Placing The Finishing Touches
April 27, 2018
Hotel Madison, Shenandoah Valley Conference Center Gears Up For Opening Day
By VIC BRADSHAW
Daily News-Record 4-26-18
HARRISONBURG — The finishing-touches stage remains days away, and in some cases months.
Staff is still being brought on board ahead of its opening.
But the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center is close enough to complete that it’s thrown open its doors to invited groups this week, including to media members on Wednesday. “Keep in mind that this is still a work in progress,” Eddie Bumbaugh, the property’s public relations director, said as he showed off the 21,000-square-foot conference center. “This is going to be a very busy next couple of days and weekends to put on the finishing touches.” The building at the corner of South Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way opens to guests on Tuesday, Bumbaugh said. The first event is a small affair booked the following day, and the first conference is May 7.
The first sold-out day is May 3, as families begin arriving for graduation ceremonies at Bridgewater College and Eastern Mennonite and James Madison universities.
Bumbaugh said the building’sarchitecture was inspired by downtown Harrisonburg and JMU. The interior designers were told to work with two terms: “subtle sophistication” and “rustic elegance.”
While the hotel and conference center will open as scheduled, he said the Montpelier Restaurant & Bar is running about three months behind. Until then, hotel guests and their visitors will be served meals prepared in the conference center’s catering kitchen.
When guests enter the lobby, the hotel’s namesake is prominent at the front desk.
James Madison’s silhouette, quill in hand, and images of the Constitution and a stamp that bears his face are on its back wall.
The tour of the hotel and a few of its 230 rooms included peeks at one of the 50 three-room extended- stay suites and the Presidential Suite. The latter is more than 1,500-square-feet with a handicap-accessible bedroom with two queen beds, a king room, private baths for both bedrooms, a living/ entertainment space, a kitchen, and a guest bathroom and coat closet.
The seventh-floor suite provides views into downtown to the north, over rooftops to the Appalachian Mountains to the west, and onto JMU’s campus to the south. Amenities include a pool large enough for lap swimming, valet parking, and bell and concierge service.
“That’s a little unusual for this area,” Bumbaugh said of the concierge service, “but with the number of people we have who are at conferences or multiple-day stays with us, we want them to connect with our community — downtown, the surrounding area, the mountains, the agriculture, the vineyards, the craft beer, the restaurants, the trails, outdoor recreation.
“We hope the people who stay with us will want to come a day early, stay a day longer and come back, and we think that personal service will be good for all of us.” When it opens, the restaurant will seat about 180 people and have a bar that features local beers and wines. The food will be Southern cuisine featuring many local ingredients.
“I’ve been here a month, and what’s available in this area for farm to table, it’s an ideal place in the country for it,” said executive chef Michael Collins during a stop in the catering kitchen. “From greens to onions to pork to cattle, it’s all right here.” Room rates can vary widely based on the day of the week and the season. For example, a room for two adults on an October Friday night during the leaf-turning season runs more than $170, while a midweek stay in the middle of January is priced at $93. The property is booked for JMU’s homecoming andparents weekends. Locals can be the first to stay in the hotel, as special packages are available for Tuesday and Wednesday from $119 a night at hotelmadison.com.
Meeting Space In Demand
The conference center is more than 21,000 square feet, which Bumbaugh said is nearly three times the size of any private event space available in the central Shenandoah Valley. Up to 570 people can be seated for a banquet and up to about 1,200 for a conference in the Shenandoah Grand Ballroom.Five rooms that can be divided into 11 total spaces are available for conferences or meetings.
Local, regional and national groups have scheduled events at the center, said Bumbaugh, some booked as far out as 2021.
“What it means is the interest in holding conferences, meetings, events in the central Shenandoah Valley is very high,” he said of the future bookings. “But till now, there has not been a facility to accommodate.”
Judy Wilbur, the property’s sales and marketing director, said her focus right now is surviving the first month the hotel and conference center are open.
“We’re confident with the progress that we’ve made so far,” said Wilbur, who’s been on the job for just three weeks. “It’s not where we need to be, but every day it’s snowballing. “If we can conquer May, I have confidence in the rest of the year.”
The hotel and conference center have more than 100 employees, Bumbaugh said, and that number will rise beyond 150 when the restaurant opens.
The property has a 300-space allocation in the Mason Street parking deck for its guests.
The more than $46 million project arose from a public-private partnership.
The company responsible for the project, dpM Partners of Gaithersburg, Md., is and will own and operate the facilities. They’re built on land owned by JMU and leased to the company.
The James Madison University Foundation loaned the Harrisonburg Industrial Development Authority $11 million to pay for conference center construction. The foundation will receive that money back from new tax revenue generated by the businesses.
JMU’s Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management will have offices and classroom space in the building when classes begin next fall. Bumbaugh said more than 500 students graduated from the hospitality program last year.
Students will be able to receive on-site academic instruction and mentoring in their freshman and sophomore years and can apply for paid internships as juniors and seniors.
Hotel For Dukes
Construction crews mill through the lobby of the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center as they work on preparing the hotel for its opening on Tuesday.
Eddie Bumbaugh, director of sales and marketing for the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center, leads a tour through the lobby of the soon- to- open hotel on Wednesday.
ABOVE: The Presidential Suite of the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center offers a view of downtown Harrisonburg. TOP LEFT: Eddie Bumbaugh, director of sales and marketing for the hotel, leads a tour through the grand ballroom Wednesday. BOTTOM LEFT: Work goes into preparing a guest room at the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center for the hotel’s opening on Tuesday.
