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CommentsEurope Meets the Ozarks?
David Cushman dreamed of a European village complete with a glockenspiel clock tower in the Ozark Mountains. Then Branson politics put his vision on hold. Can he make his legacy happen?
By Clarissa French
(page 1 of 2)
 Photo Edward Biamonte Branson businessman David Cushman comes from a long line of Taney County land developers. His parents started Mutton Hollow; today he dreams of turning on a skeptical Branson to an entertainment-resort village called Pinnable Falls. |
Pinnacle Falls is designed to bring new visitors to Branson, attract a younger, more affluent demographic, and convince existing visitors to come back and stay longer. Sound familiar? “With Branson Landing opening in ’06 and the convention center in ’07, it might be an understatement to say Branson’s on an upswing,” Cushman says, adding that he wants to build on that momentum.
Today, there’s much less momentum for Pinnacle Falls than Cushman would like. The project is on hold. Newly elected Branson Mayor Raeanne Presley represents a sort of traditional-Branson backlash against the town’s recent tendency toward big development. She campaigned against the use of tax-increment financing (or TIF) for private projects such as Pinnacle Falls. TIF is a tool that uses future gains in tax revenue to finance current improvements that will create those tax windfalls. The increased tax revenue is used to pay off debt incurred in building the project—once the new development has increased property values and economic activity. The looming question: “What if the project doesn’t make money?”
Cushman says TIF is needed to help pay for Pinnacle Falls’ infrastructure, such as water, sewer and roads. The site features a crinkly Ozarks topography of steep hills and valleys that he says would make the costs prohibitive without public aid. Yet ultra-conservative Branson is inherently skeptical about spending public money; witness the turmoil surrounding Branson Landing’s announcement in the ’90s.
Cushman hasn’t taken no for an answer. He says he’s still trying to change city and county officials’ minds. Either he’ll convince the mayor’s camp or find a new way to get Pinnacle Falls done—and soon.
Native Son
Land development is in David Cushman’s blood. His family has a long history in the Ozarks—the kind of history that’s less common these days. His great-grandfather Elisha brought the family to Neosho and was station master for the Frisco Railroad. His grandfather, James C. Cushman, followed in his father’s footsteps as station master but also was interested in real estate. A newspaper ad brought him to Branson in the late ’40s, and he bought 800 acres at auction, ultimately purchasing about 2,400 acres.Big-name attractions are also in David Cushman’s blood. Although much of James Cushman’s original land was sold and resold over time, David Cushman says his Pinnacle Falls would rise on land that was part of his grandfather’s original acreage.
His parents, Gerald and Amanda Cushman, moved to the Branson area from Neosho in 1950. Gerald (everyone called him Jerry), opened an electrical contracting business in Branson. He and Amanda had four daughters before their only son, David, was born. When David was 10, his parents started Mutton Hollow, after selling most of their land to The Beverly Hillbillies producer Paul Henning. Mutton Hollow, with its old-time Taney County name, was a product of a different era. Longtime Bransonites remember the place as a charming distillation of arts-and-crafts country life.
“My father built most of Mutton Hollow with his own hands,” Cushman says. They began with one store and a horse stable. Over the next several years, his parents and the growing attraction would teach David about construction, property maintenance and the tourism trade. David worked with his father after school, on weekends and in the summer. They’d spend the day wiring residential and commercial properties in town and spend the evening constructing buildings at Mutton Hollow. Being raised alongside a growing tourism business, David learned all its facets—from working with visitors to mucking out stalls. But while he worked hard, he also had a lot of opportunities for fun, discovering a lifelong love for canoeing, kayaking, spelunking and camping, not to mention a rarely indulged passion for fly-fishing.
David also made his own business opportunities. The first time he tried to purchase a tract of land, he was just 16—and to get the property he wanted, he had to go through Dr. M. Graham Clark, president of what was then called School of the Ozarks. Cushman actually closed the deal when he was 21, and he credits his parents’ willingness to let him in on contract negotiations at a young age as a big part of his success. After that first experience in real estate, he went on to do residential and commercial spot development.
