The popular Johnetta Campground along the Allegheny River in Gilpin now belongs to two local officials.
Southern Armstrong Holdings LLC purchased 400 acres that formerly was owned by Reynoldsville-based timber company, Forestland Investments LLC. Southern Armstrong Holdings represents Gilpin Supervisor Jeremy Smail and his wife, Leechburg Area School Board President Ashley Coudriet.
Neither Smail nor Coudriet offered comments on the purchase.
Clint Stout, a real estate agent with Keller Williams Advantage Realty representing Forestland Investments, confirmed the $2 million sale. The property represents almost half of the land originally up for sale. Another 430 acres are back on the market for $875,000.
The good news for campers at Johnetta is their leases will be honored.
Stout said the campground’s approximately 200 lessees recently received a letter from the new owners stating the property will remain a campground and leases will be honored. Seasonal leases span April 31 to Oct. 31.
The letter was signed by Smail on behalf of Southern Armstrong Holdings, according to Stout. No campground owners could be reached on-site Tuesday for comment.
Plans for the undeveloped land remain unclear.
Current zoning regulations allow it to be used for single-family dwellings, mobile homes on their own lots, seasonal camps and campgrounds.
In March, Stout described the property as a “sportsman’s paradise,” with potential for hunting, ATV riding, river recreation and more.
Keller Williams originally listed the full, 830-acre parcel for nearly $3 million in February.
The latest listing notes that the property is home to a creek, trail network and game such as deer and bears. It cites timber and single-family development as proposed uses.
Forestland views the property as a logging investment more than a recreational space, according to Stout, and has decided to focus on other properties. Company owner Henry Deible did not return a request for comment.
“I think they did have some other properties that would serve a better purpose for their timber investment than a campground,” Stout said.
