Upon closing its doors early this month, the Rough Riders Hotel in Medora, N.D., has begun work on a $12.5 million renovation project, reports local newspaper The Dickinson Press. The first phase of the remodel will be completed in June 2009 and will encompass the hotel's guestrooms, dining room and bar. The second phase, meanwhile, will see the addition in 2010 of additional guestrooms and a conference center."I think folks are really going to be excited to have a new building and a new facility in town," Bryce Haugen, operations manager for the Theodore Roosevelt Medora Foundation—a local nonprofit that operates the historic hotel—told The Dickinson Press. "It's going to [have] one of the finest dining rooms in western North Dakota, maybe the state. I think people will be very impressed when they walk in the door."Medora's Rough Riders Hotel was originally built in the 1890s and was a popular destination for President Theodore Roosevelt. It was rebuilt in 1966 with two stories and nine rooms and is presently open only during the summer season. When it re-opens next year it will have eight reconfigured rooms—open year-round—as well as an expanded dining room for 100 guests and a larger bar area for 25 guests.By 2010, the hotel will have three stories, 68 additional guestrooms and a large conference room for meetings and events.