Winona Developing
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
WINONA LAKE - Big changes may be in store for the small town of Winona Lake if developments now in the planning stages become reality.
Restoring the town to some semblance of its former glory is the goal of Winona Restoration Company, headed by Brent Wilcoxson, a Winona Lake resident and president of the Winona Lake Town Council.
Wilcoxson and his partner, Dane Miller, have ambitious plans for the town, including restoring the Winona Hotel; developing a restaurant/marina on the lake; renovating the Beyer Home, the swan pond and residential areas; and creating a historical park-type resort that would mirror life in turn-of-the-century Winona Lake.
Spurring the project was approval by the Indiana State Museum of the Billy Sunday home as a state museum site. The state requires $1.7 million to take over the museum, which can be done by private endowment or through the state budget process, Wilcoxson said.
If the state takes over the Sunday home, he said, between 20,000 and 40,000 people are expected to visit the Billy Sunday Museum each year.
All those tourists will need a place to eat, and Wilcoxson and Miller plan to meet that need by building a restaurant/marina on the site of the former skating rink. Wilcoxson said he expects the restaurant to be "moderately upscale" and able to handle boat-in traffic.
The renovation project also includes making the Winona Hotel into a country-inn type hotel with 70 rooms, some of which will include fireplaces and jacuzzis. Wilcoxson said because of the location the hotel will be marketed as a "destination hotel," appealing to bus tours, conferences and retreats.
The centerpiece of Wilcoxson's vision of a re-creation of Winona Lake's golden era would be a park-type resort, a town square where the tabernacle stood, that would feature artisan shops, what Wilcoxson calls "interpretive historical displays."
He said he hopes the village would attract 50,000 to 70,000 people per year who would pay a gate fee to shop and watch the artisans.
Wilcoxson and Miller are still negotiating with property owners in the area and working out details, but they expect things to take shape soon. Miller said over the next two to three years there is a strong likelihood "that the look of Winona Lake will change dramatically."
Wilcoxson said he hopes to have something up and running by the summer of 1998, and that the restaurant and hotel projects probably will be tackled first.
In the meantime, he plans to hold meetings with townspeople and others to gauge their feelings on the project and to hear their suggestions. Those meetings are scheduled to start in early November.
Wilcoxson said he realizes the project is a radical departure from Winona Lake's current status: "There's certainly a large element of risk."
However, he believes Winona Lake's reputation, based on its early 20th century "Chautauqua" tradition, is still strong. "Anywhere I go in the country I can usually find someone who has been to Winona Lake," he said.
The town's "Golden Age" was from 1905 to 1914 and included an educational movement that saw the founding of the Agricultural Institute, the Technical Institute and the Winona College. During this era Chautauqua programs held in the auditorium attracted distinguished speakers, personalities and musicians.
It also was during this time that Billy Sunday, the baseball player turned evangelist, made Winona Lake his headquarters, building his home there in 1911 and his 7,500-seat tabernacle in 1921.
The town was served by an inter-urban railway during its heyday, and Wilcoxson said he realizes that moving traffic in and out of town will be a concern.
"Our biggest problem is transportation - how to avoid potential traffic and transportation problems and prepare for heavy traffic flows and tour buses, and how to minimize the impact on the town," he said. "We're not going to build a four-lane superhighway through town." [[In-content Ad]]
WINONA LAKE - Big changes may be in store for the small town of Winona Lake if developments now in the planning stages become reality.
Restoring the town to some semblance of its former glory is the goal of Winona Restoration Company, headed by Brent Wilcoxson, a Winona Lake resident and president of the Winona Lake Town Council.
Wilcoxson and his partner, Dane Miller, have ambitious plans for the town, including restoring the Winona Hotel; developing a restaurant/marina on the lake; renovating the Beyer Home, the swan pond and residential areas; and creating a historical park-type resort that would mirror life in turn-of-the-century Winona Lake.
Spurring the project was approval by the Indiana State Museum of the Billy Sunday home as a state museum site. The state requires $1.7 million to take over the museum, which can be done by private endowment or through the state budget process, Wilcoxson said.
If the state takes over the Sunday home, he said, between 20,000 and 40,000 people are expected to visit the Billy Sunday Museum each year.
All those tourists will need a place to eat, and Wilcoxson and Miller plan to meet that need by building a restaurant/marina on the site of the former skating rink. Wilcoxson said he expects the restaurant to be "moderately upscale" and able to handle boat-in traffic.
The renovation project also includes making the Winona Hotel into a country-inn type hotel with 70 rooms, some of which will include fireplaces and jacuzzis. Wilcoxson said because of the location the hotel will be marketed as a "destination hotel," appealing to bus tours, conferences and retreats.
The centerpiece of Wilcoxson's vision of a re-creation of Winona Lake's golden era would be a park-type resort, a town square where the tabernacle stood, that would feature artisan shops, what Wilcoxson calls "interpretive historical displays."
He said he hopes the village would attract 50,000 to 70,000 people per year who would pay a gate fee to shop and watch the artisans.
Wilcoxson and Miller are still negotiating with property owners in the area and working out details, but they expect things to take shape soon. Miller said over the next two to three years there is a strong likelihood "that the look of Winona Lake will change dramatically."
Wilcoxson said he hopes to have something up and running by the summer of 1998, and that the restaurant and hotel projects probably will be tackled first.
In the meantime, he plans to hold meetings with townspeople and others to gauge their feelings on the project and to hear their suggestions. Those meetings are scheduled to start in early November.
Wilcoxson said he realizes the project is a radical departure from Winona Lake's current status: "There's certainly a large element of risk."
However, he believes Winona Lake's reputation, based on its early 20th century "Chautauqua" tradition, is still strong. "Anywhere I go in the country I can usually find someone who has been to Winona Lake," he said.
The town's "Golden Age" was from 1905 to 1914 and included an educational movement that saw the founding of the Agricultural Institute, the Technical Institute and the Winona College. During this era Chautauqua programs held in the auditorium attracted distinguished speakers, personalities and musicians.
It also was during this time that Billy Sunday, the baseball player turned evangelist, made Winona Lake his headquarters, building his home there in 1911 and his 7,500-seat tabernacle in 1921.
The town was served by an inter-urban railway during its heyday, and Wilcoxson said he realizes that moving traffic in and out of town will be a concern.
"Our biggest problem is transportation - how to avoid potential traffic and transportation problems and prepare for heavy traffic flows and tour buses, and how to minimize the impact on the town," he said. "We're not going to build a four-lane superhighway through town." [[In-content Ad]]