By VIC BRADSHAW
Daily News-Record 4-26-18
HARRISONBURG — The finishing-touches stage remains days away, and in some cases months.
Staff is still being brought on board ahead of its opening.
But the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center is close enough to complete that it’s thrown open its doors to invited groups this week, including to media members on Wednesday. “Keep in mind that this is still a work in progress,” Eddie Bumbaugh, the property’s public relations director, said as he showed off the 21,000-square-foot conference center. “This is going to be a very busy next couple of days and weekends to put on the finishing touches.” The building at the corner of South Main Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way opens to guests on Tuesday, Bumbaugh said. The first event is a small affair booked the following day, and the first conference is May 7.
The first sold-out day is May 3, as families begin arriving for graduation ceremonies at Bridgewater College and Eastern Mennonite and James Madison universities.
Bumbaugh said the building’sarchitecture was inspired by downtown Harrisonburg and JMU. The interior designers were told to work with two terms: “subtle sophistication” and “rustic elegance.”
While the hotel and conference center will open as scheduled, he said the Montpelier Restaurant & Bar is running about three months behind. Until then, hotel guests and their visitors will be served meals prepared in the conference center’s catering kitchen.
When guests enter the lobby, the hotel’s namesake is prominent at the front desk.
James Madison’s silhouette, quill in hand, and images of the Constitution and a stamp that bears his face are on its back wall.
The tour of the hotel and a few of its 230 rooms included peeks at one of the 50 three-room extended- stay suites and the Presidential Suite. The latter is more than 1,500-square-feet with a handicap-accessible bedroom with two queen beds, a king room, private baths for both bedrooms, a living/ entertainment space, a kitchen, and a guest bathroom and coat closet.
The seventh-floor suite provides views into downtown to the north, over rooftops to the Appalachian Mountains to the west, and onto JMU’s campus to the south. Amenities include a pool large enough for lap swimming, valet parking, and bell and concierge service.
“That’s a little unusual for this area,” Bumbaugh said of the concierge service, “but with the number of people we have who are at conferences or multiple-day stays with us, we want them to connect with our community — downtown, the surrounding area, the mountains, the agriculture, the vineyards, the craft beer, the restaurants, the trails, outdoor recreation.
“We hope the people who stay with us will want to come a day early, stay a day longer and come back, and we think that personal service will be good for all of us.” When it opens, the restaurant will seat about 180 people and have a bar that features local beers and wines. The food will be Southern cuisine featuring many local ingredients.
“I’ve been here a month, and what’s available in this area for farm to table, it’s an ideal place in the country for it,” said executive chef Michael Collins during a stop in the catering kitchen. “From greens to onions to pork to cattle, it’s all right here.” Room rates can vary widely based on the day of the week and the season. For example, a room for two adults on an October Friday night during the leaf-turning season runs more than $170, while a midweek stay in the middle of January is priced at $93. The property is booked for JMU’s homecoming andparents weekends. Locals can be the first to stay in the hotel, as special packages are available for Tuesday and Wednesday from $119 a night at hotelmadison.com.
Meeting Space In Demand
The conference center is more than 21,000 square feet, which Bumbaugh said is nearly three times the size of any private event space available in the central Shenandoah Valley. Up to 570 people can be seated for a banquet and up to about 1,200 for a conference in the Shenandoah Grand Ballroom.Five rooms that can be divided into 11 total spaces are available for conferences or meetings.
Local, regional and national groups have scheduled events at the center, said Bumbaugh, some booked as far out as 2021.
“What it means is the interest in holding conferences, meetings, events in the central Shenandoah Valley is very high,” he said of the future bookings. “But till now, there has not been a facility to accommodate.”
Judy Wilbur, the property’s sales and marketing director, said her focus right now is surviving the first month the hotel and conference center are open.
“We’re confident with the progress that we’ve made so far,” said Wilbur, who’s been on the job for just three weeks. “It’s not where we need to be, but every day it’s snowballing. “If we can conquer May, I have confidence in the rest of the year.”
The hotel and conference center have more than 100 employees, Bumbaugh said, and that number will rise beyond 150 when the restaurant opens.
The property has a 300-space allocation in the Mason Street parking deck for its guests.
The more than $46 million project arose from a public-private partnership.
The company responsible for the project, dpM Partners of Gaithersburg, Md., is and will own and operate the facilities. They’re built on land owned by JMU and leased to the company.
The James Madison University Foundation loaned the Harrisonburg Industrial Development Authority $11 million to pay for conference center construction. The foundation will receive that money back from new tax revenue generated by the businesses.
JMU’s Hart School of Hospitality, Sport and Recreation Management will have offices and classroom space in the building when classes begin next fall. Bumbaugh said more than 500 students graduated from the hospitality program last year.
Students will be able to receive on-site academic instruction and mentoring in their freshman and sophomore years and can apply for paid internships as juniors and seniors.
Hotel For Dukes
Construction crews mill through the lobby of the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center as they work on preparing the hotel for its opening on Tuesday.
Eddie Bumbaugh, director of sales and marketing for the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center, leads a tour through the lobby of the soon- to- open hotel on Wednesday.
ABOVE: The Presidential Suite of the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center offers a view of downtown Harrisonburg. TOP LEFT: Eddie Bumbaugh, director of sales and marketing for the hotel, leads a tour through the grand ballroom Wednesday. BOTTOM LEFT: Work goes into preparing a guest room at the Hotel Madison and Shenandoah Valley Conference Center for the hotel’s opening on Tuesday.
