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New Lake Wedowee development to offer quiet shores for growing group
Woodgate Shores—07/22/2006—Anniston Star, The (AL)
New Lake Wedowee development to offer quiet shores for growing group
Steve Ivey
Star Staff Writer
Published: July 22, 2006
WEDOWEE - Larry Wagner is tired of the noise. Wagner, a vice president for a Minnesota-based company, chose to live in Atlanta because of its convenient airport. Now, Wagner represents the growing base of target customers for the development boom along Lake Wedowee. "It's very pretty terrain, and being from Atlanta, I like the quiet," Wagner said.
Wagner recently bought three lots in a new lakefront development, Woodgate Shores, a 32-lot subdivision under construction.
"It started as a way to diversify my investments," Wagner said. "I took a camera, and I liked the view so much of one of the waterfront lots I made it my computer screensaver.
"I'm becoming emotionally connected to the property."
Since Alabama Power Co. dammed up the Tallapoosa and Little Tallapoosa rivers in 1982, Lake Wedowee's clear water and dramatic views have drawn more and more visitors who often become residents.
Mike Dumas, the subdivision's developer for Alabama Land and Lakes, said his company focuses on "low-impact, low-density" projects.
He said the subdivision's 32 lots will range in size between about one and four acres each, and covenants with future homebuilders will guarantee the property maintains its unspoiled aura.
The project will not allow mobile or modular homes, aluminum siding, future subdivision or excessive tree removal. Homes must be built no smaller than 1,400 square feet.
"What you see is what you get," Dumas said. "We've already developed our homeowners association, so when we're out of here there will be a vehicle in place to make sure the integrity of the land stays as it is."
Dumas said those conditions are necessary because of Lake Wedowee's
rapid development. Alabama Power owns about 75 percent of the waterfront property, leaving developers to scoop up the remaining quarter.
"It's not going to be terribly civilized; it's going to remain very rural," Wagner said. "I like the way this thing is going to be finished."
Wagner said his ideal plan would be to make enough from selling two lots to build a house for himself on the third.
Dumas said he expects most of the development's customers will be similar to Wagner. Much of the growth on Lake Wedowee comes from Georgia residents looking to move away from metro Atlanta permanently or to build a second home.
The property is the former Foster homestead, namesake of Fosters Crossroads, near U.S. 431 and Randolph County Road 82.
Woodgate Shores will occupy about 2,800 feet of lakefront land. Dumas said lots away from the lake begin at about $23,000, and waterfront properties begin at about $120,000. Some lots on other areas of the lake are going for half a million dollars.
Dumas said he has sold five of the 32 lots so far without advertising.
Alabama Land and Lakes' parent company, Orchard Investments, is based in New Hampshire and develops real estate in 13 states. Dumas said Lake Wedowee is growing faster than anyplace else he's seen in the nation.
"A lot of people thumb their nose at this part of the country," he said. "I've been in this business for 20-plus years, and I've never seen anything like it.
"My colleagues and I, we can't figure it out. I've seen growth before, but I've never seen an area take off like this."
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Copyright, 2006, The Anniston Star, Consolidated Publishing Co. All Rights Reserved.
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