MIFFLIN TOWNSHIP — The abandoned Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center along State Route 603 could someday blossom into a glamping resort.
The 45-acre site of the 1,700-seat outdoor amphitheater, built in 2004, closed in 2005 after just two seasons. It has sat unused since then.
But that could change. Today it’s under the microscope of a Chicago firm that specializes in appraising property and conducting feasibility studies for clients interested in building outdoor destinations, including campgrounds, RV resorts and glamping — a more luxurious form of camping.
Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District (MWCD), which owns the property located at the southeast corner of Charles Mill Lake, hired Sage Commercial Advisory to complete the feasibility study for $8,500 in February, according to MWCD’s contract with the firm.
The nonprofit that leased the land from MWCD, Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center, dissolved in December 2017. When that happened, the buildings on the property became MWCD’s.
In October 2018, the conservancy commissioned a firm that builds outdoor theaters to see what it would take to rehabilitate it, said Craig Butler, MWCD’s executive director.
“When they came back to us, they showed the facility had severe limitations. It was too large for a small venue and too small for a big venue. And the location was difficult,” he said.
On top of the odd location is the fact that the facility’s wastewater infrastructure is in shambles, Butler said.
“None of the electronics would work right now — so electrical, parking facilities, the road needs improvement. It could be in the million-plus dollars range to fix it up,” he said, adding the site poses a safety hazard, too. That’s why the driveway is gated, Butler said.
So the plan then became to demolish the crumbling site that has been exposed to the elements for more than a decade. That’s when MWCD approached the Ashland County Land Reutilization Corporation, or the Ashland land bank.
Bill Harvey, the land bank’s manager, said the conservancy district reached out to him December 2020. He said the agency wondered if the land bank would use some of its funds to help raze the structures there.
The money, Harvey said, would have been from the land bank’s allocation of Ohio Building Demolition and Site Revitalization Program money.
During its January meeting, the land bank board said it would like to meet with MWCD to tour the facility and learn about which structures it wanted to demolish, but that meeting never happened, Harvey said.
“And (the Ashland land bank) didn’t get much demolition money anyway,” Harvey said.
The land bank received nearly $37,000 for its slated demolitions in 2022. Butler said the conservancy’s estimates for demolishing the Johnny Appleseed Heritage Center came in at $300,000.
“We would have taken out the amphitheater building, the training center, the seating area — taken down the structures and rubble-ize the concrete,” he said.
However, the conservancy district never put that demolition out for bid, hoping for another idea.
“No one has been able to come with a profitable idea. So at this point it’s either change it to upscale camping opportunities or tear the structures down (to make room) for another venue,” Butler said.
Glamping combines the words “camping” and “glamorous.” It is a luxurious, and often more expensive, form of spending time in a secluded locale.
Glamping has grown as an industry in the U.S. and beyond as people prefer paying a little extra for a luxurious outdoor experience.
A Business Research Company report from September 2022 shows the global glamping market is expected to grow from $2.27 billion in 2021 to $2.57 billion in 2022. By 2026, the industry’s worth is expected to swell to $4.23 billion, with North America as the world’s fastest-growing region.
According to the contract between MWCD and Sage Commercial Advisory, the firm is exploring the feasibility of three unit types, including tree houses, yerts, safari tents or any number of things, Butler said.
Other amenities could include a pool, playgrounds and trails.
“There are rough trails on the property already, so we’d want to build other amenities. It’s kind of a blank canvas in some ways,” Butler said.
He expects the feasibility study to come back in the next few months.
Should the study show that glamping would work there, the site could be constructed and finished by 2024 or 2025, Butler said.
