A proposed 200-site campground near the intersection of state Routes 3 and 56 is moving to state review after passing the St. Lawrence County legislature.

Salvatore DiCiaccio, president of a Rochester investment firm, is the developer behind the project. He says the campground is the next step in an ongoing effort to revitalize St. Lawrence County’s economy. This mission began with his purchase and redevelopment of the former Ham’s gas station and Ham’s Inn near the intersection, known as Seveys Corners, more than two years ago.

“I got tired of driving by that old store that was shut down and dilapidated for five years, and I began to realize that the area needed an economic boost,” he said. “The impetus behind this campground project was to continue to spur economic development in this area.”

DiCiaccio is developing a site plan for the 80 acres of land on which he would develop approximately 200 full-service campsites, 50 cabins and various recreational attractions. He’s working with the state Adirondack Park Agency and New York State Department of Health to get through the approval process and begin preparing the land.

“I walked around the property for the first time and instantly identified it as a great spot for a campground,” he said. “It has the topography, land, location, and there seems to be a demand for full-service campsites in the area. There are none in roughly a 50-mile radius.”

This April, the St. Lawrence County Board of Legislators passed a resolution supporting the project. It says the cabins “must be built at least 150 feet from the highway and are limited in the amount of square footage they can cover.” It also says the proposed campground’s location along two of the county’s recreational trail corridors “would significantly benefit lower St. Lawrence County.”

The resolution says the project would include the demolition of several existing cabins on the property and construction of new cabins not visible from the highway.

DiCiaccio said the project’s first phase would include 100 campsites with hookups for water, electricity and wastewater. There would also be 30 cabins, some of them made for year-round lodging.

Tentative recreational plans for the campground include hiking trails, biking paths, ziplines, a swimming pool and a recreation house, he said.

The cabins and campground facilities would be on the west side of state Route 56, where DiCiaccio owns a hotel called the Back Woods Inn, formerly Ham’s Inn. Recreational attractions would be developed on the east side of the highway, providing campers canoe and kayak access to the Raquette River.

“We’re really just trying to utilize the resources of the Adirondack Park in a way that is consistent with how the APA wants to protect it,” he said. “For those who say, ‘keep the park as it is,’ I say, ‘keep the park so that those who want to enjoy the park can do it in a way that keeps its beauty intact.”

He hopes to “have a shovel in the ground” by this fall to open the first phase of the project by next May.