Private investors buy land to build upscale resort near the Red River Gorge
Lexington Herald Leader – 3/31/2021 (reprinted)
By Linda Blackford
Click here to view the full article
A luxury, 170-room lodge is being proposed for property in Slade near the Red River Gorge. RED RIVER ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
The slow march to build a private, upscale resort near the Red River Gorge continues: On Wednesday, the non-profit development arm, the Red River Economic Development group, announced that private investors will buy entrepreneur Ian Teal’s 891 acres outside of Slade for about $2.25 million. Those unnamed investors, known as the Red River Property Holding Group LLC, will hold the land until the non-profit arm can find a developer to build the resort.
A contract was signed Wednesday; the closing will happen after survey and title work continues, according to a press release from the group.
“Clearly, COVID has impacted virtually every part of the economy and especially the hospitality industry,” said RRED Chairman Charles Beach III, a former mayor of Beattyville. “While a significant rebound has started, we need more time to test the waters with developers and investors for the proposed resort. We’re extremely fortunate that this group of supporters is willing to purchase and hold the property for three years and give us breathing room to pursue a suitable development plan.”
Organizers declined to list the investors. There are at least two overlapping members between the two groups. Former Kentucky Chamber of Commerce President Dave Adkisson, who started the process to build a resort several years ago and has since retired from the Chamber, confirmed he will also be an investor in the holding group. One RRED board member, Elmer Whitaker, the president of Whitaker Bank, also confirmed he is an investor.
Adkisson said his role was vetted by lawyers for any potential conflicts of interest.
“We have attempted to build the public in at every stage and we will continue to do that,” he said.
Teal’s land is privately owned and is located well outside the borders of state and federal lands that comprise the Red River Gorge, although it displays the signature numerous arches and caves that make the Gorge so special. Still, the public feels strongly about how much damage any commercial development could do to an already overburdened state and federal park region frequently crowded with visitors.
Ian Teal poses for a portrait near Adventure Arch, located on property he owns near the Slade exit off the Mountain Parkway, close to the Natural Bridge State Park, in Powell County, Ky., on Friday, Aug. 7, 2020. The Red River Economic Development LLC has an option on Teal’s property to develop a “destination resort.” Ryan C. Hermens RHERMENS@HERALD-LEADER.COM
With $1 million from federal and state grants, RRED hired the engineering and design firm Stantec, which conducted a master plan of the whole region, making numerous recommendations for projects to bring more tourism around the Gorge. But the centerpiece was a high-end $135 million resort with a 170-room lodge, cottages, potential house sites, a distillery and linking trails to the Gorge.
Stantec estimated that the resort would generate 500 jobs and produce more than $18 million a year in labor income for the region.
Red River Gorge United, a local group, surveyed 472 people in the area. About 70 percent opposed a large resort and residential community; there was more support for a restaurant, distillery or a new visitor center.
Kristen Wiley served on the RRED advisory group and is also a member of RRGU. With the masterplan, “Stantec did include many of our concerns and ideas,” she said. “But there’s no way to force private developers to do those things.”
The county judges of Powell, Lee, Menifee and Wolfe counties serve on the RRED, which will make certain requirements of any developer brought on in order to get required city and county infrastructure. But residents are right to worry about who is making money off the project and how. If a developer buys the property, what controls can be put in place to make sure the natural amenities are protected? Another question is about the interplay between non- and for-profit groups. If non-profit board members received state and federal funding to develop a plan, can those same board members invest financially in that plan?
More transparency will be required in the coming months.
