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Gaston Gazzette September 2012
Belmont couple builds dream home on Lake Wylie
By Staff Reporter
It was the fall of 2007 and the hair on the back of Doug McSpadden’s neck began to stand up. He jokingly says “his spider senses were tingling.”
Doug and wife Laurie’s company of 20 years had recently completed a wildly successful Homerama project in the Sanctuary on the shores of Lake Wylie and were just weeks away from closing on another expensive lot and breaking ground on a 1.8M spec home.
It took years of work to become a “Featured Builder” with Crescent Communities, and walking away from the deal would mean severing the relationship from the group. But intuition and faith prevailed and that’s exactly what they did. Within months, the luxury residential market began to crumble and it was evident that their company of 9 employees was the next focus.
Charlotte Urban Home July 2010
A Builder's Light Bulb Moment From July 2010 Charlotte Urban Home Mag
July 2010 Charlotte Urban Home
New words have crept into our vernacular since the green movement began: socially responsible, sustainable design, eco-friendly and right-size living, to name a few. Now a well-known builder of custom homes in the Lake Wylie area is introducing a new phrase to the Charlotte housing market: organic contemporary architecture. But this is much more than a buzzword to Doug McSpadden; it’s his passion.
The term organic architecture was first coined in 1908 by Frank Llyod Wright to describe his idea that a home should be built in relationship with its natural surroundings, and carefully thought out as if it were a unified organism.
Lake Wylie Living Fall 2007
Curb Appeal, Landscaping around the lake
Planning Pays Off
Story by Leigh Pressley
Some people look at an empty home site and see a blank canvas. But John and Lisa Morris saw a masterpiece when they found their waterfront lot at Misty Waters.
“It’s on a point with the main part of the lake on one side and a cove on the other with a view to kill,” says Lisa Morris. “There’s a niche slope with such a diverse tree stand that shows a little bit of everything native to this area from evergreens to hardwood maples to cypress trees to regular pines. It had the shade we wanted and all the soul and spirit we wanted. As we walked around, we both thought this is it.”
The Morris’s, both attorneys who own a home health service called Interim HealthCare, hired Lake Wylie builder Doug McSpadden to create their 10,000 square-foot stacked stone and stucco home. As construction of the house, guesthouse, six-car garage and attached greenhouse progressed, the couple also worked with two landscape architects to design the yard.
Charlotte Place Summer 2007
Misty Waters on Lake Wylie
By: Michelle A. Ziner
Many years ago, custom home builder Doug McSpadden recognized the beauty of an exclusive waterfront area, west of Charlotte, in the small town of Belmont, NC. “I was taken with South Point peninsula because of its close proximity to Charlotte and its unspoiled shorelines,” said McSpadden.
“With only a limited amount of land sandwiched between the Main Fork and the South Fork of the Catawba River, the chance for over development and commercial strip centers is limited. We have invested over 20 years living and building along the shorelines of Lake Wylie, and a major part of our focus has been the half-dozen or so exclusive waterfront communities that have developed here in the past decade. In particular, Misty Waters on Lake Wylie caught my attention due to its limited number of large lots, privacy gates, clubhouse, pool and marina facility,” he said.
John and Lisa Morris apparently saw the same thing when they purchased their 1.5 acre point in a quiet cul-de-sac in Misty Waters.
Today’s Charlotte Woman/July 2007
Savoring Summer, A Lakeside Home That Flows With The Seasons
By Lee Rhodes
There’s an old song that laments the notion that “there ain’t no cure for the summertime blues.” Many would disagree. The season of summer offers the opportunity to barbecue in the back yard, lounge by the pool and, for a fortunate few, savor sun-drenched days at the lake.
Betty Cloninger and her husband, Thomas, enjoy all of the aforementioned activities from their own little slice of paradise along the shores of Lake Wylie. As former coastal dwellers, the Cloningers love all things nautical. They’d always desired a home on the lake but were willing to wait until they could locate an exceptional lot and their children were older and more comfortable around the water.
