Construction is beginning on a major overhaul of the Hampton Inn located next door to the Schnitzelbank in Jasper.
Phase one includes the addition of 17 new rooms to the back of the Hampton Inn. After work is completed on the addition this fall, the hotel will begin to refurbish the remaining 73 rooms, lobbies, exterior and other parts of the building.
The hotel will remain open during the construction.
Co-owner Gail Hettinger said the entire project will be completed next year and will raise the total room count to 90. “The hotel is 17 years old, and it will look and feel brand-new when all the work is finished,” she explained.
With the expansion, the hotel will add about two new full-time and two part-time jobs to the current roster of 17 employees.
Hettinger, who is part of the family that owns the Schnitzelbank, obtained financing for the Hampton Inn project from the U.S. Small Business Administration 504 loan program through German American Bank and the Indiana Statewide Certified Development Corporation.
Indiana Statewide CDC works with local lenders to provide SBA 504 loans to owners of small businesses. SBA 504 loans can give small business owners long-term, fixed-rate financing similar to commercial loan terms available for large companies. Loans from Indiana Statewide CDC and partner lenders in 2016 provided more than $79 million to 44 Hoosier small businesses, creating or saving 480 jobs.
Hettinger worked with Indiana Statewide and German American in 2014 when her family-owned company purchased the former Jasper Country Club for their catering and event businesses.
German American banks Michael Kern explained the bank has used the SBA 504 program to help several clients hedge their bets against fluctuating interest rates. “And they can get into the program with a lower down payment than would be the case with a conventional loan. The 504 is a great program,” he said.
Jasper’s Hampton Inn and Schnitzelbank restaurant are two of several business properties owned by the family of Larry and Betty Hanselman who founded the Schnitzelbank 56 years ago. Three generations of the family are involved in the business that also includes Klub Haus 61 in the former Jasper Country Club, Schnitzelbank Catering and the Schnitz Brewhouse & Pub; all in Jasper. Gail Hettinger is Larry and Betty Hanselman’s daughter.