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Work on new tennis resort proceeds
by Jule Hubbard
(Photo caption) Artist's rendering of Sky Carolina's entrance building illustrates the resort's inclusion of Asian architecture.
Work is proceeding on Sky Carolina, an upscale tennis resort on 515 acres near the North Prong of the Reddies River in northern Wilkes County, with lot sales scheduled to start in October.
The Wilkes Joint Planning Board approved a preliminary plat for the project's first phase in late June and grading has been under way for about a month on the main entrance road, which connects with Vannoy Road about half mile from the intersection of Vannoy Road and Old N.C. 16 in Union Township.
Sky Carolina is a project of Concord-based Wild Hare Development, with Bo Quickel as president and sole owner. Quickel first presented plans for the resort to the planning board in October 2007. A final plat must now be submitted and approved by the board within a year for the project to proceed.
Quickel said he expected to spend about $43 million on Sky Carolina, which is to include 172 homesites and 50 lakeside cottages. About $12 million is to be spent on the first phase alone, with 27 homesites.
“Sky Carolina will be the Augusta of tennis,” he said, comparing it to the Augusta National Golf Club in Augusta, Ga. “It will be the place where people will just have to play.”
He said it would be the first “extreme luxury high end” tennis resort, with planning and architecture blending Western and Asian culture. “I want people to feel like they have stepped into a spa when they come on the property,” said Quickel.
While real estate sales in many resorts are slow, said Quickel, Sky Carolina will appeal to a niche market consisting of people passionately interested in tennis who want and can afford the best. Sales will focus on residents of Atlanta, Charlotte and elsewhere in North Carolina and Georgia, as well as Virginia, South Carolina, Tennessee and Florida.
Sky Carolina will have a 37-acre lake in a valley formed by a horseshoe-shaped ridge, with lots averaging an acre and selling for $165,000 to $365,000 each. Quickel said the development consists of acreage purchased from five different landowners.
Membership in the resort’s Tim Wilkison Tennis Club will be open to residents and non-residents. Wilkison, a former top-20 player on the Association of Tennis Professionals Tour, will lead tennis programs and clinics at Sky Carolina. He is a Shelby native and Charlotte resident.
The club will have 11 outdoor courts with an assortment of clay, hard and grass surfaces, as well as an indoor court. It will have a court carved into the side of a mountain and one with a sod roof.
“Loving the game of tennis like I do and being in the business of developing and integrating tennis clubs into upscale residential communities, I can honestly say that the Sky Carolina vision celebrates the sport of tennis in a manner few places offer,” said Wilkison. “This is truly state-of-the-art, with appreciation and attention to the finest details.”
He is affilitated with Wilkison Partners, which manages, owns and operates sports and recreational facilities within residential communities.
Sky Carolina is being promoted with a series of “We Bring You the Sky” tennis exhibitions and clinics in key markets, including this month in Roswell, Ga., and Charleston, S.C. They feature past Wimbledon champions such as Don Johnson playing against Wilkison. Cornerstone Marketing & Advertising Inc. was hired to market Sky Carolina.
Quickel said professional tennis tournaments, including a women’s tourney in 2010, are planned at Sky Carolina. He said there also are plans to work with local high school tennis programs.
Other amenities planned include a non-denominational chapel, a yoga center and spa providing exercise and wellness programs, a childwatch facility, a fire pit pavilion over the lake, a fly-fishing hut, pools and an amphitheater, meeting facilities, a playground, an outdoor kitchen pavilion and a helipad.
Quickel said well known chefs will visit the kitchen pavilion to provide educational opportunities for Sky Carolina homeowners.
He said Sky Carolina will feature nature paths, a park and a preserve system as part of a projected LEED Platinum certified master plan.
The nonprofit Sky Carolina Trust was created to promote musical, cultural and holiday events and activities at Sky Carolina, help disadvantaged children locally and regionally and work with local communities and nonprofit organizations.
According to a press release, Quickel assembled a team of professionals in the “New Urbanism genre,” with award-winning architects and landscape architects, 3-D animation specialists, branding experts and graphic designers for Sky Carolina.
Through Wild Hare, Quickel also developed resorts in the Turks and Caicos islands in the Carribean, as well residential communities in the Charlotte area and elsewhere in North Carolina.
More information on Sky Carolina is at (888) 686-5233 or at www.skycarolina.com. |
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