Branson aldermen approve development of ‘adventure resort’

The Branson Board of Aldermen yesterday approved a rezoning request that paves the way for development of Mountain Adventure Resort.

The board’s action nullifies a planned development dubbed Butcher Hollow, which was created as a mixed-use project to include commercial spaces, residences and timeshares. In part because of a roughly 300-foot elevation change on the property, the 1997-approved Butcher Hollow never came to fruition.

Branson Planning and Development Director Joel Hornickel said a theater, which was later converted to a church, was the only project completed at Butcher Hollow. The Skyline Southern Baptist Church would continue to operate adjacent to the planned Mountain Adventure Resort at 949 Missouri 165, he said. The land is located in southwest Branson near Table Rock Lake.

With the board of aldermen’s approval, construction on the roughly 80-acre Mountain Adventure Resort is soon slated to begin with the target of opening two attractions by the summer tourism season, Hornickel said, noting the cost of the project was not included in documents submitted to the city. The Rising LLC development group is led by Dan Ruda, co-owner and president of Thousand Hills Golf Resort in Branson. Ruda could not be reached for comment by deadline.

The two attractions would be a “zip coaster,” which is similar to a zip line but moves in multiple directions, and a mountain coaster, a roller coaster that takes advantage of the natural topography drop instead of being machine operated.

“Those would be unique to the area,” Hornickel said. “Based on how well they do, they’ll hopefully add more attractions.”

Future plans for Mountain Adventure Resort include cabins, a synthetic snowboard slopes, a surf pool, bungee jumps and a segway course. The plan calls for the development to be open year-round.