From Staff Reports 

MAGGIE VALLEY — Frankie Wood outlined the vision of the group of investors with whom he is associated to develop the Ghost Town in the Sky property, as well as a number of other properties around Haywood County, during an Aug. 3 Rmeeting of the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce.

“Wood began by greeting the crowd and explaining his basic plans, which, he said, could end in a total $200 million investment,” The (Waynesville) Mountaineer reported.

In a follow-up interview after the meeting, Dave Angel, local liaison for the development group and the owner of Elevated Mountain Distilling Co. in Maggie Valley, told the Daily Planet on Aug. 7 that, “from what I’ve heard (at the meeting), I’m thrilled with what’s they’re (talking about) bringing. It’s growth for our community. I think it’s a step forward for Maggie Valley’s future, economically.

Angel added, “I talked briefly with Frankie” after initially being contacted on Aug. 6 by the Daily Planet. “He said he’s about six months away from making a more formal announcement. It will be later this year (or possibly early next year) before he will make a more detailed announcment. He said it (a more formal announcement) would be five or six months away.”

Angle also explained that the Aug. 3 meeting “was intended more as a ‘meet-and-greet.’ He didn’t have a formal presentation. He talked high level and took questions from the audience to see what was on their minds.”

Regarding Wood, Angel said, “He’s just one of several developers of the project. He’s part of a development group.”

As for his own part in the developers’ project, he asserted, “I don’t have an official title with them. I’m more or less a local liaison who helps the development group navigate things locally.”

In a separate interview, Teresa Smith, executive director of the Maggie Valley Chamber of Commerce, told the Daily Planet on Aug. 6, “The chamber is very excited about the project.”

She added, “We’re anxiously waiting on further developments” on the plans for the group that he represent and “we will invite Mr. Wood back” to address the chamber when he is prepared to unveil more their plans for the area.

The crowd size for the Aug. 3 meeting was not specified in The Mountaineer’s story, but the newspaper cited Smith as saying that the attendance “was the largest seen at one of the chamber’s Rise and Shine meetings in quite some time.”

During his presentation, Wood said of his plans, “These are things I’ve been working on for almost two years here in Maggie Valley,” The Mountaineer quoted him as saying. “And I’ve had lots of support....

“The focus is not just Ghost Town. I had to look and think about a lot of things with local businesses and how we can have an impact here in a good way.”

As for improvements he would like to work on around town, Wood said he would like to see “a grocery store, live music venues, some kind of health care clinic and activities for kids,” The Mountaineer noted.

In addition to discussing the need to develop more affordable housing in the Maggie Valley area, he spoke of developing “RV resorts” and other housing such as cottages, town houses and even possibly a “lodge-type” hotel with around 120 rooms that could be placed at the upper end of the Ghost Town parking lot.

During a question-and-answer session that followed his talk, someone asked about Wood’s timeline for development.

In response, The Mountaineer quoted Wood as saying, “We’ve already started gutting the A-frame... We’re hoping to have something going this year, if we can, on the lower level” of the Ghost Town property.

The Mountaineer noted that Wood also has secured “numerous demolition permits for the upper part of the property.”

It then quoted Wood as saying, “There are some buildings we’re going to try to save, but not more than a few... Ghost Town has totally been through hell.”

The Mountaineer story added, “Wood also said that one of the biggest stumbling blocks up to this point has been the availability of skilled labor. 

As for specifics on the lower level of the Ghost Town property — now just a massive parking lot and an A-frame, The Mountaineer quoted Wood as likening certain elements of it to “Broadway on the Beach,” a popular Myrtle Beach attraction that combines shopping, dining and entertaining.”

The Mountaineer reported the majority of people commenting “were optimistic,” but that a man who the newspaper did not identify, complained to Wood and quoted the man as saying, “You have said ‘Myrtle Beach’ 35 times today.” (Wood is based in Myrtle Beach, S.C.)

The man reportedly voiced his concern that Myrtle Beach’s style of large-scale development could actually hurt Maggie Valley. “My conern is Myrtle Beach has a lot of crime. Myrtle Beach is crazy.”

In response, Wood was quoted by The Mountaineer as saying, “There’s absolutely no way I want this (Maggie Valley) to be Pigeon Forge (Tenn.) or Myrtle Beach. If I wanted it to be Myrtle Beach, I’d stay there.”