MONTGOMERY, Ala. – A Cullman water park has helped reel in a new hotel and restaurant that will provide new jobs for the city.
Gov. Kay Ivey has awarded the city a $150,000 grant to provide infrastructure required for Cobblestone Hotels to construct a 63-room hotel on Main Avenue. The hotel, which will employ at least 15 people, will be located a few blocks from the city’s new WildWater water park and Heritage Park, a sports facility with multiple fields and courts.
The hotel, which includes a Wissota Chophouse restaurant, is the first Cobblestone Hotel to be built in Alabama.
“The city of Cullman and Cullman County as a whole continue to be magnets for economic development – both commercial and industrial,” Gov. Ivey said. “I salute local leaders for their diligence in making their community a better place to live, work and play. I am pleased to provide this Community Development Block Grant to support this project and the jobs that it will create.”
CDBG funds will be used to construct a turning lane along Main Avenue and a new access road to improve traffic flow. The city of Cullman has committed $30,250 for the project.
Based in Clintonville, Wis., Cobblestone Hotels has expanded to more than 165 locations in 27 states since it was founded in 2008. The Cullman hotel will be four stories and is expected to cost about $8.8 million.
The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is administering the grant from funds made available by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
“This hotel will be a welcome addition to help the city of Cullman continue to attract visitors to the area,” ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. “ADECA is pleased to join Gov. Ivey as a participant in this project.”
Gov. Ivey notified Mayor Woody Jacobs that the grant had been approved.
ADECA administers an array of programs supporting law enforcement and traffic safety, economic development, energy conservation, water resource management and recreation development.
