By Micah Fleet
Marty Muterspaugh, a 43-year-old mother of two, had been out of work for two years when she landed a job at Natural Bridge Hotel.
“I can finally sleep,” she said. “I used to lie awake at night, thinking, ‘Where else could I go to find a job?’”
Muterspaugh, a Rockbridge County native, is one of more than 300 new employees Natural Bridge has hired since late winter. Tom Clarke, a Roanoke businessman, bought the bridge property in February and took the hotel’s staff from 125 down to 15. Employees who lost their jobs were allowed to re-apply and interview again with the new management.
Marty Muterspaugh received the news that she had been hired at the Natural Bridge Hotel from her daughter. She had been out of work for two years.
“It was scary,” said B.J. Clark, the hotel’s front desk manager. “Those of us, like myself, that kept our jobs were wondering what was coming next.”
By mid-May, Natural Bridge’s staff had reached almost 400, though almost 100 of those were construction workers whose jobs will disappear in the next six months as renovations are finished. But in a place like Rockbridge County, where the unemployment rate sits half a point above the state average of 5 percent, 300 new jobs make a huge difference.
B.J. Clark said she has no record of wages and salaries under the former management, so the new ownership can’t say how new pay scales compare. But Muterspaugh, for one, is happy.
“I was just so excited,” she said. “I heard what [the new management] was doing over [at Natural Bridge] and I wanted to be a part of it.”
The hotel’s new manager, Richard Dane, said the initial staff cuts were made to try to create a new attitude around the property.
Much of a $2.8 million renovation has gone toward a facelift of the Natural Bridge Hotel.
“We had a lot of negative people around here,” said Dane. “Now, you look around, and we’ve got positive people with good attitudes.”
Mark Frasier, who has lived has lived in the nearby village of Natural Bridge his whole life, says the townspeople have a different approach to the buzz surrounding the bridge.
“We hear about [the bridge changes] all the time,” said Frasier. “We’re waiting to see what comes out of all of this.”
Dane works for the Virginia Conservation Legacy Fund, which was established by Clarke from parent company Kissito Healthcare to buy the bridge and more than 1,500 acres surrounding it in February. Clarke’s plan is to donate the bridge and surrounding land to the state for use as a state park after he repays the $9 million loan he took out to buy the bridge.
Since the purchase, Kissito and another partner have dedicated $2.8 million to updating the property and creating new jobs.
“Really, our biggest achievement so far is getting [the hotel] open,” Dane said. “This property had been mishandled a bit and we want to restore it to its former glory.” Dane was brought in from Kissito to oversee that job.
He hopes the new jobs will boost the local economy around the bridge, but one of the biggest economic contributions Natural Bridge provides is tourism dollars for the county.
“[Natural Bridge] definitely affects us,’” said county tourism director Jean Clark. “We estimate that one in five people visiting Rockbridge County go to see the bridge.”
Guests at the Natural Bridge Hotel will hear staff encourage them to visit other Rockbridge County attractions.
Natural Bridge is not the only attraction in the county, and Clark says the bridge’s biggest role won’t be in promoting itself, but in driving attendance to other, lesser known destinations in the county.
“We have over 25 different wineries in the county,” Clark said. “Could you imagine how much business [Natural Bridge] could bring [to the wineries] if they did two wine tastings a week?”
Dane says the bridge’s new management team is focused on working with local businesses to create the kind of traffic to nearby localities Jean Clark is talking about.
“We’ve just hired a full-time concierge,” Dane said. “She’s going to go around to all the local restaurants and attractions so we can better serve our guests and let them know what’s out there in the county.”
County Administrator Spencer Suter played a big role in bringing the new ownership to Natural Bridge. Like Clark, he expects Natural Bridge to act as a magnet for the area.
Rockbridge County could lose some of its tax revenue from Natural Bridge when much of the property is turned over to the state. But county officials expect that loss to be offset by higher numbers of visitors.
“While [bridge visitors] are here we want them to stop,” Suter said. “Come to downtown Lexington, shoot over to Buena Vista, go over to Glasgow and stop for lunch. When Natural Bridge is succeeding, the county is succeeding.”
Visitors to Natural Bridge mean $340,000 in tax revenue for the county each year. But the plan to turn most of the property into a state park could put some of that revenue in jeopardy.
The state will receive the Rockbridge Center – formerly known as the Natural Bridge Gift Shop – and the bridge with its surrounding 1,500 acres when the property becomes a state park. The county stands to lose $120,000 a year in tax revenue from admission to the bridge and taxes from the Rockbridge Center. But with the county’s yearly revenue from sales, meal and lodging taxes close to $5 million, Suter sees that number as negligible.
If the new owners’ plans draw more visitors, as they predict, the tax revenue from the privately owned hotel, caverns and museum could be more than what the county has seen in years past.
“We’re hopeful that they greatly exceed what they have operated under in the past,” Suter said.
Suter says he does not expect hesitation from the state to take over Natural Bridge, because Tom Clarke’s team is laying all the groundwork.
“How often does the state get the chance to get a fully functional park with the infrastructure already there?” Suter said.
A partnership with The Virginia Horse Center would include discounted stable rates at the horse center and a cheaper room rate at the Natural Bridge Hotel. (Photo by Emily Leventhal)
Natural Bridge’s success hinges on the vision of Clarke. Clarke has forged a partnership with Botetourt County’s Twin River Outfitters to promote kayaking trips and is trying to do the same with The Virginia Horse Center through the hotel’s stables. The partnership with Twin River Outfitters would work with the state after Natural Bridge becomes a state park, so the hotel would have river access, but the horse center partnership would remain a private entity with the hotel’s stables.
The $2.8 million Clarke has already spent renovating the hotel is just the first phase, Dane said.
“We’re here to stay,” he said. “This is a long-term investment for us, and we want to see it succeed.”
The money Clarke and his group have spent, and the things they are saying, make local people hopeful.
“[Mr. Clarke] has a vision for the property and every day he comes up with something new,” said Jean Clark, the county’s tourism director. “He’s had success everywhere he’s been. He’s got the Midas touch.”