Planning Underway for Hotel Garber

Planning Underway for Hotel Garber

September 24, 2020

Plans are underway to restore and adaptively reuse a downtown building for the creation of a twenty-six room boutique hotel in Red Cloud. Located in the historic Potter-Wright building next door to the Willa Cather Foundation’s Farmers and Merchants Bank, the hotel will be called Hotel Garber. Its namesake, Silas Garber, was a founder of Red Cloud and the prototype for Captain Forrester in Cather’s A Lost Lady.

The hotel will increase the supply of overnight accommodations available in Red Cloud, enabling visitors and event attendees to spend extended time exploring local attractions. 

The design features a spacious lounge area on the first floor, which will add life and vibrancy to downtown Red Cloud. A stairwell descending from the sidewalk will be restored for direct entry into a modern meeting space accommodating up to sixty-four guests. Memorable guest rooms will spotlight artwork featuring Red Cloud from days gone by, while the lobby area will also exhibit historic fixtures from the town's rich history.

Data compiled by the University of Nebraska Extension illustrates that Webster County receives, on average, an annual $1.3 million in local economic impact from tourists. A recent economic impact study concluded that with expansion of Red Cloud’s lodging options and other customized services and experiential opportunities, some 3,500 visitor couples from outside the local area might spend multiple days in Red Cloud, spending an average of $1,000 per couple per trip. This could mean $3.5 million of total visitor spending annually because of the hotel – which could lead to a total economic impact of nearly $6 million per year. The project will continue to diversify the local economy, creating an estimated ten new jobs and generating over $365,000 in local sales and lodging taxes during the first decade in operation. 

Hotel Garber is planned as part of a collaborative agreement for heritage tourism development between the Red Cloud Community Fund of the Nebraska Community Foundation, the City of Red Cloud, the Chamber of Commerce, and the Willa Cather Foundation. Financing is being sought through both charitable donations and equity investments. To learn more or to help support the project, please contact Executive Director, Ashley Olson, at (402) 746-2653 or aolson@willacather.org, or Red Cloud's Tourism Director, Jarrod McCartney, at jmccartney@redcloudnebraska.com. To donate online, please click here.

Naming and Recognition Opportunities for Charitable Gifts

Gifts of any and all sizes are welcome through charitable contributions made to the Willa Cather Foundation as part of our Campaign for the Future. Gifts to the campaign are tax-deductible, and all gifts designated for the hotel will support its development through the Foundation's equity investment in the project. Pledges to the campaign are payable over a 5-year period. We greatly appreciate your support and are happy to offer you the following special recognition of your gift:

$500,000

Hotel Lounge/Dining

$250,000

Hotel Lobby and Check-in

$100,000

Hotel Rooms (26 available)

$50,000

Hotel Conference Room
Hotel Bar & Breakfast Nook
Hotel Vestibule
Bookshelves in Hotel Lobby

$25,000

Hotel Manager's Office
Hotel Elevator
Hotel Check-in Desk
Hotel Catering Kitchen
Hotel Street-level Entrance to Conference Room

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