Ribbon-cutting for new $40.4 million Fall Creek Falls Lodge set for Tuesday

Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee will officially cut the ribbon Tuesday on the state's new, $40.4 million 85-room Lodge at Fall Creek Falls State Park, the centerpiece of man-made features at the 29,800-acre state park on the Cumberland Plateau.

"Bledsoe and Van Buren counties are very fortunate to be the home of Tennessee's most visited park in the state," Bledsoe County Mayor Gregg Ridley said Monday in an email.

"The new inn offers astonishing lodge accommodations, a superb restaurant and all the beautiful waterfalls and wildlife we admire about Fall Creek Falls State Park," Ridley said. "The local investment made by the state will allow families to enjoy their visit to the park in a modern facility, while connecting with nature."

Pikeville Mayor Phil Cagle said the lodge is a "tremendous improvement" over the old inn, and he has already sampled the lodge's new restaurant. Cagle noted one very noticeable improvement over the old inn is that rooms are accessed via an interior hallway rather than an outside balcony.

"It was great," Cagle said Monday in a telephone interview. "The lodge is absolutely a beautiful building. It's very warm and has a great atmosphere."

Cagle said the lodge would be "a huge asset" to local communities as well as a source of jobs for local residents.

"I actually worked there as a lifeguard," Cagle recalled of his youth. "That park has really made a lot of changes, and this lodge is kind of a cherry on top."

The project that broke ground in January 2019 wrapped up on time over the fall despite pandemic-related supply issues involving construction material, state officials said.

Brentwood, Tennessee-based Bell & Associates Construction describes the new lodge as having a "woodsy, rustic appearance with an upscale, modern twist," featuring conference and meeting spaces, grab-and-go retail space, a restaurant/bar with indoor and lakeside seating and a large fire pit. The building will be enclosed in heavy timber framing, natural stone, standing seam metal roofing and lots of glass for views of the lake and surrounding forest.

The project price tag climbed from an early design estimate of $29.4 million in 2017 to $40.4 million when tallied in April 2019. The project - which grew $11 million more expensive and was a surprise addition to the $38.5 billion 2019-20 state budget when approved by the Tennessee House - got the green light in November 2017. Demolition of the old inn was completed in 2018 under a separate contract.

(READ MORE: Fall Creek Falls State Park's new $2.7 million visitor center opens)

Facilities at the park were under construction throughout 1971. Dedication ceremonies were held in July 1972, according to archives.

The park has undergone several improvements over the years but none as sweeping as the new lodge.

Since around 2007, many campgrounds and camping facilities have been upgraded, the existing pool facility and snack bar were renovated and the park's fisherman's cabins on the 345-acre lake were renovated and refurbished, archives show. Parts of the Village Green's complex of buildings were renovated and a new irrigation system was installed at the golf course. The park also got a new playground area, roof replacements, restroom upgrades and fresh paint on structures. A canopy challenge course with suspended obstacles and zip lines also have been installed in the past several years.

The ribbon-cutting ceremony is set for 2 p.m. CST Tuesday at the lodge on the park's Lakeside Drive.

Contact Ben Benton at bbenton@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6569. Follow him on Twitter @BenBenton.

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