Lakeside Ashland aims for September opening of entertainment venue

The LED movie screen at Lakeside Ashland is up and running, but other elements of the new development are taking more time than originally expected.

Developer Nic Parks had sought to hold a couple soft opening events this month, including on the Fourth of July, but he put those off in favor of a September opening for the southern Boone County entertainment venue.

The property is located on land annexed by Ashland across Highway 63 from the Columbia Regional Airport.

"The lawn would not be usable and we would need to have used porta johns," Parks wrote in an email to the Tribune about the canceled July soft opening events. "We decided to wait to show off the property until it was closer to completion."

Even with the opening delay, Parks is excited to have the video wall installed and operational. 

"The picture quality is even better than we expected," Parks wrote. 

The property's well, irrigation and laying sod will be completed over the next two to three weeks. 

"The sod needs six weeks to be rooted before people can walk on it," Parks wrote. 

Other delays are related to the property's restaurant, but construction is catching up, he added. The remainder of the restaurant equipment should arrive by early September. 

The venue's one major remaining concern is connecting to Ashland's sewer system, which is expected by November. Restrooms will be fully operational by the proposed September opening thanks to a septic tank system, Parks wrote. 

Lakeside Ashland has sent proposals to Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services for 22 limited-capacity events in September and October. 

"We will have fully functional restrooms and our tank will be pumped after each of those events," Parks wrote. 

Events are a mixture of movie nights, live music and sports watch parties, such as University of Missouri and Kansas City Chiefs football and St. Louis Cardinals baseball games.

The restaurant, playground and zipline will be ready to go in September, Parks added. 

After the initial opening, development will continue on the western part of the property for more parking and sand volleyball by next summer. Another restaurant and a pool complex could be completed by fall 2023.

The Lakeside Ashland development is not without controversy.

Its location abuts a rural residential neighborhood that is not within Ashland city limits. There is only one access point to the neighborhood via Log Providence Road, prompting public safety concerns from residents. 

More: Public safety concerns surrounding Lakeside Ashland development do not have clear solution

There is only one way in and out and that is via Log Providence to the approximately 60 residences. Residents have expressed concerns over potential bottlenecking near the Lakeside Ashland entrance and limited emergency vehicle access to the neighborhood, or the ability of neighbors to leave the area in an emergency. 

A lawsuit filed in August to attempt to delay the development and ensure the development process followed Missouri law was essentially dropped in May. 

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community issues and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on Twitter. Please consider subscribing to support vital local journalism.