Construction will begin later this year on a $4 million treehouse resort in Sumter County.
The Blissful Getaway Treehouse Resort will be located at 2940 County Road 776 in Webster. The resort will have 10 residential treehouse units. Other amenities are expected to include a swimming pool, bathhouse, dog park and pickleball court.
Last year, the proposed project raised eyebrows when it was presented to the Sumter County Commission. During a public hearing of more than 90 minutes, land owner Lenteisa Hill and her attorney, Mary Solik, discussed the vision for the resort.
“It’s going to be a place for serenity and peace – a place to relax,” Hill said.
Two years earlier, commissioners rejected a plan by Hill for a luxury RV park on the property.
Solik said the resort could provide lodging for people at a nearby wedding venue.
Ranging in size from 400 to 960 square feet, the treehouses will cost $310 to $510 a night.
Hill said no trees will be cut down unless they are diseased. The resort will have six employees and the treehouses won’t exceed the height restriction of 35 feet.
Neighbors were not thrilled with the treehouse proposal, which ultimately won the commission’s blessing on a 4-1 vote.
“It’s right in my backyard,” said Jermaine Canty, who runs DoughJ’s Chicken & Donuts. “I don’t want to walk out on my porch and see somebody with their Tarzan suit on.”