DELLROY, Ohio — The approval of agreements that officially transfer ownership of the 47-year-old lodge and golf course to the county from the Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District culminates several years of work by the MWCD to find a new owner for the facility.
The commissioners were expected to approve the agreements during a recent meeting. During an earlier meeting, MWCD board members approved a property donation agreement and related agreements that permit the commissioners to take possession of an estimated 500 acres of property that encompass the resort operation as soon as the transaction closes, which is expected to occur quickly.
The 104-room lodge was constructed by the MWCD and opened in 1965, and has been operated through the years by a variety of management and hotel firms, as well as by the MWCD.
Problem
The resort has been closed for more than a year as the MWCD was unable to stop mounting financial losses at the facility that overlooks Atwood Lake. Carroll County commissioners announced an immediate interest in taking over the lodge and recently said they will be working to find an appropriate operator.
Atwood Lake Resort, commonly referred to as Atwood Lodge, closed in October 2010 after suffering from increasing deficits that exceeded $1 million in each of its last two years of operation. Historically, the resort had not been a source of revenues for the MWCD, losing an average of more than $159,000 per year since it opened in 1965.
Atwood Lake Park, which is operated by the MWCD, and the two marinas located on Atwood Lake (owned by private operators on property leased from the MWCD) remain open for business as usual.
Details
The lodge is located on about 600 acres of property owned by the MWCD off Route 542 between Sherrodsville and Dellroy in Carroll County and when it was fully operational, included the 104-room main hotel, dining room and conference center, two golf courses, 17 vacation cabins and indoor and outdoor swimming pools, along with other amenities.
