Details of Oregon Wine Region's First Luxury Inn, Spa Revealed at Groundbreakin...( The Allison inn and spa wi...),Health

The Allison inn and spa will open in late spring 2009

NEWBERG, Ore., Oct. 9 /PRNewswire/ -- An 85-room country estate-style inn, timeless in design and rising from a gentle hill in northeast Newberg, Ore., will provide the most luxurious accommodations in the Willamette Valley's famed pinot noir wine region, said Alan Grainger, a principal in the Seattle design firm GGLO.

A detailed description of the inn, spa, restaurant and conference center was provided during a groundbreaking ceremony Tuesday, October 9, 2007, led by Newberg philanthropist and businesswoman Joan Austin and her family.

The development, to include 1,200 homes and a retail village, will be built over a decade. The inn, spa, restaurant and conference center are the first components and will open in late spring 2009.

Mrs. Austin, her daughter, Loni Austin Parrish, son Ken Austin III and daughter-in-law Celia Austin turned a few shovels full of earth to signify the beginning of construction on the 450-acre Springbrook Properties site, one of the largest new developments in the state.

While civic leaders, area winemakers, family and friends looked on, Mrs. Austin said the occasion marked another step on the way to fulfilling her dream of developing the family's private land into a property that will attract world-wide visitors and provide many amenities for the local community to enjoy.

During the ceremony, Mrs. Austin said the inn would be called The Allison. The Allison refers to 300-square-mile lake that briefly covered the entire Willamette Valley during the last ice age and deposited much of the rich soil that produces an abundance of fruits, nuts, berries and wine grapes. Lake Allison was named for the late Ira Allison, an Oregon State University geologist whose work helped prove the existence of the lake.

In addition to the hospitality and residential areas, the development will feature 50 acres of green spaces including recreational trail
'/>"/>