Lush summer aerial view of the Bryson City project site at Round Hill Road

Bryson City, North Carolina

Ferncrest Bryson City is a phased outdoor hospitality development in one of the Southeast's established drive-to leisure markets.

The 23-acre site was formerly operated as Canopy Cove Campground under the previous owner and is now being repositioned as Ferncrest Bryson City. The Reserve at Round Hill remains the working name during construction as the property advances toward an August 2026 launch.

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Project Snapshot

A phased hospitality redevelopment with sponsor capital already committed and execution in progress.

OpenSky Hospitality LLC is repositioning a 23-acre Bryson City parcel near the Tuckasegee River and the Great Smoky Mountains corridor into Ferncrest Bryson City, an outdoor hospitality project structured around disciplined phased delivery.

The development plan targets an August 2026 launch by leveraging the site's existing campground status, advancing early-stage site work, and sequencing improvements through a two-phase buildout focused on premium domes, cabins, wellness amenities, and privacy-oriented site planning.

Planned Suites

Domes and cabins with a premium unit mix and private outdoor amenities.

$1.8M

Startup Cost

Total project capex across land, equipment, and site redevelopment.

$1.4M

Annual Revenue

Projected stabilized rental income in the underwriting deck.

65%

EBITDA Margin

Asset-light operating model supported by brand and systems infrastructure.

Lifestyle view of a glamping dome at sunset

Wellness-led, family-ready, four-season lodging.

Private hot tubs, sauna and cold plunge programming, on-site trails, and a layout designed for seclusion.

Why This Project Works

The development case combines market demand, a usable site, and capital that is already at work.

Demand

Great Smoky Mountains visitation keeps Bryson City in the center of year-round travel.

Bryson City's market is anchored by 12 million annual national park visits, strong railroad tourism volume, and dependable draw from the Nantahala, Tuckasegee, and outdoor adventure corridor. The Great Smoky Mountains Railroad — home to the nationally recognized Polar Express — draws over 90,000 passengers every November and December, making Bryson City one of the Southeast's most visited winter leisure destinations. Critically, this is a distinct visitor base: holiday-season railroad guests travel specifically for Bryson City, not as an extension of a Smoky Mountains itinerary. Explore Bryson City →

Positioning

It fills the gap between basic campgrounds and luxury resort rates.

Comparable rates in the region support a premium mid-market lane, with a design-forward product that still sits below the all-in pricing of destination resorts.

Execution

The site already benefits from existing campground entitlement.

The development plan calls for administrative upgrades instead of a full zoning reset, reducing timeline risk and keeping capital pointed toward productive improvements.

Borrower Strength

Lenders are reviewing a sponsor-backed operating platform, not just a concept.

Sponsor Commitment

Sponsor capital is already committed and deployed.

The sponsor group has committed $720K of equity, with $400K applied to acquisition and $320K already allocated across construction progress, equipment, and franchise advance to Ferncrest.

Execution Background

The project is being advanced as an operating platform, not a passive land hold.

OpenSky Hospitality is advancing Bryson City as a long-term hospitality asset with phased delivery, franchise support, and hands-on operating oversight as the site moves toward launch.

Financing Path

Detailed underwriting stays off the public site and moves into direct review.

Full borrower support materials, underwriting schedules, and construction documentation are available upon request for active financing conversations.

Market Access

Drive-market proximity gives the project a deep, repeatable guest pool.

The Bryson City location is positioned for short-stay and long-weekend demand from Asheville, Knoxville, Charlotte, and Atlanta. That reach matters for debt because it supports a durable booking base without relying on fly-in tourism.

Asheville, Knoxville, Charlotte, and Atlanta

Immediate access to target metros with a high concentration of young families and experience-driven travelers.

Four-season demand drivers

National park traffic, river recreation, mountain biking, hiking, rafting, and holiday rail traffic create more than a single-season revenue profile.

Authentic location story

The setting supports the brand promise naturally, which lowers the burden on artificial programming and keeps the guest proposition easy to understand.

Product and Plan

A differentiated layout built around privacy, wellness, and efficient infrastructure reuse.

The concept calls for 25 custom domes and cabins with seven premium hot tub units, a cedar sauna, cold plunge, a fire pit lounge, and an on-site hiking loop. The physical plan uses topography, tree cover, and spacing to create a more private stay than the local RV and cabin alternatives.

Phase 1

13 domes, 2 cabins, parking, and the core amenity area to establish the first operating revenue base.

Phase 2

10 additional domes and cabins to complete the planned key count and premium inventory mix.

Readiness

Existing septic infrastructure, designed utility scope, and the current campground classification support a compressed launch schedule.

Design-forward geodesic glamping dome concept

Site Layout

The site plan supports premium rate integrity without chasing excessive density.

