Hearing set on plans for Lakewood Park

In its heyday, Lakewood Park rang with the laughter of children and jumped to the beat of The Dorsey Boys Orchestra, Rudy Vallee, Artie Shaw and other big name acts.

Now, the Barnesville park, which closed in 1984, is poised to once again delight children and bring families together for fun and relaxation.

New owners Andrew E. Roth and Loren E. Roth of Nescopeck plan to create Lakewood Park Campground/Venue on the 53.75 acre parcel.

The project includes a 10-acre lake, campgrounds and a building to hold events.

The Roths bought the land for $507,000 from Lakewood Park Estates LLP on Nov. 16, 2017, according to Schuylkill County online property records.

A zoning hearing has been scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Monday at the Ryan Township municipal building at 36 N. Fifth Ave., Barnesville, to iron out details.

The hearing will address rezoning the land from residential to commercial, and adding additional language to allow for a campground and event venue.

Efforts to reach the Roths were unsuccessful.

The entire project is expected to be completed by fall 2021, according to the Roths’ website, http://lakewoodparkcampground.com.

The site outlines the anticipated progress.

Land development and state Department of Environmental Protection approvals are expected to be completed this summer; groundbreaking this fall for Phase 1 (the event venue and a few campsites; completion of the event venue the few campsites by spring 2019; the start of Phase 2 (additional campground sites) next summer; the start of Phase 3 (building a camp store, facilities, and additional camping sites) in spring 2020; the start of Phase 4 (the final building of campsites), is expected to start in spring 2021.

“Lakewood Park Campground will be a family campground breaking ground in 2018 with the anticipation of opening some sites in 2019. We will continue to build out the campground throughout 2020-2022 with the goal of 200-plus sites to be available in 2022. These sites will include a mixture of full-hookup drive-through and back-in sites, cabin rentals and tent sites,” the website states.

The venue building for weddings and other events is expected to be able to seat 250 people.

“This venue will be secluded next to the creek for a nice private oasis. This venue is expected to be completed early 2019 with rental availability starting in the spring of 2019,” it states.

A swimming pool, laundry, arcade, camp cafe and playground are also planned.