Heritage Update

Contract awarded for The Benjamin Lake Club

Russell Lands has been working on the planning and execution of its newest lakefront community, The Heritage, for over four years. The latest in a number of milestones has just been met—the construction contract for the clubhouse of the resident-owned waterfront lake club, The Benjamin, has been awarded to Brasfield & Gorrie.

This is just one of many significant milestones for Lake Martin’s finest fully amenitized community. There were a series of steps that needed to occur.

Step one was to identify the development and the amenity mix for Russell Lands’ next large waterfront community. It was decided that amenities in neighborhoods like The Ridge, with The Ridge Marina and The Ridge Club, were requirements. In addition to those two amenities, we have long known that additional golf was needed in our community.

Step two was to identify the right piece of property for lake homes and the above amenity mix. Russell Lands considered all of its extensive property holdings and selected a 1,500-acre parcel with over 12 miles of relatively level shoreline. The parcel selected, known as Wicker Point, is blessed with a blend of mature hardwoods and longleaf pine plantations.

Step three was to have the property annexed into the city limits of Alexander City. This annexation provided multiple benefits for the community. Alexander City, with the annexation, would be able to provide city water, city sewer, police protection, fire protection, and emergency (EMT) services. The Heritage would be the first community on the lake to have all of those services. Annexation was accomplished with a unanimous vote of the Alexander City City Council and an act of the Alabama Legislature.

Step four was to design a world-class private golf club. A world-class golf course requires a world-class design team. We were able to contract Coore & Crenshaw, who have designed some of the world’s finest courses, to design our new course. A world-class golf club also required a world-class clubhouse. We were able to employ Hank Long of Henry Sprott Long & Associates, a well-respected architect from Birmingham, to design the clubhouse and pro shop. Those two design teams did not disappoint.

Step five was to build and open the golf course and club. A team of golf course contractors, which included a cast of specialists, including Landscapes Unlimited, shaped a beautiful course along the hills, multiple creeks, and lake shoreline. Brasfield & Gorrie was selected to build the clubhouse facility. Both projects opened on schedule in September of this year.

Step six was to design and build the road system that would provide access to the community, golf club, and residential homesites. This process has been ongoing since 2019 and has included rebuilding county roads, shaping new roads, installing utilities, and building a bridge and guardhouse. This process will continue over the next 6 to 8 years to provide for over 300 residential properties.

Step seven was to develop and release for sale the first two phases of waterfront residential homesites. In the last 16 months, 78 properties have been released to the market with 74 of those properties selling. Home design and construction, from our approved designers and contractors, has been impressive with our first resident moving in just last month. (The Heritage will have eight total residential phases including waterfront, interior, and golf-view properties.)

All of those very important and completed steps bring us to the construction of The Benjamin Lake Club. Since the lake is beautiful, the land is special, and the golf club is world-class, it makes sense that the lake club should be world-class as well. To reach that goal, we hired Cooper Cary, an Atlanta-based architecture firm, as consultants/designers. Their team, led by Pope Bullock, was able to design the building, grounds, and features of this one-of-a-kind waterfront lake club.

The Benjamin, projected to cost over $20,000,000, promises to provide a wide variety of amenities to The Heritage property owners. The facility will be centrally located within the community and will enjoy an elevated view of a beautiful and peaceful Lake Martin cove surrounded by Heritage residential properties.

The facility will consist of a two-story clubhouse with meeting and event space, an owner’s bar, catering kitchen, expansive fitness center, aerobic/yoga room, and locker rooms. Adjacent to the clubhouse and fitness center will be a resort-style pool with a large covered and uncovered pool deck, poolside snack bar, and lakeview terrace.

The Benjamin will have extensive outdoor features including a beach, waterfront event lawns, firepits, amphitheater, and community docks. On the upland portion of the clubhouse property are additional event lawns, eight tennis courts, eight pickleball courts, and a tennis pro shop.

The club is scheduled to open June 1, 2025. Our ability to plan and execute as noted above gives us good reason to think that The Benjamin will be a well-executed and well-received addition to The Heritage. Still to come are details related to the new marina planned for construction to serve this area of the lake.

For details on The Heritage or other Russell Lands communities, please reach out to one of our Sales Executives at 256.215.7011 or by email.