From Weekend Playground to Retirement Destination, Gun Barrel City, Texas, Offers Something for Everyone

Gun Barrel City, Texas (PRWEB) May 27, 2011

Memorial Weekend kicks off the season in Gun Barrel City, Texas, a fast-growing community that thrives on the summer months when thousands visit Cedar Creek Lake. The town is located just 50 miles south and east of Dallas, but Gun Barrel City offers a relaxed, country pace that appeals to visitors, permanent residents, and city weekenders alike.

With a name as distinctive as its lakefront lifestyle, Gun Barrel City has a lot going for it, including steady growth. The population increased more than 20 percent between the 2000 and 2010 Census, with current population figures at more than 6,500 residents. Over weekends in the summer, that population swells to as much as ten times that number around the lake, as "the weekenders" descend upon their lake homes.

To keep up with community needs, the city has adopted a pro-business attitude. Gun Barrel City is one of just a handful of towns in Texas without ad valorem taxes. The city also has an Economic Development Corporation that offers incentives to businesses interested in locating in the community.

We are actively pursuing retail businesses, restaurants, entertainment venues, and of course agriculture or light manufacturing that bring jobs and services, says Steve Webster, president of the EDC.

Currently the city is working on anchor tenants for its Heritage Cove development, which already includes a new La Quinta Inn, an 8-screen movie theatre, the popular Lake Jackson Seafood Restaurant, a retail strip, and plans for a Riverwalk-style pedestrian shopping and entertainment complex. Land grants, loans, loan guarantees and other incentives are available and are helping position Gun Barrel City as a place to do business.

According to Webster, the population growth in Gun Barrel City is fueled by two trends: families in search of small towns and exceptional schools, and a growing retirement population drawn to the lake and its affordable lifestyle. The combination of new residents and the large weekend population has created a vibrant local economy.

The Lifestyle

Cedar Creek Lake is one of the largest lakes in Texas, and one of only a few that allow property owners to have docks. With more than 350 miles of shoreline, the lake has plenty of lakefront property. Most Gun Barrel City neighborhoods offer lakefront homes, ranging from tiny cabins to million dollar estates.

Theres plenty of room on Cedar Creek Lake for fishing, sailing, water skiing, Personal Water Craft, or cruising on a party barge.

On July 2, the city hosts JulyFest, a festival featuring a line up of popular bands and a fireworks display in the city park. Fireworks can be viewed from anywhere on the lake, as hundreds of private docks become launch pads for impressive fireworks displays.

The July 4th celebrations around Cedar Creek Lake also include an over water Air Show that features vintage and high tech military aircraft that thrill hundreds of boaters who gather on the water to watch the aeronautic acrobatics.

Permanent Visitors

In 2009, Gun Barrel City was awarded the Go Texan Certified Retirement Community designation from the state of Texas, a distinction that has attracted retirees from around the nation who want an affordable lakefront retirement in a moderate climate near excellent medical care.

There really is something for everyone in Gun Barrel City. The lake is a huge draw, and real estate on the lake is affordable. Retirees often start out as weekenders. Before they know it, they move here full time, says Larry Spiegel, a Dallas advertising executive who himself started visiting the lake on weekends before moving to Gun Barrel City full time in 2005.

The close proximity to Dallas means Gun Barrel City is commuting distance, and the area also is popular for telecommuters and professionals who work from home.

If you can live anywhere in the world and do your work, this is a great place to be, Spiegel says.

For more information on Gun Barrel City, visit http://www.gbcedc.com or http://www.gunbarrelcity.net.

About Gun Barrel City, Texas

Gun Barrel City, Texas, offers Something for Everyone. Situated in rural Henderson County, about 50 miles from Dallas, the community offers small town hospitality and plenty of recreation. Fishing and water sports are top draws to Gun Barrel City, which is the commercial center of Cedar Creek Lake, one of the largest man-made reservoirs in Texas. During the summer months, Gun Barrel City enjoys a resort-like atmosphere with thousands of visitors, tourists, and weekend or summer residents increasing the population in the community. Gun Barrel City is a Go Texan Certified Retirement Community that is actively seeking new businesses, retail establishments, restaurants, and entertainment venues to meet the needs of its growing population. For more information, contact the Gun Barrel City Economic Development Corporation at 877-243-7896, or visit http://www.gbcedc.com or http://www.gunbarrelcity.net.

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Travel Alert: Need An Out-Of-This-World Place To Unwind? The Roxbury Hotel Offers A Very Groovy Yet Luxurious Vacation Destination For Summer Fun

Roxbury, NY (PRWEB) July 25, 2007

What sets The Roxbury Hotel apart is its brand new theatrically designed theme rooms, suites, and spa loosely inspired by an iconic American film, TV show or cartoon from the 60's and 70's. The result is a series of hotel rooms and suites with unique elements that give each room its own 'wow factor' in addition to a real sense of design, luxury, adventure and fun.

