On the Drawing Board

Russell Lands updates development agenda

As Lake Martin’s most active developer, we realize that people are trying to figure out what we will be doing next. Those thoughts turn to speculation and then, in turn, become rumors. Rumors get repeated to the point, when they get to us, they are often humorous.

Dispelling a few “old” rumors

We have a few favorites. The two most recent are both related to the Wicker Point–Heritage area. The first was that we were going to build a bridge from Pleasure Point (Tallapoosa County Road 34) across the lake to the Wicker Point peninsula. The rationale seemed to be that we could make it easier for people from Georgia to get to the Russell Lands properties.

We never considered that because of economics. The cost of that span of bridge would have been prohibitive for starters. Then it would have ruined the low-traffic, pristine nature of the Wicker Point peninsula, which has become a collection of beautiful lake homes along a private and tree-lined shoreline. From a practical standpoint, it would actually have increased the driving time to Russell Lands from Georgia, not shortened it.

We think our favorite was the idea that we were going to build a Ritz Carlton on the same property. While we love the Ritz Carlton brand, the scope of a project like that does not make sense to us, at least now. A hotel of that quality, pre-COVID, would cost about $500,000 per room, and a Ritz Carlton hotel typically has over 300 rooms. That is $150,000,000 dollars, not counting the land and infrastructure. Given recent inflation since COVID, the cost would likely have greatly eclipsed that number.

We suppose this rumor came from our consideration of a “boutique hotel” of roughly 90 rooms. We decided that the timing and location of that investment is in the future and in a different location. Think long horizon.

What is actually being considered

There are a few other rumors that we have heard, so to dispel/clarify/confirm those rumors, we thought it would help to share with you what we are working on right now for 2025.

First, our primary point of focus will be The Heritage. With well over 100 waterfront lots sold and dozens of custom homes under construction, it makes sense to stick with our initial plans. Those plans are going to branch out in multiple directions. Here is what to look for next.

1. The Benjamin Lake Club will open in June of 2025. This club is exclusive to The Heritage. It includes the large clubhouse itself, with gathering rooms, catering kitchen, owners’ bar, meeting space, fitness facilities, and locker rooms. Exterior features include a pool complex with a resort pool and a lap pool, an adjacent snack bar, community docks, beach, landscaped walking trails, eight tennis courts and eight pickleball courts.
2. The Wicker Point Golf Club is nearing its first anniversary of operation and is adding the Golf Cottages that will provide a member’s guests with a place to stay and visit the club. When completed, there will be 24 rooms with access to shared living rooms that have beautiful views of the course and the lake.
3. A number of for-sale homes are in the design phase for construction in the completed development areas. The first of these homes have just come on that market with several more scheduled to be delivered in 2025. This is a new phase of sales for our team, who up to this point, have been successful in selling building lots. We believe this will provide a needed property type for potential owners who are ready to enjoy the lake right away.
4. For potential owners who want to purchase a waterfront lot to build their forever custom lake home, we are in the process of gaining approval for Phase 4. If approved, these will come to the market in mid-summer of 2025.
5. Water-access and golf-front homesites are now available. While limited in number, currently we are working on a neighborhood around The Benjamin that will give potential owners a resort-style setting to enjoy a more-affordable option.

Second, we are expanding the very popular Russell Cabins. This luxury package of a for-sale lake cabin with waterfront lot has been very popular since being introduced in Nichols Cove. Since that time, we have built over 100 of these luxury cabins for those looking for a house that is not a McMansion on a large tree-covered lot.

Due to extensive demand, we have exhausted our supply of waterfront lots in The Ridge and The Willows. So, the questions were, “Where do we go next?” “Where do cabins like this fit in?”

The answer is fairly obvious. The Kowaliga area (adjacent to the Kowaliga Marina, Children’s Harbor, and Trillium) is where we have decided to build these cabins, if our development plans are approved by Elmore County. Assuming those plans are approved, we hope to introduce the first lots in this multi-phase development in spring of 2025.

We are always looking to the future. We would love to share everything that we are planning, but if we wrote an article like that, we would miss out on all of the second-guessing rumors that fly around the lake during cocktail hour!

If you want to stay in the know about these plans or anything else we are working on, please reach out to one of our Realtors^®. They are in the know and can confirm/clarify/deny what may or may not be planned for the future.