(1888PressRelease)
March 05, 2007 - (SMITH LAKE, AL ) Condominium and other developments on Smith Lake will be a major factor in economic growth in areas bordering the lake, according to developers.
“Portions of Winston, Cullman and Walker counties have been dependent on farming and timber in the past,” said Dewayne Campbell, co-founder of Emerald Point Condominiums LLC. “While these industries kept people alive, they offered little opportunity for true prosperity. What we are bringing to this lake and this area is a vein of gold which enterprising people will mine.”
The boom in developments of all types on Smith Lake is already having an impact which will only broaden, according to Campbell. “First you have a construction phase, which has an intense but finite influence on the local economy. When the residents move into the houses or condos, you then begin seeing the long-term benefits in creation of businesses: restaurants, cleaning services, mowing and landscaping, boat sales and service, grocery and convenience stores, antique shops, animal-related businesses for everything from cats to horses. The opportunities are limited only by a person’s imagination and willingness to work.”
“Businesses spawned by the development on Smith Lake are a long way from the old minnow and worm shack,” Campbell said, but was quick to add, “Although fortunes have been make with worms and minnows also, and I’ve contributed my share.””
Campbell is especially supportive of lake condo developments as economic generators. “What we will be doing here at Emerald Point on Smith Lake is taking a relatively small amount of land and concentrating 150 or more families there, each of whom will probably have a net worth in the millions.
Altogether that represents billions of dollars in buying power that will flow to the business people smart enough to fill those needs.”
The Emerald Point condo project being developed by Campbell and his sister, Melinda Edwards, will be located on Ryans Creek in Cullman County.
Phase one will be a 54-unit, six-story upscale structure. Preconstruction sale of this phase will begin in late March, according to Campbell.
“Our buyers are already asking us, Where’s the nearest nice restaurant? Where do you buy groceries? Does anyone around here have a place we can ride horses? I think the potential is very apparent,” Campbell said.
Campbell also believes lake condo projects enhance tax revenues beyond simple lake house construction. “Once again, you’re taking a limited amount of land and instead of constructing three or four $500 thousand dollars houses on it, you’re constructing 40, 50 or 100 half-million dollar units on it. And of course people pending lots of money pay lots of sales taxes in addition to property taxes.”
The developer said major lake condo developments compare favorably to industrial developments for economic benefit without the downside of heavy industry. “Emerald Point will produce little if any pollution. Even the sewer system is cleaner, more efficient and more distant from the lake than the septic tanks currently used by houses and mobile homes.”
“It comes down to making Smith Lake work for this area,” Campbell said.
“The lake is more than just a resource to be exploited. I believe it has a responsibility to enhance the lives of everyone who lives around it, either as a recreational outlet or an economic generator. And now is the time to dive in, one way or the other.”
More information about condo developments on Smith Lake can be found at www.condosandresorts.com.
The Emerald Point on Smith Lake development may be investigated further at www.emeraldpointcondo.com
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