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Gatlinburg Chamber of Commerce
811 East Parkway - P.O. Box 527
Gatlinburg, TN 37738
TOLL FREE: 1-800-588-1817
info@gatlinburg.com
What's New in Gatlinburg
New Exhibits in Gatlinburg
Lively New Exhibit at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
to feature African Black Footed Penguins
Penguins to March into Aquarium in March
GATLINBURG, Tenn. (Jan. 7, 2010) A new colony of African Black Footed Penguins is set to take up residency in a new indoor/outdoor multi-million dollar habitat at Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies in March .
This exhibit is the largest and costliest expansion ever at the aquarium, now celebrating its 10th year in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains. More than 14 million have visited the aquarium since its opening in December 2000.
Ripley's Penguin Playhouse features a habitat that closely models the home of African Black Footed Penguins, also known as Jackass Penguins for the distinctive braying sounds they make. Naturalistic rockwork and plantings surrounded by more than 30,000 gallons of temperature controlled saltwater depict the coastal island rookeries along the coast of South Africa.
Aquarium guests will be able to view the penguins from both above and below water level and unique to this exhibit, visitors will be able to crawl through clear underwater acrylic tunnels and pop up on the penguin private beach to view the birds nose to beak. At the same time, as visitors crawl through the tunnels, penguins swimming above and below them will be able to get a good close up of the human species!
The highly interactive habitat will have two wave machines and multiple spa jets that will create continual water movements which in turn will create an inviting watery playground for the birds. We're really happy and proud that we are able to debut this amazing exhibit during our 10th anniversary, said Ryan DeSear, General Manager of Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies. We feel our Penguin Playhouse will soon become another iconic exhibit within the aquarium and will be at the top of must-see lists for visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains. Our penguin habitat will be a wonderful family experience that showcases these beautiful birds and adds a new dimension and added value to our guest's aquarium visit.
Ripley's Vice President of Husbandry, Joe Choromanski, who helped create the exhibit, notes that we have studied penguin exhibits from zoos and aquariums around the world, as well as their natural habitat, and we are building what we believe to be the most realistic, interactive and fun exhibit in existence.
The penguins who will be calling Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies their home have all been bred at other zoos and aquariums and are a part of the Species Survival Plan of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums. When these young birds reach breeding age, they too will contribute to the survival of this species in the wild.
About African Black Footed Penguins
As birds, Ripley's African Black Footed Penguins and the other 17 different species of penguins of the world, have adapted to life in the sea. Found only south of the Equator, penguins are, as Ripley's Penguin Playhouse shows, not always birds of ice and snow.
Other facts:
- They average 23-27 inches tall and weigh five to nine pounds.
- Their diet consists of small fishes, such as herring, anchovies and sardines.
- In the wild, African penguins have an average lifespan of 10 to 12 years but they live much longer in zoos and aquariums.
- They swim at an average speed of 4 mph with a top speed of 12 mph and can stay submerged for up to two minutes.
- African penguins have evolved shorter feathers because, unlike Antarctic species, they do not face extremely cold environments. To help stay cool, they pant like a dog and swim in the chilly water.
- In Ripley's Penguin Playhouse, burrowed nesting boxes and mud holes have been built into the rocky habitat for nest building. Mature birds lay two eggs in the nest, which is protected from the sun and most predators, and both parents incubate the eggs and feed the chicks for two to four months. African penguins breed in huge, noisy colonies and the mating pair stays together in a tight bond for their entire life.
- African penguins are considered Vulnerable, which means they are facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. Major reasons include depletion of their food from overfishing and pollution. Since 1930, the African penguin population has dropped from an estimated one million birds down to 150,000 today.
About Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies
Aquarium of the Smokies (www.ripleysaquariumofthesmokies.com), the second most attended attraction in Tennessee, was Voted The Number One Aquarium in America by TripAdvisor.com and Forbes Traveler has named it one of America's best aquariums. More than 100,000 exotic sea creatures live in its 1.4 million gallons of water. The aquarium is known for its shark exhibit that features 11-foot sharks and one of the longest underwater tunnels in the world. Ripley's Aquarium of the Smokies is part of the Ripley Entertainment Inc. family of worldwide entertainment facilities that includes another world class aquarium - Ripley's Aquarium of Myrtle Beach, S.C. More than 13 million people visit Ripley's 70-plus attractions in 13 countries each year. Ripley Entertainment Inc. is a division of the Jim Pattison Group, the third largest privately held company in Canada.
