‘Augustalee’: A Historic New Name
For The Former Village At Lake Norman

‘Augustalee,’ a name with deep roots in the history of the property and the family that lived and farmed there, has been chosen as the new name for the former Village At Lake Norman project site, the $500-million-plus, master planned, mixed use development in Cornelius, N.C.

“We had intended all along to develop a refined, distinctive name for the project, with the hope of honoring the vibrant history of the Cooke family, who owned most of the 104-acre site and farmed it for over 100 years, since before the town of Cornelius existed,” said Josh Rector, Senior Vice President of Cornelius Bromont, LLC, the developers and now owners of the land. “But we wanted to wait until we had the rezoning approved and the basic feel of the project planned before undertaking the branding process. As you can imagine, when working on a plan of this detail and refinement, we had to prioritize tasks, and now the name is being addressed with the level of care we have been dedicating to in every other element of the project.”

“The name Augustalee was created after a lengthy process of researching the rich history of the property, which has been wonderfully preserved in words and pictures by the current generation which owned the land,” Rector explained. “Our goal was to develop a name that would be complementary to the Town of Cornelius, fitting with the culture of the region, appropriate for retail, office, residential and hospitality, and exemplary of the quality of the project we are creating. After considering a number of options, the name Augustalee emerged as the one with the greatest strength and potential.

“Augustalee is made of the first and middle names of Augusta Lee Chester Cooke, the grandmother of the generation of Cookes from whom we purchased the property,” Rector explained. “She was a very warm, caring Southern lady. She lived on the farm and took care of her large family. We chose the name because it conveys the warm, gracious, Southern hospitality which this project will exude. It has a very lyrical sound when you say it out loud. We strongly believe that everyone will enjoy the continued hospitality and character of Augustalee.”

The site is located between I-77 and U.S. 21 on the south side of Cornelius. A new exit 27, widening of both highways and many other roadway and transportation improvements are planned by Cornelius Bromont, who expect to open the first retail stores on the site in fall 2012. In addition the project will feature luxury residences above the quality retail, two top-tier national brand hotels on the main street, extensive Class A office space in multiple buildings, parks and walking trails, and many other amenities.

Progress Continues On Many Fronts

We at Cornelius Bromont have been very busy since we were last in the news with the completion of our zoning case. Since then we have accomplished several major tasks in spite of the down turn in the economy and the financial stress in the marketplace:
• We have been successful in closing our own financing, allowing us to purchase the property and commence design of the first phase of the project
• We have completed schematic design of the project and are in a pricing exercise currently
• Our Design Team has created dramatic and realistic 3-dimensional renderings of the Augustalee development from different angles, as shown in the image at right
• We have been in negotiations with several major tenants, leading name-brand hotels, and potential office users
• We have leased space and moved into our new offices on South Boulevard in Charlotte
• We have continued meeting with transportation authorities at regional, state and federal levels and have had nothing but positive feedback from them – our planned improvements will clearly benefit everyone involved
• All this has provided us more than enough to keep us working long hours and burning the midnight oil. We could not be more pleased with all of the excellent work that has been accomplished to date on the project and the continued progress going forward. We want everyone in the community to understand how hard our entire team is working to make this project a reality, and how a project of this complexity inevitably requires a time-consuming planning and approval process before construction begins.

For more information and visuals about the project, including the new 3-D images, visit our website at www.CorneliusBromont.com or www.Augustalee.com Wednesday afternoon or thereafter. As always your comments and suggestions via our Feedback page on the site are welcome.