Josh and Melanie McCallen, the new owners of The Historic Crags Lodge, have backgrounds in hospitality, real estate investment, and resort redevelopment.
Josh McCallen, 51, graduated from Franciscan University of Steubenville in 1997, where he studied history, theology, and education. He worked as an international recruiter for the university before earning an MBA in marketing from Eastern Michigan University in 2002.
From 2002 to 2006, he worked with Franciscan University’s international program in Gaming, Austria, in hotel administration and student-life roles at Hotel Kartause Gaming, a historic former Carthusian monastery that houses the university’s Austrian study-abroad program.
McCallen later moved into marketing, construction, and real estate development before focusing on resort development and operations. From 2012 to 2018, he was a partner, president, and chief operating officer of ICONA Resorts.
He is now CEO and co-founder of VIVÂMEE Hospitality and Accountable Equity.
Melanie McCallen, 51, is also a 1997 graduate of Franciscan University. Growing up in a military family, she lived for a time at Lowry Air Force Base, the former U.S. military installation in Denver and Aurora.
She has been involved in real estate investing since the late 1990s. Her work later expanded into large-scale hospitality development, with an emphasis on design and the guest experience.
She is co-founder and chief experience officer of VIVÂMEE Hospitality. At Thursday’s meeting, she joked that the initials of her title, “CXO,” make her the chief of “hugs and kisses.”
The McCallens have been married for 27 years, have 10 children, and live in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.
Through VIVÂMEE Hospitality, the couple focuses on acquiring and redeveloping historic and distinctive hospitality properties. The company’s portfolio includes:
- Renault Winery in Egg Harbor City, New Jersey
- Kent Island Resort in Maryland
- LBI National Golf and Resort in Little Egg Harbor, New Jersey
- Bohemia Manor Farm in Chesapeake City, Maryland
- Queenstown Harbor in Maryland
- The Golf Club at South River in Edgewater, Maryland
Melanie McCallen said the company emphasizes hospitality and telling the stories of its properties. She said the name VIVÂMEE means “to revive the soul.”
“Our name is our mission,” she said, describing the company’s philosophy as reviving historic places and creating experiences around their stories.
In addition to VIVÂMEE Hospitality, which develops and manages the properties, the McCallens are principals in Accountable Equity, an Egg Harbor City, New Jersey-based real estate investment company focused on resort properties and investment syndication.