City looking into interpretive visitor's center

FLORENCE - The Florence-Lauderdale Tourism Office is in the market for a new home - and maybe an expansion in terms of a visitor's center.

Last week, the tourism board of directors hired consultant Janice Marshall, of Marshall Travel Consulting, to study the feasibility of an interpretive visitor's center in Florence. The facility also would house the tourism office, which is currently in the Marriott Shoals Hotel and Spa. The office's contract with the Marriott expires in August 2010 and won't be renewed because of a planned expansion of the spa.

The board of directors approved the consultant's $3,000 fee to investigate the tourism market in Lauderdale County and help advise administrators on how and where to expand.

Toursim and Marriott officials say they have enjoyed a good working relationship and that will continue even after the tourism office relocates. The Shoals bureau of Huntsville news station WAFF also has office space in the building but has not been approached to move. Marriott General Manager Larry Bowser said there are no plans in the immediate future to discontinue the station's lease.

As for the tourism office, Executive Director Debbie Wilson said ideally the office would be relocated with the visitor's center if that project comes to

fruition.

Board members said they'd like to visit centers in comparably sized cities.

In the meantime, Bowser said he is working with architects on expansion plans for the Marriott's spa.

"Right now, the spa has only four treatment rooms and has been having to turn business away," Bowser said.

"It's obviously not good to turn business away, and our goal would be to add four more treatment rooms from that space."

The spa averages $600,000 per year in business and Bowser said that figure could double by doubling the number of treatment rooms.

As for the relocation of the offices, Wilson said tourism officials will know more after the consultant's report.

"The good news is that everyone seems to want us to locate in their area of the community, so that tells us people are interested in what we're doing," Wilson said.

Tourism board member Ernest Hagood said ideally he'd like to have a location that includes a museum of area history, fishing, TVA and highlights of the area.

"I have no idea how long it would take to build something like that or what the cost would be," he said. "I guess that's what we'll be finding out soon."

Bowser said Marriott officials will work with the tourism office should it not be ready for the move on the date the lease expires.

Lisa Singleton-Rickman can be reached at 740-5735 or lisa.singleton-rickman@TimesDaily.com.