WHITING - A Whiting couple wants to create a treehouse hotel along McDill Pond as the village eyes economic revitalization.

Plans for the Water Dragon Inn and Retreat Center from Dave Scheer and Deborah Adams went public last week when they appeared before the village's plan commission, detailing what the couple hopes will become a tourism hot spot. The plans received the green light from the town's board on Tuesday, a milestone Scheer, the project's lead, said leaves more hurdles to climb before they start putting shovels in the ground.

The idea for the project started percolating after customers at Adams' The Wellness Spa kept asking if they offered housing accommodations with their services, Scheer said. They saw a need in the local and regional wellness industry and started wondering how they could fill it.

Then came along a piece of land for sale along Locust Street and McDill Avenue near Business 51 they didn't want to see clear cut.

"It started with this piece of land, 'Holy cow, we don't want it to become apartments and rip down the trees that are totally beautiful,'" Scheer said.

He said he hopes to attract regional, national and international customers on top of local residents seeking a stay-cation at what he hopes will be a unique, quaint retreat setting among the trees.

Initial plans for the small, boutique inn and event center include general public overnight bookings, treehouse-like dwellings and live events ranging from retreats to workshops to small weddings. Scheer, president of the Water Dragon Inn and Retreat Center, said the project remains in the design phase.

Scheer said the new inn and retreat center is separate from The Wellness Spa that Adams operates on Water Street but that it will fit under a new umbrella brand on DestinationWellness.net. The planned resort would sit less than a mile from The Wellness Spa on Water Street.

Whiting President Paul Stroik said the project is still in its infancy with financing, infrastructure plans and state approvals still pending or in the works. He's optimistic about the project's effect on revitalizing the village, especially along Business 51

"This is definitely a great thing for the village," Stroik said.

The preliminary plan approved by the village lists the project as coming in five phases. The first phase finished in 2018 after Scheer acquired five acres at 2023 Locust St.

Next steps in the project include turning the existing property on 2023 Locust St. into the resort's common area, purchase an additional 2.6 acres, building 15 to 20 400-square-foot cottage or treehouse-like suites on the properties and build the event center.

The project includes berms and landscaping along Locust Street to create a visual and sound barrier between the resort and neighborhood. Scheer said the project might include landscaping to help absorb sound from nearby Business 51.

RELATED:UW-Stevens Point backs away from controversial plan to cut several liberal arts majors

RELATED:In Stevens Point, two winters of historic snowfalls result in 700 sidewalk complaints

Conceptual plans for the cottages focus on blending their design with the land and wooded areas.

Scheer said the timeline laid out in documents is tentative. Documents indicate development and construction could run through 2020.