Feasibility study by Chicago consulting firm shows Lake Cumberland area would reap significant rewards from a destination experience in Burnside

What is being proposed on General Burnside Island does not exist in the Commonwealth of Kentucky. And should the Dream Big Burnside Authority be successful in its quest to negotiate a public-private partnership (P3) to build a destination resort on the island, it will pay significant dividends for the Lake Cumberland region.

Those were the findings of a feasibility study released Friday by the Hunden Partners, a Chicago-based full-service real estate development advisory practice specializing in such studies for transformative destination assets. The 162-page report shared with the Dream Big Authority board of directors includes intelligence gathered from interviews with hospitality, tourism and entertainment businesses in the region, a review of hospitality and tourism trends, and a comparative analysis of nine similar resort destinations in the United States.

Hunden’s research indicates there is a significant gap in the market that a resort on Burnside Island could fill.

Such a project, depending on size, could generate as many as 780 construction jobs and have a 30-year economic impact of up to $737 million in spending, $38 million in earnings, 28 full-time jobs, and $63 million in city, county and state tax revenue.

“A compelling destination development on General Burnside Island has been decades in the making and we commend Dream Big Burnside Authority for its work to date,” said Rob Hunden, Hunden’s founder and CEO. “We are excited to have completed this milestone showing the potential success of a destination resort in the Lake Cumberland region.”

Chris Girdler, president and CEO of the Somerset-Pulaski Economic Development Authority (SPEDA) and chair of the Dream Big Burnside Authority, said there has never been such a focused and collaborative effort to bring the vision of Burnside Island to fruition. 

“While there have been feasibility studies in the past, there has never been one as extensively and professionally conducted as the one just unveiled,” Girdler said. “It paints a picture of what we have all known for a long time: that the sky is the limit when it comes to the positive impact a resort-style facility would have on our community, region and the Commonwealth of Kentucky as a whole.”

A look at current tourism trends would indicate that people — there are more than 7.6 million potential travelers within a three-hour drive time radius from Burnside — are willing to pay for and travel to such resorts. Tourism in Kentucky has changed in that horses and bourbon are attracting people worldwide with big dollars to spend on upscale experiences, said Ryan Sheridan, Hunden project manager. That gives Burnside an advantage with the Horse Soldier Farms distillery experience currently under construction. Locals are also engaging in these types of facilities, especially on weekends. 

Sheridan said though nightly rates at similar resorts have nearly doubled since the pandemic, occupancy rates have returned to pre-pandemic levels.

“People are still willing to pay because they want the unique feel and access to amenities that make these places successful,” Sheridan said.

Diversity of amenities is crucial to the success of a resort-style destination, Sheridan said. The report offers two recommendations for creating a resort destination on Burnside Island — one 120 keys and 15 cabins, the other 140 keys and 30 cabins — that include seasonal land and water rentals, a full-service spa, seasonal events and live entertainment venues, a variety of food and beverage outlets, and up to 9,500-square-feet of functional ballroom and meeting room space for conferences and events. It retains the public access amenities the community has come to love about Burnside Island, such as the golf course, campground and six-lane boat ramp.

In its review of comparative resorts, Hunden’s team zeroed in on Lanier Islands Legacy Lodge in Buford, Georgia, as a strong case study of a successful public-private partnership similar to Burnside Island. Lanier Islands is owned by the U.S. Corps of Engineers. The Corps leased the property to the state of Georgia through a 50-year agreement. The state then established an authority similar to Dream Big Burnside to control the property, which was subleased to developers to build a resort. The authority has since reinvested money generated in economic impact, as well as the lease payments, back into the island to improve roads and build a convention center.

A long-term land lease would be the most ideal and preferred scenario for Burnside Island, according to the report. A P3 structure would allow the Commonwealth to enable private development or operation of facilities on state-owned land while remaining part of the Kentucky State Parks system. The General Assembly could grant developable land to Dream Big Burnside, which could then lease it to a private developer. The benefits of such a structure would include the state retaining ownership of the park, enhanced park amenities, and increased tourism revenue without the state bearing the full development cost.

This is the model the authority has sought since it was formed in 2021. A City of Burnside agency with representatives from the City of Somerset, Pulaski County Government and SPEDA, the authority was established to accomplish what the late Gov. A.B. “Happy” Chandler set out to do in 1958 when Burnside Island was adopted into the state parks system. According to the Congressional Record, following an initial development phase that included a recreation area with a swimming pool, picnic tables, grills, a group camp, tent/trailer area and golf course, Chandler envisioned the second phase of development would include “a central building, eating and sleeping accommodations, and the like,” according to a letter from the state’s commissioner of conservation at that time.

More than 65 years later, General Burnside Island continues to resemble the first phase of this vision, despite the creation of Dream Big Burnside and a 2022 directive to the Kentucky Department of Parks from the General Assembly to develop a comprehensive statewide proposal to enhance Kentucky’s state park system through public-private partnerships. 

An appropriation from the General Assembly in the 2024 session allowed for this feasibility study to move forward. Now, the Hunden team is recommending that Dream Big Burnside, along with legal and consulting partner Frost Brown Todd LLP, share this study with legislators and seek to secure a land lease from the Kentucky Department of Parks that would allow Dream Big to issue a request for proposals to seek developer interest.

“We thank all of our local, state and federal officials for their continued support and encouragement to bring this project to fruition,” Girdler said. “We anticipate this study will further demonstrate to the Department of Parks that we need to move this project along for the betterment of the Lake Cumberland region and the overall parks system.”

Burnside Mayor Robert Lawson said he is thrilled to see the results of this study.

“Hunden is a driven, thorough group of experts, and they undoubtedly produced a fact-based study of the island’s potential to be a standout resort destination,” Lawson said. “Their positive findings solidify the City of Burnside’s confidence in the Dream Big project. The city is grateful to Hunden Partners for their commitment to quality research and gives credit to Chairman Chris Girdler and the Dream Big Board for selecting a group of this caliber. I’m excited as we move forward to the next step.”