Lake Norman NC Real Estate
Just
a little over 30
years ago,
There
are nearly a dozen marinas that offer wet or dry boat storage starting at $1,000
annually. If you’re putting your own boat into the water, public access ramps
are available at
Cornelius also has felt
Services, restaurants and shops
followed, and Cornelius embraced the population boom by welcoming commercial
development. Upscale shopping centers line
South Iredell
Across the
The biggest change in Mooresville is the completion of home-improvement retailer
Lowe’s 400,000-square-foot corporate campus, which houses the company’s
headquarters. The campus currently employs 1,500 and anticipates 8,000 employees
in more than 2 million square feet of space once the project is completed.
Economic developers have called the Lowe’s campus the most significant
industrial project ever built in southern Iredell County.
Residentially, Crescent
Resources continues to develop The Point, a Nantucket-style community at the tip
of Brawley School Road with a private golf course designed by Greg Norman, a
clubhouse and swimming pool. Several of the cedar shake and stone houses
overlooking the lake cost more than $5 million.
On Main Street across
from a proposed rail-line stop, the former Burlington Industries plant on Main
Street, vacant since 1999, is being converted into a 600,000-square-foot
motorsports business park called Victory Lane Mills. Also downtown is a new
30,000-square-foot public library with a $2 million gift from Lowe’s. Depending on where you
live in the Mooresville area, students attend classes in either the Mooresville
Graded School District or the Iredell-Statesville School District. The latter,
which serves the area outside the Mooresville city limits, opened its fifth high
school, Lake Norman High, in 2002.
By 2010, Mooresville also
hopes to have the heavy rail North Meck line running from Uptown Charlotte
through Lake Norman towns and the south Iredell corridor.Health-care providers
also have responded to the needs of Lake Norman residents. Lake Norman Regional
Medical Center recently moved from its former location in downtown Mooresville
into a new, 117-bed facility at I-77 Exit 33. The complex, which also includes a
physicians’ office building, has been the catalyst for a development boom at the
interchange.
Leading the charge is
Crosland Commercial’s Mooresville Gateway development, which will include
everything from fast-food eateries and convenience stores to hotels and medical
offices.
Recreation in the
Mooresville area includes Queen’s Landing, home of the Catawba Queen and Catawba
Belle, Mississippi paddle wheeler replicas that cruise Lake Norman year-round
for lunch, dinner and sightseeing. Queen’s Landing also features a family
entertainment center with two 18-hole mini-golf courses, bumper boats, tennis
courts, a restaurant and deli/bar.
Lake Norman State Park,
north of Mooresville in Troutman, includes 1,400 acres with six miles of nature
trails, a beach and swimming area, picnic shelters, campsites and boat rentals.
The Lazy 5 Ranch features
more than 750 animals, including giraffes, buffalo, antelope, deer, elk, camels,
reindeer, long horn cattle, zebras, llamas, pigs and goats. There’s also a
petting zoo, playground and picnic area.Equally family friendly is Carrigan Farms, a pick-your-own Mooresville farm that
grows strawberries, peaches, asparagus, apples, pumpkins, tomatoes, corn and
other seasonal vegetables.
NASCAR race shops draw
thousands of visitors a year who can see cars being built, trophies, photographs
and other memorabilia. Local race shops include those of Rusty Wallace, Dale
Earnhardt Jr., Mark Martin, Jeff Burton, Brett Bodine and Ricky Rudd. The N.C.
Auto Racing Hall of Fame is a museum dedicated to stock car, Indy and drag
racing. Visitors see more than 35 cars, including winners driven by Richard
Petty, Rusty Wallace and Davey Allison.
Local golf courses include The Point (private), Mallard Head Country Club
(semi-private) and Mooresville Municipal Golf Course (public).
West Lake Norman
West Lake Norman – which
includes the eastern Lincoln County communities of Denver, Westport and Triangle
and the Catawba County communities of Sherrills Ford and Terrell – offer easy
commutes to Uptown Charlotte, great water views and less congestion than the
eastern shore of the lake.
In comparison to eastern
shores, Lake Norman’s west side is still in its building infancy. Gently rolling
pastures, rustic barns and old family farmhouses can still be found, along with
close-knit communities, neighborhood get-togethers, church activities and a
slower pace of life.
The western shore’s
small-town feel, rural atmosphere, friendly residents, focus on family and
reasonable prices draw many folks who prefer to get away from the east side’s
traffic jams, shopping centers, interstate congestion and high prices.
Western shore residents
know growth is coming their way, too, but the goal has become controlling it and
staying ahead of the problems population booms can bring to small communities.
Newer neighborhoods in
east Lincoln include SailView, a Crescent Communities neighborhood with
waterfront and interior homes from the low $400,000s to more than $1 million.
Interior homesites start in the $50s. Located east of N.C. 16 in Denver,
SailView includes amenities such as a swim and tennis club, community boat slips
and family activities such as an Independence Day parade, free movies for
children and bunco groups. Verdict Ridge, developed
by former Charlotte mayor Eddie Knox, also continues to build upscale golf
course and wooded-view homes starting in the $200,000s. Set in the rolling
foothills down Little Egypt Road off N.C. 73, Verdict Ridge features a
challenging 18-hole PGA golf course, serene lakes, quiet woodlands and an
activity-filled clubhouse with a pool and cabana, tennis courts and playground.
Governor’s Island, one of
the first mansion-lined developments on Lake Norman, juts out from the western
shore on a thin strip lined with sprawling homes. By car, the neighborhood is
north of the N.C. 16/N.C. 73 intersection off of Webb Chapel Road.
Also near the N.C.
16/N.C. 73 crossroads off South Pilot Knob Road are three communities: Waterside
Crossing, The Gates at Waterside Crossing and The Bluffs at Waterside Crossing.
All three communities have neighborhood swim clubs, playing fields, a short walk
to shopping and a five-minute drive to public boating access.
To compensate for the
recent population boom along the western shore, especially among families with
young children, Lincoln County Schools recently opened St. James Elementary and
North Lincoln High.
As rooftops on the
western shore of Lake Norman continue to pop up, so does retail.
The N.C. 16/N.C. 73
intersection is a major shopping spot, with grocery stores, service stores and
free-standing fast-food restaurants. One of the newest commercial developments
here is The Shoppes at Waterside Crossing, a $2.2 million shopping center with a
Harris Teeter, Coffee & More, Arctic Stone Creamery and other specialty stores.
South on N.C. 16 on the way to Charlotte, developers have recently opened
Callabridge Commons at Mount Holly-Huntersville Road with eateries, offices and
shops.
Catawba County
If you’re looking for a
place that’s like what Lake Norman used to be before its explosive eastern shore
growth, head to the Catawba County communities of Sherrills Ford and Terrell.
Catawba County has
148,000 residents and most still live in central and western parts of the area
known as the Appalachian foothills, particularly in Hickory and Conover. These
cities benefit from Interstate 40, mixed drink sales and heavy industrialization
in furniture, textiles and fiber optics.
The population increase
in the past few years has prompted Catawba County Schools to plan new schools
and make additions to old schools in the southeastern part of the county to
accommodate the rapidly growing area.