Gary Corsair
Staff Writer
The time is right to open Clay County’s first nationally-known, full-service hotel, specifically a 65-room boutique lodging at Chatuge Shores Golf Course.
That’s the finding of Key Advisors, Inc., an Atlanta-based consulting firm with international clients that specializes in development, management and market strategy related to the hospitality industry.
Support for a hotel is expected to arrive next week in the form of a $75,000 grant from Mountain BizWorks, an Asheville-based nonprofit organization that connects entrepreneurs with successful business owners.
Application for the grant was submitted by the Clay County Rural Development Authority, which owns the golf course and 91 acres it sits on.
The grant would indicate that the planets may finally be aligning for a project that’s been discussed for at least 10 years. This time, the buzz is more than talk.
“If we get the grant there’s a strong possibility a hotel will happen,” said CCRDA Board Chairman Steve Hindsman.
A reorganized CCRDA board of directors appear to have all their ducks in a row.
The ducks began lining up seven years ago when Hindsman accepted an invitation from CCRDA Chairman Richard Kelley to join the board of directors and assume the role of hotel project manager.
The first order of business was obvious, making the golf course profitable. Who would invest millions to build a hotel at a rundown, money-losing golf course in rural North Carolina? No one.
Paying off $50,000 owed and getting the golf course into the black eliminates a huge hurdle to attracting potential investors.
“The course was in danger of closing. Nobody would have bet a nickel that anyone could turn that place around,” Hindsman said. “It took five years, but we did it. It took five years to get the golf course fiscally sound. It’s doing very well now.”
Not coincidentally, the turnaround began when Bill Rinaldo arrived as golf pro. Chatuge Shores Golf Course’s 130 members make sure the momentum continues.
“Members were a little nervous the first few years. They put up with a lot of inconvienence,” Rinaldo recalled. “I kept reassuring them that the board was unanimous that the basic golf course would remain the same if a hotel came and that they would continue to be able to afford to play here. They’re a great bunch of people. This is a blue-collar golf course. This is Clay County residents’ golf course and it’s going to stay that way.”
As Rinaldo worked with a consultant to improve the course, the local golfing community responded. Play has increased (16,603 played there in fiscal year 2021) and course improvements continue. In fact, drainage will be improved on the 15th and 17th greens in late May or early June.
“It’s getting better all the time,” Hindsman said. “It’s at a point where we could use it as an asset for economic development.”
Rinaldo heartily agrees, “Our heyday is ahead of us.”
That’s very good news for Clay County. According to the Key Advisors’ study, “Tourism remains a key component to the county; however, bed tax collections are minimal due to the lack of any quality hotel product. Hotel/Motel tax generated in Clay County was approximately $21,000 in 2017. By comparison, Graham County, the least populated county in the SWC reported a Hotel/Motel tax of $258,000 in 2017 and nearly $400,000 in 2021.”
The opening of an upscale boutique hotel would be a win/win for Clay County, which stands to gain significant tax revenue without spending a dime on the $18-$20 million Chatuge Shore Golf Course project.
“The county government and tax paying citizens have no liability or requirement to fund the activities of the CCRDA,” Hindsman said. “We must report to the North Carolina Local Government Commission and they must approve any major debt being entertained prior to it becoming a reality.”
A $75,000 grant from Mountain BizWorks would be one of the final pieces of a puzzle RDA members have been piecing together for seven years.
“To this point the RDA has done all they can do to make this happen,” Hindsman said.
“All they can do” includes researching funding opportunities. Investors will be courted since the CCRDA is solely funded by revenue from the golf course, most of which was spent on a law firm, an updated marketing study and the Key Advisors market and financial analysis report.
North Carolina Senate Bill 369, which created rural development authorities in Clay, Cherokee, Graham, Jackson, Macon and Swain counties, empowers RDAs to invest reserve funds, issue bonds, borrow money and accept federal grants. The stated purpose of Senate Bill 369 is to spark “economic development and to provide recreational activities.”
“We can borrow money for capital investments for a hotel but we can’t operate it,” Hindsman said. “North Carolina public entities cannot be in the hotel business, but they can provide incentives.”
Hindsman is confident investors will open their wallets when they discover all that Clay County has to offer.
Enticements include a spectacular location. The proposed hotel site (where the clubhouse is) would have a direct view of beautiful, 7,000-acre Lake Chatuge. The Key Advisors report suggested that “water access with a small beach/dock and water sports equipment such as jet skis, paddleboards, kayaks and pontoon boats” would draw vacationers.
Increased interest in golf is another consideration. Golfers from 22 states play Chatuge Shores annually and the number of rounds played has risen. Nationally, there are 24.8 million on-course golfers and the National Golf Foundation reported an increase of 500,000 golfers from 2019 to 2020, the largest net increase in 17 years.
The area east of the golf course – approximately 200 acres – could also enhance a Chatuge Shores Golf Course hotel. The land is owned by the TVA and is earmarked as a low-impact area which could support multiple trails.
Finally, commercial developers have access to a number of federal government programs (including Opportunity Zone) and New Market tax credits because Clay County is designated an “at-risk” county within the Appalachian Mountain Region.
All things considered, Hindsman and fellow CCRDA board members are confident a 65-room boutique hotel will be built at Chatuge Shores Golf Course within two years.
“The earliest the investors would be looking at the property would be June 2023. Then it takes about 12 months to build a hotel,” Hindsman said.
Before that, public opinion will be sought. “The RDA expects to have a public hearing,” Hindsman said.