A private retreat that may become a place where wounded warriors may stay on their way to recovery has broken ground May 18.

Investors, government officials, business executives, and former service members gathered at the site of the retreat. The 37-acre site is located in Bluemont, Virginia, and will be called Boulder Crest Retreat.

The facility will allow recovering service members and their families to go on a vacation, and enjoy therapeutic and recreational activities, as shared by retired Navy explosive ordnance disposal master chief Ken Falke, Boulder Crest’s founder.

The project will cost approximately $10 million, and will include a central clubhouse, family cabins, a fishing pond, wheelchair-accessible trails, and gardens. It is set to open May of next year.

Falke shared: “A large percentage of our military members come from rural America. Wounded warriors treated at Walter Reed can sometimes be assigned there for one to four years. While they are in top facilities, at the end of the day, they are still living in military apartments and medical clinics. This will give them the chance to get out of the city.”

Falke shared further that they intend to collaborate with area businesses and offer additional recreational activities, such as winery tours, therapeutic horseback riding, fly-fishing, canoeing and kayaking, among others.

Among those who attended the groundbreaking ceremony Friday were retired Army Sgt. 1st Class Dana Bowman, a double amputee who performed a skydive jump, as well as former Navy Secretary and honorary board member John Lehman.