WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS, W.Va. (WVVA) - In Greenbrier County, entrepreneurs are taking something old and putting it to a new use; as the former White Sulphur Springs High School is being converted into a hotel, adding a new member to the business landscape in the community.
The Schoolhouse Hotel is one of several small businesses expected to open in White Sulphur Springs.
It is set to house a new restaurant, in addition to boasting thirty guest rooms and an event space.
Cindy Bennett, the hotel's operations manager, is a White Sulphur Springs native. She said she is thrilled to be a part of the business boom in her hometown.
"Now to be a part of everything going on here it is just so exciting it's hard to even put into words what it means for the residents of the town," said Bennett.
Lloyd Haynes, the City Manager of White Sulphur Springs, said more than a dozen new businesses have opened in the town in the last year and more are expected in the coming months, adding it's a complete turnaround from the devastation left by the 2016 floods.
"That was the time that things were the lowest in our city and to see things coming up now and be prospering and growing, like we are it means the world to us," said Haynes.
The Ace Hardware in White Sulphur Springs, is one of the most recent businesses to open in the town, as it opened in October.
Rhonda Shay, the manager of the store, is excited to see more businesses coming to town.
"It's just exciting exciting to see this little town come back to life after it's just been very quiet, I guess if you want to put it that way," said Shay. "But the energy, the whole flow of just the customers and everything, they're just excited."
More businesses means more jobs for that community.
The Schoolhouse Hotel alone is expecting to employ between 40 and 50 people.
The new hotel is expected to open in December but there's also a brewery and concert venue on track to open in White Sulphur Springs this summer.
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