TOWNSEND, Tenn. — Tuesday the CEO of the Great Smoky Mountains Institute at Tremont (GSMIT) walked a recently-purchased plot of land near Townsend. The non-profit educational group expects the property to provide some needed flexibility for growth and future lodging.
"This is just outside of Townsend on a piece of property that borders the national park. This is land that is pretty much untouched, so there are no residences that have to be removed," said Catey Terry, who was named CEO in September 2018.
Since 1969, GSMIT's main campus has been inside the national park at a former Job Corps site. The site is surrounded by NPS property and any construction requires extensive environmental assessments. The primary lodging consists of Job Corps barracks with bunk beds.
"Fortunately, most people come to Tremont for the experience rather than the luxury accommodations. But many adults don't enjoy having seven or eight bunk beds in the same room. We recognize that. We knew we needed to grow. When you are in the park, you are limited in terms of expanding," said Terry.
The group says it was lucky to find the large piece of property with easy access from Bethel Church Road in Townsend. The 152-acre site shares a sizable boundary with the national park and is close to trails that lead to the primary campus.
"It's an eight mile hike. It was really important for us to have close proximity to our current building because we're not planning on leaving that site," said Terry.
GSMIT financed the $1 million property. Terry noted none of the purchase was made with the non-profit's endowment.
Aside from knowing it wants to use a small portion of the property for some kind of sustainable lodging, there is no clear timeline for exactly what will be built or when.
"We are still very much in the early planning stages. Whatever we do with this property, it is going to involve a lot of people and the community," said Terry.
For now, the land gives the non-profit a new world of options to continue its longtime mission of education in the great outdoors.
"Our focus is really getting kids to the park to experience that hands-on connection to nature. And just experience what it means to be in the park, in this setting, asking questions, and learning," said Terry.