Sandusky: Floating village of tiny houseboats going up this summer

This May, Sandusky will become home to a floating tiny houseboat village, courtesy of a group known as SolStay.

Right off of Cedar Point Road, the houseboats at 2312 River Ave. will be a permanent fixture on a slice of Castaway Bay and Lake Erie, according to owner Joseph Lisa.

Formerly known as Fireside Lodging, the houseboat village will be the next in SolStay’s line of “glamping” sites, Lisa said. Glamping, short for glorified camping, has taken the lodging world by storm, he said.

“We’re kind of creating this little tiny house oasis,” Lisa explained. “We like to create glamping sites and stuff, and this is our unique spin on a glamping project, by making it a floating houseboat village.”

Lisa described the village as a set of “little getaways” for those looking for some adventure without completely roughing it. As the midpoint between a camping tent and a motel, the village will be a community in and of itself.

“They’re like these little getaways for people to go and experience a night on the water,” he said. “But we’ve got lots of cool little amenities on the property… We’re trying to make it a little couples retreat, but also a cool place where friends can just gather and have a good time.”

According to Lisa, the properties will include modern perks that camping sites simply do not have, including a fully-working shower and a rooftop hot tub.

“You’ve got a roof over your head, you’ve got an actual bed there,” he said. “Versus, you know, sticking up your own tent and throwing down a sleeping bag, and just kind of camping and roughing it.”

This is far from Lisa’s first glamping rodeo, he said. His group has constructed geodomes, yurts, and A-frame cottages everywhere from the forests of Michigan to Joshua Tree National Park in California.

After moving to Sandusky about two years ago, he wanted to introduce something different in the northern Ohio area.

“We’ve been kind of doing glamping stuff for the last four or five years now,” he said. “There’s not really anything different around here… We wanted to add a different twist to (hotel rooms in Sandusky).”

Lisa said that after the village goes up, it will still be partially under construction. As the group adds more amenities and events such as a floating beach on one of Sandusky’s piers, Lisa said he wants to make sure there is truly something for everyone.

“It’s going to be a thing that just continues to grow,” Lisa said. “We’re going to really try to make it a cool place that keeps having more and more stuff to do at it… It is Sandusky, so we’re trying to make it feel like a getaway inside of Ohio.”

SolStay’s opening weekend will be May 13, Lisa said. The group will have beer courtesy of Sandusky’s Saucy Brew Works, along with multiple food trucks and live music.