New Developments and Grand Openings
New Hotel in Downtown Gatlinburg providing upscale lodging and has registered for LEED Certification
GATLINBURG, Tenn., August 20, 2008 - Hospitality Management Solutions, Inc. (HMS), a locally owned management company, will raise the stakes in the Sevier County lodging industry with the construction of the Hilton Garden Inn Downtown Gatlinburg in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The 15 million dollar project is being built by Sevierville-based D&S Builders which specializes in commercial properties and also has built numerous hotels, commercial properties and financial institutions throughout Tennessee.
Hilton Garden Inn is the upscale midpriced brand that is part of the Hilton Family of Hotels. It was recently named the Top Midprice Hotel Brand in the 2008 Business Travel News U.S. Hotel Chain Survey.
HMS will not only will bring in the award winning mid-priced Hilton Garden Inn brand to Gatlinburg but we also hope to showcase a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certified hotel. said Logan Coykendall, president of Hospitality Management Solutions. There are currently only seven LEED certified hotels in the nation with none in Tennessee.
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system that encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and high-performance development practices through the design and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. LEED addresses all building types, promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality. LEED is a third-party certification program and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. LEED gives building owners and operators the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildingsperformance.
In an effort to support and build upon Gatlinburg Goes Green initiative, HMS along with development team from Hilton Garden Inn are working to earn the coveted U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) LEED Silver Level certification. When accepted, the certification will confirm that third-party experts verify that the hotel satisfies criteria for sustainable site development, water conservation, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environment quality. According to Alex Davis, owner of D&S Builders and partner in the Hilton Garden Inn Gatlinburg project, Going green is investing in our county and our future. We must strive to focus on sustainable growth if we want to protect our environment.
HMS and D&S Builders are excited that Gatlinburg, the Gateway to the Smokies, will be the first city in Sevier County to have a LEED certified hotel. In order to achieve LEED certification, the hotel will have to incorporate key energy-savings and waste-reducing strategies into the design and construction. Davis estimates that the LEED certification will cost an estimated 5 - 7% over traditional construction costs. LEED Certification is a tough hurdle to overcome when trying to deliver a return on investment for the ownership but we feel it is extremely important to make a positive environmental impact in Gatlinburg and look forward to working with the city's Gatlinburg Goes Green initiative,� states Davis. The development team hired Andy Powers with Ross Fowler out of Knoxville to be the LEED Accredited Professional to help achieve their goals and direct them through the LEED Certification process. To develop an upper end, award winning property like the Hilton Garden Inn and then take it to another level with LEED Certification is very exciting says Davis.
In addition, the ownership has assembled an expert team to ensure every detail is developed with the focus on the entire green concept and upscale design. From construction with D&S Builders, management with HMS, architectural design with Trotter and Associates, Ross Fowler for LEED Certification and local financing arranged by SmartBank as the lead bank and Sevier County Bank participating; the entire make up of the professional team will ensure the property to be a first-rate accommodations and a truly environmentally conscious project.
With the Smoky Mountain National Park in our backyard, it is a natural fit for Gatlinburg to be an innovator in promoting efficient and sustainable green development and we encourage others to follow our lead,said Coykendall. We have formed a partnership with a high level of success and experience in the hotel industry in management, development and ownership. We have chosen the Hilton Garden Inn brand, assembled a team of design professionals to ensure the property not only fits the mountain motif of the area but also meets the high quality standards for our guests, and fittingly for the area, we hope to pioneer in establishing the property as a LEED certified hotel.
The Hilton Garden Inn, Downtown Gatlinburg is slated to open Summer 2009 and will offer 118 guest rooms and luxurious suites. The property will be located on River Road in Downtown Gatlinburg, yards from the Smoky Mountain National Park and access to the main Parkway downtown walking district. The property will be 100% non-smoking and will feature the Garden Sleep System bed, which enables guest to adjust the firmness or softness of the bed; ergonomic Mirr chair by Herman Miller; complimentary wired and WiFi Internet access in guestrooms and public space; mobile printing to the hotel's complimentary 24-hour business center; full service restaurant serving freshly cooked-to-order breakfast and evening room service; the 24-hour Pavilion Pantry convenience market featuring a variety of snack options; workout facility; flexible meeting space; indoor pool, and on-site guest laundry facility.
$1 Million Later, Aerial Tramway Returns to Action
Release Date - April 2007
GATLINBURG - The latest in cable car technology grabs the spotlight when the
first passengers are transported to the top of Mt. Harrison on the Ober Gatlinburg
Aerial Tramway beginning Saturday, May 5, 2007.