"It is not just a place to stay while you enjoy the beautiful New York Catskills, but a full-blown entertainment experience of its own," says Gregory Henderson and Joseph Massa, the hotel's co-owners and proprietors.

Genie's Bottle is a spacious two-bedroom suite constructed with the signature arabesque curves of Persian architecture and art and decorated with custom-made cheetah-print sofas, silk damask-patterned settees, and "Victoria's Ghost" Phillipe Starck chairs. The "crown jewel" of the suite is a perfectly spherical purple and gold luxurious bottle-shaped bathroom with a 70-gallon Japanese soaking tub at its center. The "genie's bottle" is not simply curved marble walls, but a perfectly engineered sphere.

George's Space Pad is furnished with space-age orange, Lucite, and chrome chairs and a cherry red chromatherapy bathtub and sink that actually illuminate from within. Specially manufactured in Italy, the Space Pad tub and sink illustrate how an entire room can be built around a "riff" on one key design element. Fred's Lair has an 11' tall pebble stone shower and bathroom area, bed throws made of seven different kinds of faux fur and mirrors made of driftwood collected from the Cornish Coast of England. Co-owner Joseph Massa sculpted the rocky interior of this room for months.

The Mod Pod is the epitome of 1960/70s groove with its artichoke-shaped chandeliers, flower-power artwork, and swirling yellow, green and orange wallpaper reminiscent of Rowan and Martin's "Laugh-In." Golightly-A-Go-Go, with its black velvet and crunched silver foil wall coverings, Tiffany-blue accent walls, crystal chandeliers, and rich cherry wood molding, is an elegant tribute to the iconic Truman Capote character and Audrey Hepburn's classic performance.

The Partridge Nest, with its bright blue, yellow and red 3D wallscape and pop-art glass mosaic tile work, is a reincarnation of the famous Mondrian-inspired bus. Samantha's Cloud is light and airy, with sparkling silver glitter-glass mosaic tile and an ethereal cloud mural that spans the entire ceiling and most of the walls.

"In designing the rooms, our goal was to create an environment of pampering comfort. They are meant to exude 'whimsical elegance.' Many of these one-of-a-kind elements were created or discovered by our staff. Our hotel manager even made many of the lampshades, drapes and throw pillows. Hotel co-owner Joseph Massa not only supervised the construction process, he was also a man of all trades. The Mondrian masterpiece in the Partridge Nest took him three months of excruciating patience and a fortune in masking tape," says Henderson.

Amenities Abound in These Super Cool Rooms...All rooms and suites include an extensive continental breakfast, WiFi, refrigerator, microwave, coffee machine, A/C, 100% Egyptian cotton linens, telephones with voicemail, luxury 'Lather' bathroom amenities, locally hand-made body soaps, state-of-the-art flat screen TVs with DVD players and access to a DVD collection of over 400 DVD's, mood lighting on dimmers, fresh flowers, Godiva chocolates, double-pillow top mattresses, and one-of-a kind chandeliers.

The inspiration started with "The Shagadelic," an aptly named suite in the original Roxbury. Guests responded so positively to the "cool factor" that Henderson and Massa decided to undergo a major expansion that takes off in several retro-chic directions and now doubles The Roxbury's size.

Also new at The Roxbury Hotel is The Shimmer Spa. Thousands of iridescent mosaic tiles surround the professional sports caliber hot tub, a dry sauna, a fireplace, and a shower made of black river rock that massages your feet while taking a shower. The new 900 square foot upper deck at The Roxbury Hotel is furnished with comfortable chaise lounges and sectional "conversation area" couches. The fire pit is custom-engineered to allow flames to dance through chartreuse aquatel glass crystals. There is also a custom-made 4' x 6' Chihuly-inspired chandelier that hangs in the exterior stairwell that was specially commissioned.

For those seeking the comfort of more conventional accommodations, a number of "classic" rooms and suites are available from stylish "comes-with-kitchenette" rooms to cozy studios.

The villages, hamlets and countryside surrounding Roxbury offer numerous recreational and cultural pursuits and events to enjoy year-round including biking, hiking, skiing and snowboarding, fall foliage tours, fishing, golfing and kayaking. Museums, galleries, antiquing, heritage tourism events and fairs, auctions and historic sites throughout the area offer something for everyone.

Located at 2258 County Highway 41, Roxbury, NY, The Roxbury Hotel is less than a three-hour drive from the New York tri-state area, Albany, and Philadelphia. The Roxbury welcomes families, meeting groups, singles and lovers. Its guest register now includes visitors from more than 27 countries.

To view visuals of all rooms, go to http://www.theroxburymotel.com, click on Rooms & Spa, then the appropriate room category, and scroll to the links for "viewing actual photos" of every single room.

For media: To download high-resolution photos of The Roxbury go to http://www.theroxburymotel.com/photos. B-roll available upon request.

Press Agent:

Karen M. Parziale, 201-222-1309

360 DEGREES PR

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