Gary Goerss of Powhatan has been planning a project for over eight years, and it’s finally coming to fruition.

In the coming months, perhaps a year or more, he intends to create Airbnb-style rental property on Gwynn’s Island that will offer up to nine rooms with individual baths and a central gathering area for visitors to Mathews County.

The Richmond-area contractor has owned a thin strip of commercial land overlooking Milford Haven for 16 years, and since 2010, he has planned for it to be a place where people can stay for a week at a time and enjoy water-related activities. A kayak enthusiast and builder, he hopes to be able to teach occasional kayak building workshops, attracting guests who will enjoy spending a week learning to build their own kayaks and trying them out in Milford Haven and the Piankatank River before taking them home.

“This was such a big boat-building place in the old days,” said Goerss. “I’d like to carry on that tradition.”

The strip of land consists of two adjoining parcels, about a half-acre of land in total, and each parcel had an existing building on it when he purchased them. Those structures, or new ones built in the same footprint, are grandfathered for commercial use.

In 2014, in spite of some public opposition to his plans, Goerss was given a variance for the smaller of the two structures by the Mathews Board of Zoning Appeals. The uses he plans for the property are by-right, and both structures are legally located in the 100-foot resource protection area as non-conforming uses, so he could get have obtained permits without a public hearing. However, while the footprint of the new building is the same size as the old one, Goerss wanted to reorient it, causing it to encroach into the RPA by an additional 31 square feet.

That smaller building was recently demolished, and last week, a new foundation was put in place that’s high enough to meet FEMA’s 100-year flood zone requirement. Goerss was in the process of scheduling a foundation inspection when he talked to the Gazette-Journal on Friday, and he hopes to have the walls up and be under roof within two to three weeks.

Although the new building’s footprint is the same size as the old one, the new house will have more square feet because Goerss will be building up, with two main levels topped by a third, dormered level. He said it will be one-of-a-kind construction, with common space on the first floor and guest rooms on the second and third levels. There will be both stairs and a wheelchair lift indoors for sheltered access.

Once the smaller building has been finished enough to provide storage for some items currently kept in the larger building, that structure will be demolished, as well, said Goerss, and it will be replaced by a building that will match the architecture of the first one, except it will be larger.

A parking area between the two buildings will be made of environmentally-friendly pervious pavers.

Goerss said he’ll be doing much of the interior work himself. He’s currently finishing up several projects that have kept him busy over the last few years, and he anticipates the Gwynn’s Island project being his last before retirement. He said he’ll have living quarters for himself on the third story of the larger building.

Since he’s new to the area in terms of construction work, Goerss said he didn’t have many contacts in the business, but he’s been lucky so far. He said people have been stopping by to wish him well in his new endeavor, and he’s gotten advice from some of them. One of the best pieces of advice was that he should contact DeAlba & Son Masonry, Inc., for the foundation work. Owner Johnny DeAlba was finishing up the last of the brickwork on Friday. He said he worked Goerss in between other jobs and was able to complete the foundation in three days. Joey Ferguson poured the concrete for the job, working with Goerss to schedule filling in the concrete blocks in a timely fashion.

“It’s so fun to watch these professionals,” said Goerss.

Goerss said he’s excited about the project and is looking forward to being able to offer his property as a location for community events, as well as overnight stays. But he’s probably most excited about his role as an active owner, hosting events and offering kayak-building workshops.

“It’s such a magical island,” said Goerss. “I’m trying to do something good for Mathews, to add something to the good of the community.”