Lake Norman Publications

Lakeshore hotel vision endorsed by Mooresville board



Bowls, curves and more take shape at revised skate park. /Lee Sullivan

MOORESVILLE – Lake Norman and its approximately 520 miles of shoreline is the largest man-made lake in the state, and one of North Carolina’s top tourist attractions. But notably missing from all those vast stretches of the lake’s main channel and its seemingly innumerable coves are any true waterfront hotels.

As representatives of Visit Lake Norman — the region’s own visitors and convention bureau — tell it, there are no lakefront hotels in the region, although there are some within about a 5-10 minute drive of it strewn among Huntersville, Cornelius, Davidson and Mooresville straddling Interstate 77.

All that is poised to change with Mooresville’s approval of a request to amend an existing mixed-use rezoning plan for a more than 15-acre site near the intersection of Alcove Road and Sunset Cove Lane in the Langtree development area in the southwestern part of town.

Applicant Sunset Cove Partners LLC requested an amendment to its original plan for a 30,000 square-foot “boutique” hotel with a restaurant and possible spa on the property to also allow for 283 dwelling units — or 18 units per acre — in buildings no more than four stories high, as well as a variety of commercial uses.

It’s a plan, led by noted real estate developer Brett Krueger, in the works for about three years, and one he says will provide waterfront access to the public on a lake with arguably very limited availability to those who do not own lakeside property.

Krueger is the name behind the luxury Ivey’s hotel in Charlotte, as well as the Windsor Hotel in Asheville. The Ivey’s has been recognized by Architectural Digest magazine as the most beautiful hotel in North Carolina.

“It would rival a master planned development in Florida,” Krueger testified during a public hearing at the Sept. 6 meeting of the town board. “People love the kinds of projects we do, because we put so much detail into it.”

The planning board has already recommended approval of the application in a unanimous vote, following neighborhood meetings in March and June of this year.

Following six public comments evenly split between those in support of the applicant and those questioning the project’s ever-evolving plans, a few commissioners did express concern about the types of commercial uses allowed if they approved the plan encompassing a hotel, luxury condominiums and a mix of dining, shopping and entertainment venues and a public greenway along the lake.

Would there be tattoo parlors? Car washes? Does public waterfront access mean a full-tilt marina with slips and gas pumps?

Krueger said those uses don’t fit his vision of the site, and pledged to work with town staff and elected officials to strike any uses deemed unacceptable for this development corridor.

Commissioners ultimately gave unanimous consent to approve the application, but not without a qualifier from Mayor Pro Tem Lisa Qualls.

“We’re putting a lot of trust in you,” she said directly to Krueger, “so don’t let us down.”

Skate park update

In other business, commissioners heard from Town Manager Randy Hemann that the town’s new skate park is on schedule for a November grand opening.

The $2.8 million project is the result of what town officials say was substantial public input from the skating community. Improvements began on the park, beside the Mooresville Police Department on West Iredell Avenue, in February.

Enhancements include expansions and upgrades that, once completed, will make the 40,000 square-foot facility the largest skate park in the Carolinas, according to Hemann.

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