By COLE REIF
Great Bend Post
Great Bend Economic Development Director Sara Arnberger said Monday night if you have driven by the 3000 block of 10th Street recently, you have noticed the landscape changing drastically. The demolition of the Great Bend Hotel & Convention Center, or old Highland Hotel, is underway.
For more than six years, the hotel has been closed and deteriorating.
"We do recognize the demolition is bittersweet," said Arnberger. "There's a lot of fantastic memories that have been shared with us of the hotel in the past. We definitely recognize those, but with what it's become...it was a community safety hazard to keep that up. Demolition was the right path."
The Great Bend Economic Development purchased the vacant hotel in August 2022. The demolition of the 60,000-square-foot structure is being carried out by Stone Sand Company.
Arnberger told the Great Bend City Council Monday night there will be new life on the property at 3017 10th Street. Economic Development is working on new owners to construct a new hotel.