FALMOUTH – A developer is seeking to turn the Sippewissett Campground & Cabins in Falmouth into a “glamping” destination.
Attorney Eliza Cox, representing Blue Flag Development, recently presented a proposal for the property to the town’s Planning Board.
The luxury camping retreat would decrease the number of campsites on the property from 122 to 108.
Each will be equipped with Airstreams or canvas tents, and include luxury linens, wifi and a fire pit.
Cox said the project, which aims to continue and elevate the camping experience, has many benefits.
“[It will] reduce the number of accommodations, preserve and enhance the beauty of this site, improve the environment with a significant reduction in nitrogen loading and also with stormwater drainage features which presently don’t exist,” Cox said.
Blue Flag Development and current owner, the Tessier Family Nominee Realty Trust, have a purchase and sale agreement in place.
Outdoor lodging brand AutoCamp would be the operator of the facility through the proposal. The location would be the first on the east coast for the company, which maintains sites in Nappa Valley, Yosemite, and Santa Barbara, California.
“Their mission is to connect people to the environment and to each other,” Cox said.
“So the aesthetic is very important. Providing a very beautiful, tranquil, natural location is of utmost importance in the design.”
The biggest change proposed would be the addition of a parking area in the front of the property, as vehicles will not be allowed at the campsites.
A new wastewater treatment facility would be placed under the new parking lot with a goal of reducing the areas nitrogen loading by 50 percent.
The proposal also includes a nearly 8,000-square-foot, two-story clubhouse for guests of the campgrounds.
The clubhouse would include a foyer, convenience store, deck with a hot tub and showers and restrooms.
“My client is very excited to be bringing this project forward to the town,” Cox said.
Cox said the design of the site was completed in a way to reduce the amount of grading and disturbance that would be associated with property upgrades.
“Some of the pathways, clubhouse and some of the Airstream trailers will be ADA compliant so there will be accessible camping options here on this site,” Cox said.
The proposal also maintains the direct connection to the Shining Sea Bikeway.
“The hope is that people staying here will be out enjoying all that Falmouth has to offer – the beaches, the biking and the downtown,” she said.
Significant landscaping improvements have also been proposed for the property, particularly along Palmer Avenue.
The project will also reduce some of the development that is within the buffer areas to the wetland.
“The project will require a filing with the Conservation Commission,” Cox said.
An initial meeting has been held with the Conservation Commission agent.
The planning board continued the project until its February 26 meeting.
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