A Nov. 25, 2025, media event at the Warrick County Museum pulsed with pre-holiday excitement. Standing onstage with Christmas trees in the background and television cameras rolling, Boonville, Indiana, resident Teresa Shanks, among others, announced that the EDGE of the Lakes project was moving out of the concept phase.
The development plan — the latest version of which includes convention hotels, rustic shops and restaurants, a man-made lagoon, and entertainment options — was on the way, organizers said. Dirt would move by spring or summer. Officials said land was acquired, financing was in place, and the massive $250 million site spanning more than 200 acres next to Boonville’s Walmart, near Indiana 62, would bring with it union construction jobs, permanent jobs, and visitor traffic unlike anything the town of 6,700 had seen.
Speakers enthusiastically showed renderings of the completed project. “It’s like if you took Dollywood and all the businesses around it and put it on one piece of property … that’s what this feels like,” said Stephen Alexander, owner of Indianapolis-based Prince Alexander Architecture. Zac Guy, identified as EDGE’s Chief Operating Officer, hailed the development as being full of family-friendly discoveries and a place where “the Ritz Carlton meets Bass Pro Shops.”
But so far, these and other projections have not matched reality. According to officials’ initial press conference in November 2023, construction was to begin in the third quarter of 2024. The land acquisition referenced in November? As of mid-January, Warrick County government officials confirmed that no entity known to be associated with EDGE (an acronym for Economic Development Generating Education) had obtained any properties at the site — including six parcels owned by Ray and Jann Allen, a Boonville couple seen signing a document at the press conference. Apart from Evansville Business articles in 2024 and 2025, and a November 2025 story by the Courier & Press newspaper, the project’s delays, inconsistent public statements, and ever-changing cast of characters have not been publicly questioned.
“I have not seen a transfer of any land or any building permits come through our department,” Warrick County Assessor Sarah Redman said, adding she did not know what document the Allens signed at the Nov. 25 event. Offices of the county recorder and auditor also could not produce any such documents in January. When contacted earlier that month, the Allens, through an acquaintance, declined to comment citing a “non-disclosure agreement.”
In fact, no one contacted for this story says they know what document the Allens signed at the press event. Mark Phillips, attorney for the City of Boonville, says he also is curious about it — perhaps, he suggests, it was a purchase option. “Oftentimes (purchase) options are recorded, some are not,” Phillips says. “But show me the money, a deed, and incremental steps that are being taken, and we’ll react on the city’s side.”
That hasn’t been happening. The Boonville City Council in April 2024 created a tax-increment financing district to build $25 million worth of road and utility infrastructure needed to advance the project. But Phillips says the city government has committed no funding or resources to the EDGE or preparing the site for construction, and the city would need many more details for that to occur.
Waiting For Details
Getting answers to these questions has proved challenging. As Phillips notes, EDGE leadership has changed. Some entities initially involved seem to no longer be part of the equation, one being Heavenly Pros, a Florida home renovation business. Its owners appeared with Shanks at the April 2024 City Council meeting and promoted the EDGE in a May 27 Facebook video alongside Boonville Clerk-Treasurer Tammy Boruff. Heavenly Pros has not had a presence in promotional videos or press releases since then; company officials did not return Evansville Business’ emails.
Earlier versions included a three-story golf-themed restaurant and bar with an 18-hole miniature course. This part of the development was led by Lori Dyer, a Boonville native and founder and president of Florida-based Hazards Entertainment, which would spearhead the newly announced amenities. Like the Heavenly Pros officials, Dyer talked with Boruff in a spring 2024 Facebook clip, but there was no reported mention of the golf attraction during November’s media event. Messages to Dyer and Hazard Entertainment CEO Zach Miller were not returned.
In a May 9, 2024, press release, EDGE officials also cited Evansville-based Traylor Building, LLC, a Traylor Construction Group company, as being a partner, but that involvement appears to be minimal. “Traylor Building has participated in early conversations and remains engaged in project discussions as it further develops,” Traylor Building Preconstruction Director Pete Giannini told writers in a January 2026 email. “While still in the preliminary stages, we maintain an interest in supporting opportunities that align with our expertise as the plans evolve.”
Amid questions about land ownership, construction timelines, parties involved, and its shifting definition, one of the biggest mysteries surrounding EDGE of the Lakes centers on its mind-boggling $250 million estimated cost, at least triple the $74 million figure initially presented. For comparison, the City of Boonville’s total municipal budget for 2025 was about $12 million. In a March 4, 2025, press release issued by the EDGE, Sam Brody, President of New Jersey-based LCS Capital, is quoted as saying: “We are not looking for investors, as we have funding sources already subject to specific terms and conditions.”