The proposed layout prioritizes guest separation, terrain-sensitive siting, and amenity placement that lets the property feel more exclusive than a traditional campground conversion.

40 to 50 feet of intentional separation

Distance, grade changes, and vegetation are used as operational privacy tools.

Administrative permitting advantage

The deck frames the planned upgrades as administrative approvals rather than a major zoning event.

Accessibility built into the plan

An accessible dome and updated pathways to shared areas are included from the start.

Execution Progress

Public-facing progress is centered on what has already been completed and what is already underway.

The public summary stays high level. Detailed underwriting, financial models, and line-item budgets are reserved for direct financing review.

Acquired

Land Control

The Bryson City property has already been acquired and placed into the current development plan.

Underway

Development Work

Clearing, trails, grading, and other site-preparation activity are already underway across the property.

Advanced

Ferncrest / Equipment

Capital has already been allocated to franchise-related and equipment-related commitments tied to launch readiness.

Phased

Delivery Structure

Phase 1 carries the heavier execution load, with Phase 2 completing remaining inventory after the initial operating platform is established.

Acquisition Complete

The site has already transitioned from target asset to controlled development property.

That matters because lender review begins from a closed acquisition and an active project, rather than a speculative land sourcing effort.

Phase 1 Priority

Early capital is focused on the hard work that makes the site operational.

Site preparation, trails, permitting coordination, utility backbone, and North Carolina general contractor requirements are weighted toward Phase 1 before later inventory expansion.

Information Access

Detailed underwriting materials are available through direct lender engagement.

The financing package includes the supporting schedules, draw logic, reserve framework, and project documentation that are not appropriate for the public site.

Risk Mitigants

The project works best when its risks are named plainly and matched with controls.

Entitlement

Existing campground status reduces one of the biggest development risks.

The current operating classification materially improves the path to administrative approvals and keeps the project away from a full entitlement reset.

Phasing

Phased delivery gives the sponsor room to sequence capital and operating ramp.

Phase 1 establishes the first revenue base before the full key count is deployed, which can help manage startup volatility and construction pacing.

Brand and Systems

Ferncrest Bryson City adds operating standards that reduce early-stage execution drift.

The franchise relationship supports launch planning, operating systems, guest standards, and broader marketing reach that a first-location independent borrower would otherwise need to build from scratch.

Active Progress

Site Preparation & Initial Earthwork

The 23-acre repositioning is underway, focusing on heavy grading, clearing, and establishing the foundational road network to support the upcoming infrastructure and vertical deployment phases.

Sunset over the surrounding mountains from the site

Newly cut dirt road weaving through the hillside

Aerial view of grading with existing canopy cove tents

Site hillside grading with erosion control mats in place

Proposed Product

Ferncrest Dome Concept Visualizations

The architectural strategy integrates Ferncrest's premium geometric dome structures with custom elevated deck platforms, navigating the natural topography to minimize environmental impact while maximizing guest privacy.

Visualization of a Ferncrest dome on an elevated deck

Close-up architectural render of the Ferncrest dome at sunset

Full view of the premium dome suite structure

Aerial visualization of domes adjacent to existing camp structures

Ferncrest glamping concept featuring a premium hot tub deck representative of the operating partnership

Sponsor and Franchise Bios

Named operators matter when the borrower is still in startup mode.

With the Franchise Disclosure Document (FDD) executed in March 2026, OpenSky Hospitality has paired a startup sponsor team with a national franchise support platform. That combination gives lenders sponsor-side operating accountability alongside an external support structure behind launch.

Naveen Devineni | Sponsor

Hospitality and restaurant execution lead for OpenSky Hospitality LLC.

Naveen Devineni serves in a sponsor-side operating role for the Bryson City project, bringing 10 years of experience in hospitality and restaurant business operations. His background supports guest experience standards, service systems, staffing rhythm, and launch-readiness as the property moves from construction into stabilized operations.

Brian Linton | Ferncrest Franchise Support

Co-founder support from the Ferncrest platform.

Brian Linton, co-founder of Ferncrest, represents the franchise support layer behind Ferncrest Bryson City. Ferncrest was built by transforming distressed hospitality assets into design-forward outdoor lodging, and the brand now provides site planning, operating procedures, technology systems, and distribution support intended to improve launch consistency for a first-location borrower.

Next Step

Financing conversations move best when the public story is concise and the detailed package is reviewed directly.

The public project page is meant to establish the market, capital commitment, and execution case. Active financing partners can move directly into the full underwriting package covering borrower support, construction documentation, reserve planning, and underwriting assumptions.

Lending / underwriting contact

Email contact@theopenskyproperties.com or open the lender overview for the public financing summary and data-room request path.

Open Lender Overview