The Roughrider Hotel will now have more money to use towards equipment.
The North Dakota Department of Commerce, along with the Roosevelt Custer Regional Development Council, has given the City of Medora a $435,000 grant.
The money will be used to purchase furniture, fixtures and equipment for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation's Rough Rider Hotel expansion project, according to a press release.
The hotel closed it's doors in early September and has since undergone construction and renovations.
The first part of the remodeling, slated to last until June 2009, will include renovating the existing hotel rooms, dining room and bar. After the first part of the renovations are complete, the hotel will re-open for guests. The 50-room expansion should be completed by June 2010.
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The two-story, 8,500 square feet building, which was originally built in 1965, will be three stories and approximately 37,500 square feet after the remodeling is complete.
The approximate cost for the renovations will cost approximately $12.5 million.
Doug Ellison, mayor of Medora, said the grant was signed off on by the city last week.
"The city is just an intermediary for the grant that the foundation had applied for," Ellison said. "The monies need to revolve through the city."
Ellison said the city set up an account for the money, and the foundation can ask for any amount of money they need from the city.
"The Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation hopes to make Medora a year-round tourist destination and convention center instead of a tourist attraction," said Ken Davis, community development coordinator for the Roosevelt Custer. "That requires expanding the existing hotel and creating a convention center to attract both businesses and families during the winter months."