Research by Evansville Business has found no known public sources as part of its financing. A Courier & Press article about the Nov. 25, 2025, media event stated “there was talk” of the EDGE having received a grant from Indiana’s READI 2.0 program, which supports economic development statewide. However, Josh Armstrong, Evansville Regional Economic Partnership’s Chief Economic Development Officer, confirmed to Evansville Business that the project has received no READI funding. As of press time for this article, identities of the leading financial backers were unknown.
New Names, Same Questions
Zac Guy, founder and CEO of Fort Worth, Texas-based American Antique Hardwoods, appears to be a current key player. American Antique Hardwoods’ website states the company’s involvement in projects for the Cook Out restaurant chain, chef Wolfgang Puck’s restaurants, Holiday Inn, Winnie Palmer Nature Preserve in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, and unspecified sporting goods stores. Guy did not return a call seeking details about the company’s participation in those endeavors.
Saying he and Shanks had been friends “for many, many years,” Guy proclaimed: “We’re anticipating as many as 2,000 barns will come down across the U.S. and Canada and donate pieces of themselves into this project. That’s how big this is.” Shanks praised the lagoon portion, saying Orlando, Florida, company Martin Aquatic would deliver an attraction that would put “heads in beds” year-round.
Evansville Business asked Shanks in an email about land ownership, the development’s financing, and changes in its leadership and focus. Shanks responded that the development team will send future press releases that will “formally outline the scope of the project, recent progress, and key milestones.”
“The EDGE continues to advance at a rapid pace and is shaping up to be a premier destination, while also creating meaningful career opportunities and contributing to regional economic growth,” Shanks said in the emailed reply.
While names of participating entities have come and gone, Shanks has been a constant, acting as the project’s public face. She has pushed major developments in the region before: In the early 2000s, Shanks — then known as Teresa Thuerbach — spearheaded a proposed aquarium and children’s museum in Evansville. It collapsed under questions about its financing and credibility.
There has been similar confusion about the EDGE, even among local organizations charged with cultivating economic development. Leaders of E-REP and Success Warrick County say they are not involved and know only what information the EDGE has released to the general public.
What’s Next?
Phillips, the Boonville city attorney, says the EDGE would be “a life-changing dynamic for a community, a workforce, everybody,” and the city would be foolish to close the door on such a proposal. But Phillips says he has not met the project’s current leadership group, and issues that remain unaddressed include the EDGE’s utilities needs — including a large one that predates the development.
Boonville needs a new sewer treatment plant, since its current facility is running at 90 percent capacity, Phillips says. Given the EDGE’s size, he says it would need to participate with the city in a new treatment plant.
Shanks did not address Evansville Business’ question about the utilities issue.
Boonville Mayor Charlie Wyatt confirmed that the city has made no financial commitment via bonds or TIF funds. It was Wyatt who first unveiled the project on Nov. 3, 2023, less than a week before he was re-elected. In the time since, he has largely refused to answer Evansville Business requests for status updates. In a Sept. 17 text message to writers, Wyatt said, “I am still working on details, and I have signed a non-disclosure agreement and I intend to honor it.”
Now, he says the city needs more details from EDGE officials. “Like any other economic development project considering Boonville, we stand ready to work with the EDGE developers when they are ready to proceed, whether it be through assisting in navigating zoning considerations or creating TIF districts, a common local government tool in attracting and encouraging economic development projects,” Wyatt told Evansville Business in a January email.
He added, “ The city is also aware of the recent announcements by the developers concerning the land acquisition, but is not privy to those documents.”
Where does EDGE of the Lakes go from here? Phillips says city officials await more conversation and exchanges of key information. “I’m hopeful that this comes to fruition, I really am,” Phillips says. “But I guarantee you the mayor, the City Council, the Board of Works (are) not going to commit one red penny until we see what their commitment to us is, and that would be borne out in deed transfers and sewer development. Those are things we would ask them to participate in.”
A Timeline of EDGE of the Lakes
NOV. 3, 2023: Boonville Mayor Charlie Wyatt announces EDGE of the Lakes as a $74 million development with a hotel, event center, retail stores, restaurants, a public safety training center, and condominiums, plus bowling, miniature golf, batting cages, a shooting range, axe throwing, indoor karting, and an amphitheater. Construction is said to start in the third quarter of 2024. Wyatt won re-election days later.
MAY 2024: EDGE officials promote the project via Facebook videos showing Boonville Clerk-Treasurer Tammy Boruff interviewing representatives of Heavenly Pros and Hazards Entertainment, the latter promising an elaborate restaurant and miniature golf venue.
DECEMBER 2024: The year ends with no construction on the project.
MARCH 4, 2025: A news drop reveals new entities steering the project. Estimated costs soar to $250 million; no timeline is given for construction.
NOV. 25, 2025: Renderings now show a man-made lagoon, convention hotel and cabins, shops, and restaurants. American Antique Hardwoods and Martin Aquatic are introduced as new participants. Officials say dirt should move in spring or summer 2026, and land has been purchased.
JANUARY 2026: No public record of a property deed transfer has been filed with Warrick County officials.
