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.

Lincoln Medical Center, a 101-bed hospital which is part of the Carolinas HealthCare System, serves western shore residents with a 24-hour Emergency Department, Heart Center, Sleep Center and Chronic Pain Management program. The recently-opened Presbyterian Hospital Huntersville serves west side residents.

New residents who want to get involved in the community or learn more about issues affecting them can contact the East Lincoln Betterment Association (ELBA), a citizens’ group that lobbies for improvements and monitors growth issues along the western shore.

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.

Taxes, Utilities and School Information

Property Tax Rates are $0.61 for Lincoln County and $0.0981 for Denver. Rates are per $100 assessed valuation.

With a location that is the furthest away from Charlotte, no major highways and little water or sewer infrastructure, the northwestern corner of Lake Norman is by far the least developed.

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.

But the southeastern pocket of Catawba County is one of the fastest-growing portions, projected to grow by 25 percent or more between 2000 and 2020, due to the demand of lake lots, relatively low housing prices and proximity to Charlotte. Additionally, the new Lowe’s corporate center in Mooresville brings a number of jobs to the area.

To many area residents, good schools, less congestion, lower prices and a small-town way of life are worth the nearly one-hour commute to Charlotte.

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.

In anticipation of coming changes, Catawba County Commissioners adopted the Sherrills Ford Small Area Plan in 2003. Drafted by a group of volunteers who live in Catawba County’s Lake Norman communities, the Sherrills Ford Small Area Plan explores current conditions and defines issues crucial to preserving quality of life in face of rapid change. Community leaders use the plan to make decisions regarding future growth and development.

Area leaders are also discussing a commercial center at N.C. 16/N.C. 150 and a village center at N.C. 150/Sherrills Ford Road.

Noteworthy attractions in the area include the Terrell Country Store at N.C. 150 and Sherrills Ford Road, an 1891 country store with old-fashioned candy, homemade butter, hoop cheese, Amish jellies, hand-dipped ice cream and locally-made gifts.

Further west into Catawba County are the Bunker Hill Covered Bridge on N.C. 70 in Claremont, one of the two remaining covered bridges in North Carolina; and Murray’s Mill off N.C. 10, a fully restored working grist mill dating to 1873.

Taxes, Utilities and School Information

Property Tax Rates are $0.535 for Catawba County and $0.07 for Sherrills Ford/Terrell. Rates are per $100 assessed valuation.

Known as Race City USA for its abundance of NASCAR teams and shops, Mooresville’s population doubled in the 1990s. Today the town has about 21,000 residents – a number that continues to grow by more than 1,000 each year.

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.

Winslow Bay Commons recently opened with 430,000 square feet of shopping, including the area’s first Super Target, TJ Maxx, Dick’s Sporting Goods, Michael’s, Pier 1 Imports, World Market and PETsMART.

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.

With continued growth of homes and the Lowe’s corporate campus, Mooresville is making many significant road improvements. The N.C. Department of Transportation is reworking Exit 33 off I-77, widening Brawley School Road and building a new interstate exit at Langtree.

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).

Downtown Mooresville will soon be home to its very own luxury condominiums at 100 North Church. The four-story building offers units ranging from $355,000 to $499,000 and includes retail on the ground level.
Art-lovers will enjoy Cotton Ketchie’s watercolors and face jugs by regional potters at Landmark Galleries and the Mooresville Artist Guild’s Depot, a visual arts center located in an 1856 railroad depot. Both are in downtown Mooresville.

Other long-time traditions include D.E. Turner Hardware, a century-old store with items piled to the rafters and salesmen who love to spin yarns, and Mooresville Ice Cream Company, which has sold Deluxe brand ice cream since 1924.

You can read more about Mooresville at the city’s website.

Taxes, Utilities and School Information

Property Tax Rates are $0.465 for Iredell County and $0.55 for Huntersville. Rates are per $100 assessed valuation.

The town is named for Gen. William Lee Davidson, a local Revolutionary War hero who died in the battle of Cowans Ford in 1781 and the namesake of Davidson College, the town’s small liberal arts school founded in 1837 by Presbyterians.

Still a college town that locals often call a village, Davidson embraces a main-street, know-your-neighbors way of life. Many folks have lived here for decades, while others have moved here for the small-town atmosphere, tranquility and easygoing pace. Yet, in 2008, Davidson received national attention with the emergence of sharpshooter Stephen Curry, son of former NBA standout and Charlotte Hornet Dell Curry, as the Davidson Wildcats men’s basketball team made its way to the Elite Eight for the first time since 1969.

Taxes, Utilities and School Information

Property Tax Rates are $0.8189 for Mecklenburg County and $0.35 for Davidson. Rates are per $100 assessed valuation.

Services and shops followed, and Cornelius embraced the population boom by welcoming commercial development. Upscale shopping centers line West Catawba Avenue off Exit 28.

hoppers flock to Jetton Village, Shops on the Green, SouthLake Shopping Center and strip after strip of boutiques and eateries on West Catawba Avenue. Now the shops have overflowed to East Catawba, where old bungalows and stately brick homes have been converted into funky, fun downtown boutiques.

Lake Norman residents also enjoy the county’s many parks in Cornelius, including 106-acre Jetton Park, which offers lake access, tennis, bike rentals, walking trails, picnic shelters, playground and a beach; and Ramsey Creek Park, a 46-acre waterfront park with two large picnic shelters, a playground, volleyball courts, picnic facilities, fishing and boat slips.

Taxes, Utilities and School Information

Property Tax Rates are $0.8189 for Mecklenburg County and $0.28 for Cornelius. Rates are per $100 assessed valuation.

Birkdale Village on Sam Furr Road in Huntersville includes apartments and offices above boutiques, restaurants and national retailers such as Williams-Sonoma, Gap, Talbot’s and Ann Taylor Loft. Live bands play on warm-weather weekend evenings, and parents from around the lake bring children to splash and play in the village square fountain. The Nantucket-style shopping center’s quaint Main Street is lined with locally owned stores, a pizza parlor, ice cream shop, wine room, a 16-screen stadium-seating movie theater, bookstores and clothing shops.

Although much of the retail and residential areas in Huntersville are new, the town also has numerous historic sites within a five-mile drive of Beatties Ford Road. Hopewell Presbyterian Church, for instance, dates to the 1740s and features 200-year-old stone walls around its cemetery. The Hugh Torance House and Store, started in the 1770s, is the oldest surviving store site in North Carolina. The two-room log cabin also sat on a cotton plantation and was used as a school for young ladies, slave quarters and an overseer’s house.

Each April, the Loch Norman Highland Games celebrate the area’s Scots-Irish heritage with athletic competitions, bagpipe music, dancing, tartan parades and historical demonstrations.

Another pocket of preserved Huntersville is Latta Plantation Nature Preserve, the county’s largest green space with hiking trails, picnic shelters, a nature center, an equestrian center, boating and fishing on Mountain Island Lake and the Carolina Raptor Center, which rehabilitates and releases injured birds of prey.

In 2001, Huntersville opened Huntersville Family Fitness and Aquatics, an 88,000-square-foot facility and outdoor fun park where kids can slide through tubes, spray water cannons and climb sprinkler-filled jungle gyms set inside a pool.

You can read more about Huntersville at the official town website.

Taxes, Utilities and School Information

Property Tax Rates are $0.8189 for Mecklenburg County and $0.29 for Huntersville. Rates are per $100 assessed valuation.