SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — A development in Sevier County is promising to welcome visitors to the Great Smoky Mountains with a taste of adventure. It's called "The 407: Gateway to Adventure" and it's being built near the exit to Sevierville, Gatlinburg and the mountains.
Since construction started, the development has added a large Buc-ee's store. Developers are planning to build a Marriott hotel, as well as a "Puy du Fou" attraction that includes a themed show inspired by stories of heroism by Cherokee natives during World War I.
The work has brought visitors to Sevier County like never before, pulling off Exit 407 for a chance to refill at a popular store and gas station and explore the area, before driving off the explore the rest of the Great Smoky Mountains.
One neighbor said it wasn't what he moved to the area for. He said when he first arrived in the 1970s, he started calling the area home to escape the city.
"This is home to me, this is where I raised my children," said Lacy Shults, who lived in the area for decades. "This used to be all country. Now, the city has moved to me."
When he first arrived, there were only two lanes to the Great Smoky Mountains. His yard was once a plot of land filled with views of the mountains and waving grass. Now, that road has grown and the land includes the Gateway to Adventure.
"I don't go to Sevierville. I don't go to Gatlinburg. I don't go to Pigeon Forge unless I have to," he said.
Lacy is one of thousands of neighbors facing a new reality of the area's future. Developers said the projects are helping attract visitors to new areas.
"The primary thing that the 407 is doing is it's moving the draw to this area north," said Rick Laney, a spokesperson for developers of the project and the CEO of Rick Laney Marketing. "What we've done is, we put firmly the beginning to the Smoky Mountains' tourist appeal at the highway, right at the entrance."
Sevierville leaders said they are working to help alleviate issues related to traffic and population density. They are working with the Tennessee Department of Transportation to create a new exit off the highway — Exit 408.
"The future planning of long-range transportation plan that has been in the works by the Sevier County Transportation Board for many years to come, which would potentially involve an additional Exit 408," said Dustin Smith, Deputy City Administrator for the City of Sevierville.
The Gateway to Adventure is expected to mostly open by 2025, with some tenants like the Marriott Hotel to open by the summer of 2024.