Family’s “project of love” rapidly taking shape in downtown Waldport; hopes to partially open in late fall

By GARRET JAROS/Lincoln Chronicle

WALDPORT ­– A one-of-a-kind downtown campground and boutique golf course is taking shape and turning heads as it enters the back nine toward completion – which barring any unforeseen sand traps – could partially open in the late fall.

Livesay Development Group of Corvallis is transforming the long-vacant site of the former Waldport Middle School along Alsea Bay into a “glamping” – that’s glamorous camping – style resort that will offer an 18-hole Bonsai golf course, geodesic domes and two open-air pavilions.

Developers describe the golf course as a putting game with manicured greens among landscaped rolling hills and sand traps. A dry riverbed also winds through the course which will have alternate holes to change the roll and difficulty of play.

In addition to the course and two pavilions – one for food carts and one for events — the resort will feature 11 geodesic domes for campers, private showers and laundry, a camp store, playground and bathrooms.

“I’m thinking we should be open, I’m hoping and here again wishful thinking, to open in late fall at least the golf course portion,” said Amy Jamros of Livesay Development. “And then the glamping portion might be a little bit behind that. I would like late fall, but it may be winter.”

With the tag line – Picnic, Play, Stay – Livesay began the permitting process for the resort last November with the hope of opening by summer. But the first-time developers of Jamros, her husband, Nic, and mother Jennifer Livesay, quickly learned that delays are par for the course.

“Just the natural cause of construction delays and schedules,” said Nic Jamros, who has been working alongside their contractors. “Some of the materials we purchased had a longer lead time than we thought. It’s just the cost of us not having 100 percent experience on knowing what we now know.”

The project is “plugging along,” he said as he walked the property last week.

“Once the slabs were poured the vertical phase has gone pretty fast,” Nic Jamros said. “The camp store was done in 2 1/2 to three days. The golf course itself is finished. We are just kind of buttoning up, doing some landscaping between the holes. What’s left after that is just the pads that connect each hole.”

The course, designed by Chris Holvey of Cascade Green Oregon, uses varying depths of artificial turf for the greens and fringes, but will not have lighting so its hours will vary depending on sunrise and sunset.

High hopes for project

Amy Jamros said they want people to enjoy Waldport’s bayfront, like she and her family have over the years. The Jamros’ have a home in Waldport and extended family who grew up in town, but now live in Corvallis.

“And we want to keep the space open and encourage families and kids to come and just have a really cool place,” she said.

While opening in winter may not be ideal, she believes it will still draw visitors.

“People like weathering out a storm at the coast,” Amy Jamros said. “And I know the salmon season is about to start. And there are a lot of fishermen that come into town that are looking for a place to stay to get warm and dry. Our tents are engineered for up to 130 mph winds and they’ll be super airtight and water tight and warm. So it should be kind of a fun little experience.”

The east pavilion will eventually house four food carts. Livesay Development has purchased a pizza cart and a beverage cart with nine beer taps and two wine taps. They are still seeking applications for the two other vendors – preferably with unique offerings.

“We are open to doing popups, like a cart that just comes for the day, even if it’s from the valley,” Amy Jamros said. “We are open to all kinds of scenarios. I would love to have Fishmongers.”

The west pavilion will will be open to the public and may be available to rent for special events such as weddings, yoga classes and photography retreats.

Cost of doing business

There have been a few hidden bunkers the family has had to chip its way out of to keep the project on course, as well as some unexpected costs – concrete in particular.

“We’ve tried to be as budget conscious as possible,” Amy Jamros said. “We’re not big, deep-pocket developers. A very substantial portion of our budget is going to concrete work.”

There are five concrete pads on the property. But the city’s requirement to build sidewalks around the perimeter was the biggest expense.

“We are doing all the curb and gutter all along Cedar Street, all along John Street,” Amy Jamros said. “We are doing two ADA improvements. And then we relocated a fire hydrant which was incredibly expensive — $35,000. We are trying do everything the city asks of us within reason.

“We don’t really have room to say ‘No, we’re not going to do that’,” she added. “But some stuff, I think in hindsight, we’re like ‘Did we need to do that?’ ”

Amy Jamros did not give an amount, but said the project has gone over budget because it was Livesay’s first swing as a developer and they did not have a firm grasp of all the costs involved.

“Like site prep,” she said. “And some errors on the bathroom design that had to be switched mid-stream. Some things that were missed by the county building inspector that Livesay caught in time but those could have been bad.

“So, we’ve had change orders and technically, costly mistakes, but not like super costly,” she continued. “But it kind of adds up. And I think that just happens with every development.”

Nic Jamros said there have been “some audibles” along the way and some back and forth with the city about sidewalks and adjustments to account for light poles in the roads that had to be worked around.

“The city is getting a lot of free sidewalks out of this,” he said. “A significant portion of our investment is in sidewalk improvement. So I hope the city and the community is very happy. The rest of the footprint of the place is really not that crazy. But a significant part of our budget went toward improving the city’s infrastructure.”

The developers are also creating marked, parallel curbside parking, which will also provide a 25-space parking lot for campers and visitors on the property.

Waldport’s system development charges for the project amounted to $85,515, according to city planner Jaime White. A small portion can be reimbursed after the infrastructure is in place.

Project of love

Despite the cost and the learning curve, the project is one of love in honor of AmyJamros’ stepfather, Bruce Livesay, who died suddenly and unexpectedly in 2022.

Jennifer Livesay was thinking of selling the land because it was her husband’s passion to develop it in some way, Jamros told the Lincoln Chronicle previously. But after the grief settled she suggested to her mom they do the project for him.

“He was really excited about this,” Jamros said. “And he loved Bonsai trees and he loved golfing. And he had just kind of landed on glamping. So we are hoping to make him proud. I felt like he gave us the golf idea from beyond. He would love this. So we are trying to make it cool for him.”

The property was previously owned by John Bradley, who was the primary money holder for Dream Harbor, which at one time planned to develop the property. The space has been vacant for 17 years.

“We are feeling really good, really energized, excited and inspired by what we’ve accomplished so far,” Amy Jamros said. “I think we are creating something super cool for the community, the central coast, even for visitors from the valley – just something to do in Waldport – picnic, play, enjoy, connect.”

• Garret Jaros covers the communities of Yachats, Waldport, south Lincoln County and natural resources issues for Lincoln Chronicle and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com