Iowa. 

The first project is the development and construction of a new $6.2 million Hampton Inn adjacent to the $4 million Prairie Winds Event Center that opened last summer on Highway 10 East in Orange City. The 3-story, 60-room hotel will serve the needs of visitors, businesses, and tourists to the town of 6,000 located in the northwest corner of the state. The Hampton Inn will include an indoor pool, breakfast area, and other important amenities.

“A recognized hotel brand like Hampton will perfectly complement the event center,” reported Marty Guthmiller, OCDC vice president. “The event center and hotel together will enhance the ‘destination’ aspect of our community, boosting our ability to host a variety of corporate and private events and meeting the needs of both residents and visitors.”

Hampton® is “a recognized leader in the midscale hotel segment, setting trends while building guest loyalty and satisfaction.” Currently there are over 1,800 Hampton properties in the U.S., and Hampton was named #1 Franchise in 2011 and 2012 by Entrepreneur Magazine.

“Ever since the launch of The Phoenix Project three years ago following the fire that devastated our main street,” explained Guthmiller, “we’ve been dreaming big and saying ‘a rising tide floats all boats.’ We’ve seen that rising tide happen as we built each of the three phases of the Phoenix Project: the Hawkeye Center, the Prairie Winds Event Center, and the new Performing Arts Center at Unity Christian High School.” He continued: “While this fourth phase is a little different than the boutique hotel and Dutch village originally imagined, we believe it is the very finest complement to our goals of being a true destination.”

The Hampton Inn property includes approximately two acres, and is located directly to the east of the Prairie Winds Event Center. The land was purchased by the OCDC from Deb and Clayton Korver, who had donated an adjacent parcel for the event center two years prior. A portion of the newly-acquired site – including a pond, fountain, and walking path – was  then donated by the OCDC to the City of Orange City. The remaining hotel property has been exchanged for an equity position in Prairie Winds Hotel Holdings LLC, a group of 20 local investors which will own and operate the new Hampton Inn. Managing members of the corporation – elected by the members – include Guthmiller, Steve Roesner, Doug Vogel, and Daryl Beltman, and this management group is currently finalizing the franchise for the hotel, with expected groundbreaking this fall and opening in April 2014.

The second announcement today involved the acquisition of a 44,000-square-foot site, also on Highway 10 East, by Casey’s General Stores. A current motel, the Dutch Colony Inn — on property encompassing a total of 125,000 square feet — was purchased by the OCDC, with the portion of the site subsequently sold to Casey’s for the construction of a new 4,200-square-foot store.

According to Brian Johnson, Vice President of Finance for Casey’s General Stores, Inc., the company was looking for an opportunity to expand in Orange City. “We’ve been looking for a new location for some time and are thrilled with this site,” said Johnson. “We look forward to expanding our services and meeting the needs of residents and visitors alike as part of this growing community and region.” The new Casey’s store will be more than double the size of their current Orange City store on the west end of Highway 10. “The new store will have expanded food service offerings, including made-to-order sandwiches, pizza, and of course donuts, a ‘beer cave,’ and an expanded coffee bar,” reported Johnson.

Casey’s General Stores, Inc., headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa, owns and operates over 1,730 convenience stores in 14 Midwestern states. They rank among the top 10 retailers in the nation for pizza and donut sales.

“There is no doubt that both of these projects have broad economic impact for Orange City and the region,” said Guthmiller. “They come on the heels of several years of aggressive, diverse development projects that reach across many, varied areas of business, retail, industry, culture/ entertainment, recreation, and education growth and expansion in our community, while enhancing quality of life for our residents and visitors.”

Other major projects in progress, completed, or nearing completion in Orange City include the Hawkeye Center on main street, consisting of retail space and five occupied loft condos; the Prairie Winds  Event Center; Unity Christian High School’s $5 million state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center; Northwestern College’s $15 million Learning Commons; Orange City Area Health System’s new $19 million Prairie Ridge Care Center; the purchase of Advance Pierre Foods by Premium Pet Health, with a re-opening of the plant this fall and an expected employment of 125; and new shovel-ready lots in the city’s industrial park, alongside recent new business growth by Pioneer, Pizza Ranch corporate, Quatro Composites, and a new Bomgaars store. The community has also opened new residential housing developments, and is developing a new recreation area and expanded trail systems in cooperation with neighboring Alton.

“The exciting plans involving Hampton Inn and Casey’s General Store further enhance the vibrancy of Orange City,” said Les Douma, Orange City’s Mayor. “These developments support our city’s focus on being a business-friendly, progressive, and visionary community. Indeed, Orange City’s position of being a great place to live, work, worship, and play has been strengthened.”