After 33-plus years of service, Ober Gatlinburg’s original tram vehicles have been replaced by a pair of modern behemoths capable of carrying 120 passengers the 2.1-mile distance from downtown Gatlinburg to the summit resort. The Anders’ family-owned Aerial Tramway has transported over 18 million passengers since opening, with service from downtown Gatlinburg available approximately every 20 minutes.
The $1 million transition maintains Ober’s status as one of America’s largest tramways and affords passengers the latest innovations in safety and comfort.
Purchased through Doppelmayr CTEC of Salt Lake City, Utah, the matching cable cars were designed, engineered and constructed in Olten, Switzerland by CWA Constructions, the largest manufacturer of ropeway cabins and gondolas in the world. Construction began in November and was completed in mid-March in Olten, Switzerland.
The new cable cars and carrier arms are made of a high grade aluminum alloy, the same as used in the aerospace industry. The dimensions of the vehicles are identical to the cars they replace, allowing Ober Gatlinburg to use the existing loading docks and towers, though the new trams offer 15 percent more glass viewing area.
“We are thrilled to be providing our guests with the most advanced technology available in the cable car industry,” said Cy Anders of the family-owned business. “We are proud that Ober Gatlinburg has established itself as a year-round resort and ranks among the top five attractions in the State of Tennessee.”
Construction of the Aerial Tramway began 10 years after the ski resort opened in 1962. It took nearly a year and was completed in August of 1973, providing skiers and snow enthusiasts who had previously driven up and down winding, slick roads with an alternative route to the top of snow-covered Mt. Harrison.
The arrival and switching of the cars began on April 20 and was completed in a week. A crane lowered the old vehicles and carrier arms to the ground at the downtown terminal then lifted the new cars and arms into place. A series of load and safety tests are being performed this week with the assistance of the Project Engineer from Garaventa in Switzerland, a technician from Frey AG in Switzerland, and inspectors from the State of Tennessee Division of Boiler and Elevator Inspection.
The project has been overseen by Tramway Superintendent Danny Dixon, who has over 31 years of service with Ober Gatlinburg. The maintenance staff, many of whom have been with the attraction for more than a decade, performed the majority of the installation of the new cars.
“This is one of the most sophisticated cable car systems in the world, and we are proud that Ober Gatlinburg continues to offer this unique form of transportation for visitors to the area to view the Smokies and the City of Gatlinburg,” said Dixon.
Phase V of Underground and Streetscape Project
Work on Phase V of the Underground and Streetscape project began on November 1 and will extend into the spring. The Parkway work area during the November '06 through May '07 phase will encompass from Gatlinburg Inn and Ole Smoky Candy Kitchen south across Reagan Drive, Maples Lane and Historic Nature Trail/Airport Road just short of the driveway to Reagan Resort Inn. The traffic/caution light #7 at Reagan Drive & Maples Lane will also be removed as part of Phase V.
Phase V, while smaller in area and shorter in distance than that of the work done in Phase IV, is one the most difficult phases undertaken thus far in the undergrounding project. This is due in part to the two City streets that it crosses and the traffic counts for both streets in that area. Additionally, Sevier County Electric System has indicated that the electrical intricacies of this phase are their most challenging thus far.
Although original plans called for Phase V to commence in December and continue through May, contractors were granted permission to begin on the same date as in Phase IV based upon their experiences during that phase in order to meet the goal of a May 31, 2007, substantial completion date.
As in Phase IV, the construction of underground duct banks along the affected streets will be built to house the installation of electrical, gas, telephone and cable lines. Work at intersections of the Parkway including Reagan Drive, Maples Lane and Historic Nature Trail/Airport Road will be particularly challenging.
Contractors have pledged to keep disruption of streets and sidewalks to a minimum. Work will effectively halt during a period preceding the Thanksgiving, Christmas and Easter holidays and during the week before New Year's Day.
New street and pedestrian lighting and new benches and trash receptacles will be strategically placed along the street. New sidewalks on public right-of-ways and distinctive crosswalks will be installed when the duct work is complete. Also, various planters will be mounted to accommodate seasonal plantings and small trees.
Just as in 2005, prior to the commencement of Phase IV, a public workshop of affected business and property owners and other concerned parties was held to explain the work process and to address concerns. The meeting at City Hall included representatives of the City, Efficient Electric and Barge Waggoner, Sumner and Cannon, Inc., and representatives of local utilities involved in the project.
