A nearly 20-acre tract in Lookout Valley on Monday won rezoning designed to turn the property into what was called a “high-end glamping” campground.
The parcel at 2815 Cummings Highway is to hold 75 to 85 sites, said Kelsey Gaines, director of development for the Roamstead brand.
“We’re taking a boutique hotel to the campground,” she said in an interview after the rezoning was approved by the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission. “It will offer elevated hospitality.”
(READ MORE: Chattanooga builder launches Roamstead)
While the Chattanooga City Council still needs to sign off on the rezoning, Gaines said work could start this year with the campground opening in 2025.
She said the campground will be unlike any other concept in the Chattanooga area. Pricing wasn’t available for the site because the project’s still under development, Gaines said.
A similar Roamstead campground opened near Cosby, Tennessee, and the Great Smoky Mountains National Park. It was to include 18 cabins, nearly 50 recreational vehicle sites, nine yurts, eight tent sites and three rooms in a lodge pavilion that will include a coffee shop.
(READ MORE: Roamstead opens first campground)
The campground also was to have included fire pits, a playground, movie nights, and food and beverage options, including breakfast and dinner items, as well as a selection of regional beers.
Allen Jones of Stone Creek Consulting said at the Planning Commission meeting the high-end glamping campground will be 10 minutes from downtown Chattanooga and close to Raccoon Mountain.
Jones said plans are to have a manager at the campsite. Also, the goal is to bring public sewers to the site, he said.
Thomas Connolly, owner of Connolly Development Ventures and a partner in Curbed Construction in Chattanooga, and his wife Shannon last year announced the new Roamstead brand — a combination of roaming and homestead.
“Our family loves to visit national parks, and we stay at various campgrounds around the country, but many of them have left much to be desired,” Thomas Connolly said in a telephone interview at the time. “From cleanliness issues and a general lack of amenities to problematic site layouts and inconsistent service, there is so much opportunity to improve the outdoor experience.”
He said then that if the first Roamstead campground was successful, he hoped to open similar ones across the country.
The camping industry produced revenue in North America of about $21.9 billion in 2022, according to data website Statista.
Contact Mike Pare at mpare@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6318.