The Roanoke Times | File July

Explore Park in Roanoke County, seen in an aerial image from July, has been closed since November 2007.

Sometime before July 1, 2010, the board that now controls the Explore Park site off the Blue Ridge Parkway hopes to hear the sounds of construction as Larry Vander Maten builds his proposed family vacation resort there.

Despite that continuing desire, however, the board has begun taking a serious look at alternatives to keep the site under regional control in case Vander Maten's plans don't materialize.

The situation is another reminder of the question that has hung over the park since it was first envisioned in the mid-1980s: Will Explore ever become a sure-fire attraction that will benefit the region year to year?

The site was initially conceived 20 years ago as a frontier theme park with flume rides and a zoo to rival any. That never happened.

There were a couple of times in the first decade when there was buzz that Disney might build at Explore. That never happened, either.

The scaled-back Explore Park living history attraction that occupied the site for 13 years without ever becoming self-supporting has been closed since November 2007.

And it's now been three and a half years since Vander Maten, a Florida-based developer, signed a long-term lease with the Explore board -- officially known as the Virginia Recreational Facilities Authority -- for the 1,100-acre site straddling the border between Roanoke County and Bedford County.

The authority is currently playing a waiting game with Vander Maten as he continues to seek financing and the board tries to get a handle on deadlines. There's even the possibility that the Explore property could revert to state control -- ending the authority's management of it.

The lease between the authority and Vander Maten included a three-year "inspection period" for the developer to determine his project's viability before any construction would begin.

It also allowed for additional delays up to a so-called drop-dead start date of June 13, 2010.

Although Vander Maten reportedly has spent more than $1 million designing his overnight destination, there has been no construction so far.

The closing of the park in 2007 complicates the timeline for getting Vander Maten's resort started because the authority only maintains its oversight of the property as long as it meets state requirements to provide a recreation destination, educational programs and conservation of the site. If it doesn't operate such a project, state law provides that the property -- originally purchased primarily with Virginia tax dollars -- would revert to the Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Under that agency's control, it is unclear whether the mountain biking and hiking trails at the site -- still open to the public -- would be maintained, or whether the property might simply be designated for a conservation easement under Gov. Tim Kaine's mandate to protect Virginia's open spaces.

State Del. William Fralin, R-Roanoke, had to introduce emergency legislation in January to allow the authority to continue its work after July 1, 2008, even though it didn't have an active project at the site.

When the board closed Explore Park, it anticipated that Vander Maten would begin using the property by June of this year. Instead, citing the difficult economic climate, Vander Maten told the board in May he would exercise a clause in the lease allowing him to extend the "inspection period" -- until June 13, 2009 -- before beginning construction.

At a retreat of the authority board last week, members discussed options for the property just in case Vander Maten isn't able to proceed. They clearly were under the impression that the developer would have to seek their permission if he delays construction after June 2009.

However, a clause in a lease revision they approved last May seems to indicate that Vander Maten only has to notify them in writing that he needs more time to take advantage of another extension until June 2010.

The board's lawyer, Greg Haley, declined to comment on the lease last week.

Board members who have been in touch with Vander Maten said at the retreat that he continues to believe the project is viable and that he will eventually be able to obtain financing. But they acknowledged that money is not available now.

So, board Chairman Fred Anderson has already contacted Fralin, also a board member, asking him to sponsor legislation in the next session of the legislature to extend the authority's life from July 1, 2009, to July 1, 2010.

Although Vander Maten has assured the board that he believes he will eventually secure financing for the $90 million project, board members are indicating they're ready to begin looking at alternatives, particularly given the current economic climate.

"Eventually, either it will happen or it will not," Anderson said after the meeting. "If it's not, then we have to have a plan that we've all agreed on," ready to put in place.

"Right now, there are a lot of Plan B's and we've got to agree on one of those."

The first alternative discussed in any detail was the possibility of setting aside some of the acreage for a winery.

Board Vice Chairman K.C. Bratton, who is chairman of a committee to look at alternative uses, said a vineyard could tie into a fast-growing industry in the state, serve as a tourist destination, offer educational programming and effectively conserve the open land for agricultural purposes. All those would fulfill the authority's mandate for continued oversight of the property.

For a short-term financial boost, Bratton offered ideas he noted were formulated by former Explore Park director Debbie Pitts. Those include extending agricultural leases on portions of the property and reopening the church on the site to be leased for weddings and other special events. Moviemakers, who have rented the site several times in the past, might also be allowed back in.

Most board members continue to express hope that Vander Maten will be able to proceed with his project, which they say could be a significant tourism booster for the region.

A number of people have seen his plans, and Vander Maten said reporters could view them, provided they didn't disclose the details. The Roanoke Times declined that offer. He has repeatedly said that it will not be a theme park -- "no roller coasters." In May, he elaborated to say it "will have an outdoor recreation component with a high-tech twist to it." The plans are proprietary and must remain confidential at this point to protect them from competitors, he said.

"Among the activities will be water-related features," as well as "camping, hiking, horseback riding, canoeing and other traditional outdoors events and activities," Vander Maten said.

He has said that he anticipates the resort will employ about 500 during the peak summer season.

The prospect of such a destination offers the best hope so far of fulfilling the original 1985 proposal for the site, said Stan Lanford, a retired construction company owner and board member. "In my vision, it will be part of something that makes the Roanoke Valley prosper," Lanford said.

"The art museum is part of that. The renovation of Center in the Square will help. The transportation museum is pushing to do some things around here. We're getting close to getting all the pieces together to get people to come to Roanoke and spend a week or two.

"That's the vision."