Growth & Development:
Tourism driving development in the Shenandoah Valley

Virginia Business
October 2006

Massanutten’s new $30 million water park
In 1971, a group of 10 investors announced plans to develop 5,200 acres at Mas¬sanutten Mountain, 30 miles east of Harrisonburg. Now Massanutten Village is a four-season resort with more than 1,000 homes, 1,300 timesharing units and a multimillion-dollar ski resort. Last December the resort opened a 42,000-square-foot indoor water park. This summer the resort announced the project’s second phase — an 80,000-square-foot outdoor water park, including a three-story central play area, several water slides, outdoor hot tubs and a wave pool. In addition to the water attraction, the new facility has restaurant and snack areas and meeting rooms for business functions. Massanutten draws as many as 5,000 residents and guests a day to its timeshare properties. The resort also is one of the area’s largest employers with up to 1,200 full- and part- time employees, depending on the season.

Endless Caverns investment tops $8 million
A group headed by The Silver Cos., an investment and real estate development firm based in Fredericksburg, recently invested more than $8 million in Endless Caverns, in Rockingham County. Discovered in 1879, Endless Caverns is on the side of the Massanutten Mountain overlooking the Shenandoah Valley. The attraction offers a one-mile underground walking tour of the more than five miles of mapped caverns. The site also offers a campground, hiking trails and a conference center, which seats 100 people and can accommodate seminars and business meetings.

Crossroads: The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center
Mennonites and Brethren have lived in the Shenandoah Valley for more than two centuries. They traditionally labored as farmers and craftsmen, and adhered to the tenets of their faith. In June, Crossroads: The Valley Brethren-Mennonite Heritage Center was created to introduce the group’s historical and spiritual legacy to the public. The religions emphasize pacifism, voluntary service, disaster relief work and international understanding. The center is housed on 12 acres in western Harrisonburg. The grounds consist of a welcome center and two pre-Civil War buildings that were relocated to the Crossroads site.