Ground was officially broken last week at the site of a luxury RV resort under construction in East Ellijay.
The Talona Ridge RV Resort will span an upper and lower level on 35 acres just off Eller Road.
“We’ve been working on this project for almost three years now. We’re getting to do, on this project, everything we’ve always wished we could have done on all our other projects, from detail to luxury. You guys have been cultivating a year-round destination and it is incredible to be a part of,” ” said Wesley Henderson, executive developer with project company OneStone Outdoors, at the groundbreaking event attended by representatives from the Gilmer Chamber, as well as the county and East Ellijay governments.
Henderson said OneStone Outdoors is a family development company in the process of rebranding itself and relocating its headquarters to Gilmer County.
“We’ve been in the multifamily business the last 45 years, and we’ve specialized in apartments and rehab projects. Our partners who are now part of OneStone Outdoors have done several developments across the southeast, as well. We were introduced to Gilmer in 2004. We did a subdivision called Town Creek Estates right off Old Highway 5. That was our first project in Gilmer County,” he added.
Talona Ridge is planned to include more than 144 sites, said Henderson.
Plans for the resort feature such amenities as a lodge clubhouse, swimming pool, pickleball courts, Jacuzzis, a fitness center and a fenced-in dog park. It’s being promoted as an “upscale RV resort designed for the new age of luxury RVs” including “class A motor coaches and fifth wheels.”
“No other RV resort in the nation will have this package we’re putting in place,” said Henderson. “Normally, when you’re doing a resort like this, you’ve got to sell off the individual sites. We’re self-backing it, so we’re going to be one of the few in the nation that will stay full rental.”
“I think its something Gilmer County has needed for a good while,” Gilmer County Commission Chairman Charlie Paris told groundbreaking attendees.
“I am particularly interested in the fact that this is an RV resort. I do know the difference between an RV resort and an RV campground, so I’m very happy that we’re getting the latter. One of the differences, I think, once this is completed, is going to be this view,” he added.
According to information provided by East Ellijay’s city planning department, the potential addition to the local economy the resort could make in its first year is $67 million. That estimate includes state and local sales taxes on construction costs, hotel/motel tax, property taxes, wages paid to resort employees and money spent here by those renting RV spaces in a year’s time.
East Ellijay City Planner Mack Wood noted that several local retailers and restaurants will likely see an uptick in business from the year-round resort, which is approximately a mile off Highway 515.
The target date for Talona Ridge to open for business is March or April 2021, Henderson said.