County discusses new project for Pyne Road Park

Cabins and other amenities could be coming to Pyne Road Park thanks to a public-private partnership.

During the Troup County Board of Commissioners work session on Tuesday, the county discussed a potential partnership with Lovejoy Capital, an investment company out of Hampton, GA.

Lovejoy proposed a public-private partnership where they would invest upwards of $46 million to build 30-plus cabins and other camping-style rental units within Pyne Road Park, along with a plethora of attractions to bring people to the park.

Proposed attractions include a hedge maze, a canopy walk, an inclusive playground and expanded bike and hiking trails. The aim of the amenity concepts is to go along with the goals of the park’s master plan to bring people closer to nature.

“They’re inclusive, they’re family-friendly, they encourage activity, they’re sustainable and they create a link between nature and the public,” Murphy Talmadge, Managing Partner of Lovejoy Capital said.

“When we first talked about this, we mentioned the idea of doing kind of what Great Wolf does, but doing it in an outdoor fashion for families that are there,” he said.

Under the proposed partnership agreement, Lovejoy would provide the funding for the improvements at the park and for their part would operate and receive revenue from cabin rentals and other amenities in the park. For its part, the county would receive a percentage of those revenues along with increased hotel-motel and sales taxes as well as other benefits to increased tourism for Troup County.

Any changes to the park would still need to be signed off on by the Army Corps of Engineers. Commission Chairman Patrick Crews explained that the county leases the property from the Army Corps and doesn’t really own the park.

Talmadge explained that their mission with the project is to stay in line with the goals the Army Corps has with the long-term master plan for the park.

Talmadge said they also want to ensure that Troup County residents keep the public access they already have to the park. Parts of the park could potentially become gated but they would remain available for free for Troup County residents verified by ID or other means. Talmadge said for example access to the lake, the new playground and other open spaces would remain free for residents but other things like cabins and other rentals they would charge for.

One of the proposed changes would replace the current RV camping area with upscale tent-style camping. The RV camping area at the park currently has relatively low occupancy rates, and they feel the area would be better suited for tents.

The post County discusses new project for Pyne Road Park appeared first on LaGrange Daily News .