(9/27)  The new $40 million, 250 plus-room Wyndham Gettysburg hotel and conference facility opened its doors Sept. 8, the second hotel completed at the site which will ultimately include four hotels.

The new upscale hotel joins the 152-room Courtyard by Marriott officially opened in February, and the Gettysburg 8 Theater, which opened in April. Planned in the near future are two more hotels, with work on one of them slated to begin later this year, two restaurants, presently under construction, and a shopping area.

Robert J. Monahan Jr., principal and general partner of Gateway Gettysburg, pointed out the patriotic theme of the new hotel at the Sept. 6 media preview, complete with Civil War prints and the elements and colors of the presidential seal used throughout the hotel decor.

Monahan described the Wyndham as "a hotel that has been carefully crafted" and "reflects the action (Battle of Gettysburg) that took place here." The hotel, he said, "gives you a feel for the area."

Gettysburg Commissioner Caroline S. Smith, also attending the preview, described the complex as "a gift to the area. For Gettysburg to have something like this, it's a wonderful economic surge to the arm."

Gateway Gettysburg, located near the U.S. 15 interchange on Route 30, will include four hotels, two restaurants (with a spring 2007 targeted completion date), a shopping area and a theater, and other possible projects, will encompass some 100 acres when completed, and is expected to cost around $275 to $300 million.

The entire complex is expected to employ about 1,000. Gateway Gettysburg representatives stated that efforts are made to hire as many local residents and use as many local support businesses as possible in staffing and equipping the various projects.