Local land and business developer Josh Sprayberry updated the Eatonton-Putnam Tourism, Arts, and Heritage (EPTAH) partnership on June 19 on the progress of building Len Resort, a new community and hotel planned for Lake Oconee in Putnam County.
Speaking before nearly 20 business, government, and community leaders at EPTAH’s monthly meeting, hosted by the Eatonton-Putnam Chamber of Commerce, Sprayberry described a 50-acre project alongside Collis Road that would include a 141-room Marriott-Autograph, which he described as “kind of a high-end boutique lifestyle hotel,” similar to the Marriott-Avalon hotel in Alpharetta.
Sprayberry, who built the huge, dry-stack Anchors Marina alongside Hwy. 44 on Lake Oconee, said the Len Resort would feature a second Anchors location. However, it would be primarily to service a fleet of in-house rental boats and boats associated with a planned 49-unit residential component to the project.
“Marriott has kind of jumped really big into the mixed-use development game and these will all be branded residential villas and condos, so we’re doing two condo buildings so that if you have a property owner that wants to have their entire unit on one floor, they’ll have an option for that. And then we’re doing the rest of the buildings more in townhome style,” Sprayberry explained.
He suggested for the price of a similar stay at a nearby, high-end luxury hotel suite, the Len Resort will be able to provide a 1,600-square-foot villa, with two master bedrooms, a full-size living/entertaining area, and a full-size kitchen.
“We really think it’s a unique family product where we can encourage families to come here and stay and kind of have that vacation spot on the property, with all the amenities of the hotel, but be able to spread out as well.”
Sprayberry said the hotel rooms will each feature a full-size balcony with lake views and be situated within 100 feet of the water.
The proposed resort will also feature a 250-seat, full-service restaurant serving breakfast, lunch, and dinner daily.
The restaurant, Sprayberry said, will feature a nautical blue with wood décor. “Kind of imagine an old Chris Craft, kind of that blue leather and the wood of a classic boat,” he suggested.
A large, nearby in-ground pool will serve as another congregating, lounging, and partying space. Above the restaurant will be a 3,000-square-foot rooftop bar with seating for 100 and overall space for 200 patrons at any given time.
“I really think that’s going to be kind of our signature thing with the different sunset experiences [from] the rooftop bar and private events and things like that,” Sprayberry said.
Sprayberry also described plans to add a 10,000-square-foot, covered, outdoor event space for receptions, family reunions, or other large gatherings, as well as possibly a small chapel to conduct weddings that could double as another smaller meeting space or even a farmer’s market on given days.
“There are a lot of options still available,” he said.
However, given the limited acreage, an attached golf course is not possible, Sprayberry conceded, so Len Resort will work closely with all nearby courses to satisfy those liking the links.
He said that Remington Hospitality, out of Dallas, Tex., has been selected as a third-party operator to run the resort, adding that they already operate about 120 hotels or resorts nationwide. Atlanta-based Raven Architects, which designed the St. Regis in Buckhead and the Four Seasons in Midtown, is handling the design for the planned resort.
Site and foundation permit requests have been sent to the county, and groundbreaking could happen as soon as August, Sprayberry said, as long as everything falls into place, including ongoing funding efforts.
“We are in the capital raising phase, so we are raising some equity. We’ve got to have about $50 million in equity to take this project off, and we’re about halfway there, and we only started about 45 days ago,” he explained. “So hopefully, over the next two or three months, we can raise the rest of the money we need and really be able to kick off in August or September as we plan. So, from an opening standpoint, we should make Memorial Day of 2026. That’s kind of our target.”
Once the resort is up and running at its full potential, Sprayberry estimated it will employ about 160 people and pay about $3.5 million in local taxes annually.
“So, a pretty significant impact, and we’re pretty passionate about being where we are,” he said. “We’ve been on this same train for about four-and-a-half years now, so we’ve been pretty dedicated to seeing this through and delivering a great asset to the community.”
To that end, Sprayberry pledged that Len Resort would also remain open to the local community. He said the management team plans to hold several public-oriented events year-round, such as a fall festival, a haunted Halloween trail, a Christmas light trail featuring a lighting of the tree ceremony, and big Memorial Day and Fourth of July celebrations.
“We intend to be open to the public. We even oversized the lobby so people could come and meet there,” Sprayberry said. “Those peak times will probably be stretched a little thin, so it might have to be reservation only, but we do tend to open up the facilities those holiday weekends.
“That’s when most people are here and we want to welcome them to this county, not putting security guards and Sheriff’s deputies at the road and along the facilities checking IDs,” he promised. “That’s an important thing for us.”