Should we have a Lake Resort?

[Cadi40]

I don’t know where to put this, But Why dont Lake Norman or Lake Wylie have a Resort? Like an official brand. It would get pretty good business as it’s the closest thing to a beach for many people. 

[15895]

10 minutes ago, Cadi40 said:

I don’t know where to put this, But Why dont Lake Norman or Lake Wylie have a Resort? Like an official brand. It would get pretty good business as it’s the closest thing to a beach for many people. 

Lake Wylie & Lincoln county sucks and Lake Norman’ Mecklenburg doesn’t want it, Iredell probably has no room.

 

Meck Co. Would be the only place that makes sense but I don’t foresee Cornelius wanting it 

[SgtCampsalot]

25 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

Lake Wylie & Lincoln county sucks and Lake Norman’ Mecklenburg doesn’t want it, Iredell probably has no room.

 

Meck Co. Would be the only place that makes sense but I don’t foresee Cornelius wanting it 

Lake Wylie rules!!!

 

[deleted]

28 minutes ago, AirNostrumMAD said:

Lake Wylie & Lincoln county sucks

That's a hot take.  Why does Wylie suck?  Seems nice to me.

[15895]

14 minutes ago, JBS said:

That's a hot take.  Why does Wylie suck?  Seems nice to me.

Compared to Lake Norman. 

 

LKN > Wylie      >=)

 

(Random but I went to Lake Wylie elementary for 1 year)

[pgsinger]

19 hours ago, ricky_davis_fan_21 said:

Its not happening. Simply put. For more reasons that just a death in the family. I don't think the economics were right, and the per unit costs went way over expectations, and would have pushed the costs above what Charlotte buyers are comfortable with in a townhouse.

I guess that isn't surprising.  The broker was cautiously optimistic.  He did mention the town home concept did not work due to green space requirements, but they were reorganizing it to be a condo setup.  Apparently condos do not have the same green space requirements...  He mentioned the anticipated cost of Unit 1 was $645,000.  That unit is a 2 Bedroom, 2 Bathroom unit with about 2,300 sq. ft., a 2 car garage, and a roof top terrace.  I was actually surprised the price was only $645,000.  I assume the 1 bedroom units were probably the source of the cost concern as the broker seemed very encouraged by the interest shown in the 2 bedroom units.  He evidently has suggested reworking the design to create four 2 bedroom units and one 1 bedroom unit.

Anyway, I guess I should give up hope on this being my future home. 

[nakers2]

17 hours ago, JBS said:

That's a hot take.  Why does Wylie suck?  Seems nice to me.

I'm curious if they're referring to the lake itself or the area, because a resort on Lake Wylie could be feasible, and there's a ton of room for growth and development as well. 

[tozmervo]

A resort on the Catawba County shores of LKN makes some sense to me. More room, a little quieter. 

My sole image of Lake Wylie is of loud speedboats.

[pgsinger]

1 hour ago, tozmervo said:

A resort on the Catawba County shores of LKN makes some sense to me. More room, a little quieter. 

My sole image of Lake Wylie is of loud speedboats.

I agree.  I just moved back Phoenix, and many of the nicer resorts (4 Seasons, Boulders, etc.) are all quite a hike from Scottsdale or Phoenix.  People are willing to drive an hour+ to get to a nice location, particularly if the amenities are worth it.  In my opinion it also makes it feel more like a vacation if you try to do the "staycation" version of it.

[Scribe]

44 minutes ago, pgsinger said:

People are willing to drive an hour+ to get to a nice location, particularly if the amenities are worth it.  In my opinion it also makes it feel more like a vacation if you try to do the "staycation" version of it.

I will have to second this... the Rumbling Bald Resort on Lake Lure is 90 miles from Uptown Charlotte. With all the golf and amenities on a nice lake.

[SgtCampsalot]

8 hours ago, nakers2 said:

I'm curious if they're referring to the lake itself or the area, because a resort on Lake Wylie could be feasible, and there's a ton of room for growth and development as well. 

A colleague w a family home on Lake Wylie said a huge portion of the lakeside land is prohibitively-difficult topography for development, and another portion is either protected/unavailable for development [for reasons I forget...]. So take that for what it's worth.

