A multi-million-dollar upscale project is planned on the outskirts of Oxford that developers hope will be a family-friendly, year-round destination.
The Roundabout Oxford RV and Water Resort will be built on about 50 acres of land on Highway 6, adjacent to County Road 105, featuring 150 RV spots with full connections and 20 tiny home cottages and other amenities.
The project is a a shared dream with attorney and former state legislator Jay Hughes, his wife Cris and Drs. Andrew and Allison Ross. Avid campers, they realized that Oxford was the only SEC town without an RV resort and sought to remedy the situation.
“We own 85 acres, but the development is on the first 50 on the front,” said Jay Hughes. “Along with the RV spots and cottages, there’s a grand lodge, a pavilion, pools, a lazy river, fishing, a fitness center and other things. Ideally in the back of the property which is more natural with a nice tree canopy we hope to add a rope course, a frisbee course, a walking course, etc.”
The resort also have pickleball courts, playgrounds, Putt-Putt golf, shuffle ball courts, basketball courts, bonfire areas and a dog park.
Hughes said that the privately funded investment will total $12 million to $15 million. Initially called Roundabout Oxford RV and Park, the “Park” was recently changed to “Resort” to better reflect the intent and design of the project.
The entire project is the result of Hughes’ long-held love for camping and the great outdoors.
“I’ve been camping since I was a kid; I’d go with cousins and our parents in tents, worked our way up to pull-behind to Class C, and in 1976 we had a Winnebago with the green shag carpet, then we got a Class A camper,” Hughes said. “I just have a love for it. We’ve been to Florida to DC to California; we just really enjoy the lifestyle and the family fun that comes along with that, where we could casually let the kids out and play.”
The resort will sit on some rolling hills that will provide a country hillside getaway still close enough to town.
In a promotional video on the resort’s website, Hughes said, “It’s trying to have everything in one place that satisfies nature, entertainment, playfulness and fellowship.”
Hughes first attempted to do build the resort inside the city in 2010, but couldn’t find enough land. Combined with the regulatory challenges, he put the project on ice, but said the fire still burned inside.
“Andrew Ross and I met and we started talking about it, and they had an RV,” Huge said. “We spoke to the county about appropriate locations and found a large tract of land of Highway 278 – Highway 6 – with rolling hills next to county road. Ultimately we met with a speciality design group in Colorado, aquatic engineers, electrical engineers and came up with a preliminary site plan.”
Hughes hopes to file with the Lafayette County planning commission by Nov. 15 an application for conditional use, then obtain preliminary site approval. If that’s approved in December, he’ll meet with the board of supervisors in January for approval, then move forward immediately with the development.
“It’s important that there are so many of us are involved with the project and that it’s Mississippi locals doing things for Mississippi locals,” Hughes said.
Ideally, Roundabout Oxford RV and Water Resort would be open by the first home football game next year, but realistically, it likely won’t be finished by 2025. Hughes said he’d like to have it ready by the first pitch of Ole Miss baseball that year.
The resort will obviously be filled on home football weekends and other big events on campus, but Hughes said the resort is open to anyone looking for a getaway anytime of the year.
“If tradition repeats itself, on non-big event days and weekends, about 80% of the people using the resort will come from a 150-mile radius from Oxford,” Hughes said. “Most people who aren’t full-time RVers work and have kids and want to be able to get off on Friday, set up and have fun, and then on Sudnay drive home. It’s a little staycation. So we’re really focused on that radius.”
Hughes said that while they knew the resort announcement would be popular, they were caught “totally off-guard” the enthusiasm and excitement generated by it.
“We think we’ve really hit something big for families to enjoy,” he said.
For more information, visit roundaboutoxford.com and visit its Facebook page.