[KJHburg]

We do have a lakefront motel on Lake Norman   http://www.landingatthelake.com/  LOL

There was supposed to be an Embassy Suites on the lake at Langtree at exit 31 but for whatever reason it still has not happened.  I do think a lakefront hotel retreat would be great but not sure if they is enough room for a golf resort on the lake even in Catawba county.  The north end of the Lake gets more topographically challenging too.   But I am sure there room for lakefront hotel with boat slips somewhere and with golf available elsewhere.  

Many of the condos at Davidson Landing and elsewhere on the lake are owned as 2nd homes including people from south Charlotte.  We sometimes think of Lake Norman and Lake Wylie as suburbs but there are quite a few vacation homes up there.

 

[CLT2014]

I think the hard thing today is land prices on the lake have gotten pretty pricey. Operating costs for an independent hotel are tough and then you have the challenge of financing / building a resort type hotel with lots of amenities (pools, docks, tennis courts, etc...) and typically a large staff. The national flag chains seem to shy away from new lake hotels in favor of oceanfront beach resorts in year round warm climates (likely higher margin, and slightly less seasonality at a beach in Florida, Hawaii, Caribbean, etc... than a Piedmont lake), leaving most lake hotels as independently owned and often rather established (like Running Bald).

Since the business community has grown in North Meck over the years, and the proximity to CLT airport, I think a Gaylord Resort could be a great fit for the lake. The problem would be finding land not in a residential community that would lose their mind of height / traffic. Below is the one in Texas. The conference space would probably be a huge hit with businesses throughout the Carolinas looking for event space. 

 

The Ritz Carlton Reynolds Lake Oconee is also stunning. Would be awesome to have a hotel like that on Lake Norman. In the summer it is really tough to find a room for less than $550 a night. 

[cltbwimob]

There was some talk about this some time ago in the USNWC thread.

My idea was basically this-Luxury Hotel/Conference Center/Golf Resort between I-85 and USNWC and turn the area around USNWC into Charlotte's version of Balboa Park in San Diego. 

In more detail here (sorry don't know how to quote a post from another topic into this topic so I just copied and pasted my post from Dec 2015):

Interesting that you mention that.  I have long thought a hotel would go great between I-85 and USNWC, although I think this area would be a good place for a large golf resort hotel and conference center kind of like Grandover near Greensboro rather than a small hotel.  I figure if Grandover can survive in the no-mans land between Greensboro and High Point on I-85, then surely one could survive in this area where, unlike Grandover, it would have the added benefit of being on a river and being very close to a major international airport.  Such a place, in my opinion would appeal to both the business traveler/convention-goer and the leisure traveler.

As for USNWC itself, a pie-in-the-sky idea I had for that area would be to turn all the land around it into the Charlotte equivalent of Balboa Park in San Diego.  Specifically, I think it would be cool if this hypothetical park were anchored by the USNWC, and the Charlotte Zoological Park if it ever comes to fruition, but also included various botanical gardens and other landscapes, perhaps a museum of the Catawba/Wateree river basin, and others.

For a really big pie-in-the-sky idea, I think it would be cool, when the USS Charlotte (a submarine named after our city) is decommissioned, if someone could salvage some of the more noticeable compartments and the part of the sub that sits above the waterline when pier side and rebuild it in the river to make it look as if it were resting pier side in the Catawba...in other words, allow the water in the river to hide the fact that the submarine is not fully intact.  Then inside the compartments create a small museum dedicated to the four ships that have been named USS Charlotte.  The shoreline around the sub could be turned into a veteran's memorial park with various monuments commemorating vets from the Carolina's who have fought in our nations wars such as a Carolina vets WWII memorial, Korean memorial, etc.  And perhaps that area could even include a museum of the armed forces.  These could serve as the "third" anchor of the hypothetical park outlined above.

**Edit-The attached image is a submarine pier side.  My idea would be just to salvage the parts that are above the waterline when a sub is pier side to make it look as if the sub was docked on the banks of the Catawba. 

[Cadi40]

I think this a theoretical Resort would attract locals looking for a beach type experience during the summer and spring and Buisness conferences over the winter and fall. I think a Resort would be profitable.