Their patience paid off. The Cloningers signed an agreement to buy their current lot the same day their Realtor® listed the property back in 1993. With a natural beach, lush landscaping and the dual benefits of privacy and easy access to the main part of the lake, the lot was a gem.
House Trend Magazine – May 2007
Ahead of its Time
By Lee Rhodes
SINUOUS CURVES, A CONTEMPORARY YET COMFORTABLE INTERIOR AND AN ENVIOUS VIEW OF LAKE WYLIE MAKE THIS HOME STAND OUT FROM THE PACK.
THE PROMISE OF SPARKLING WATERS, lush forest and rural beauty are what first drew the McSpadden family to Lake Wylie in 1987, and the promise of building their dream home on its shores is what kept them there.
Fittingly, the history of how the family came to reside in this home in intertwined with Doug McSpadden’s professional background. As founder and owner of McSpadden Custom Homes, a renowned waterfront homebuilder, Doug exemplifies excellence in all that he does. He also recognizes potential when he sees it. From the vantage point of his former home in Forest Cove, he recognized the potential of a nearby piece of property and approached the developer about buying and building on two waterfront lots.
SouthPark Magazine – May 2007
“Firm Foundation”
By Sam Boykin
Early Interest in Design Prepared Builder for Long Career in the Industry
Doug McSpadden is one of those fortunate few who always knew what he wanted to do with his life. While growing up in Gastonia, he was fascinated with designing and building things, from Lego-block cities to tree houses. This fascination eventually led him to the University of Tennessee School of Architecture, where he graduated with honors. He then earned a real estate broker and contractor’s license. “It gave me everything I needed to design, build and sell houses,” says McSpadden, 47.
And for the past 20 years he’s been doing just that as president of McSpadden Custom Homes, a luxury home builder. In the process he’s garnered numerous awards, including five Gold Awards in HomeArama 2006 at The Sanctuary.
In the late 1990s, McSpadden, along with project manager Mike Jenkins and a few other company team members positioned themselves for an anticipated boom in luxury houses in the south Charlotte and Lake Wylie area. The company sank a sizable investment into hiring new employees, establishing a new office space and upgrading building technologies.
NC Boating Lifestyle September 2006
“Finding Sanctuary on Lake Wylie”
Leigh Pressley
Lake Wylie custom builder Doug McSpadden grew up spending his summer days and winter weekends boating, skiing and exploring the nature-filled shoreline around the lake. He and his wife, Laurie, also have raised their two teenage sons on Lake Wylie with an active lifestyle made up of boats, Jet Skis, canoes, kayaks, wakeboards and camping.
So when HomeArama, Charlotte’s premier new home exposition, chose The Sanctuary on Lake Wylie as its 2006 neighborhood, McSpadden knew he had to be a part of it.
His $2.5million prairie-style home with 9,600-square-feet under roof and 6,700-heated-square-feet took six awards at the prestigious show held this spring. Among the honors: Best Overall Home, Best Floor Plan, Best Outdoor Living Space, Best Master Suite, Best Media Room and Best Interior Design.
“It was a neat dream,” he says. “As an avid boater, lake lover and custom builder with Lake Wylie as my primary market, it was a natural progression to participate in HomeArama. It turned out better than I ever expected.”
Charlotte Business Journal September 2006
Veteran Gaston Builder Doug McSpadden crosses the Catawba to make a splash at HomeArama
By Laura Williams-Tracy
It’s fitting that Doug McSpadden’s entry in the 2006 HomeArama house tour is a Frank Lloyd Wright-style home that’s all about balance.
While many business owners struggle in the search for equilibrium between life and work, McSpadden says the stability in his life is the thing that makes him successful.
“I’ve always been able to cut it off at 5 p.m. on Friday afternoons,” says McSpadden, president of McSpadden Development Group. After that, his time belongs to his two sons, ages 16 and 13, and wife, Laurie. While he doesn’t spend weekends wrapped up in work, you can bet McSpadden is back on the job at 4 a.m. Monday.
But what do you expect from a guy who quotes motivational speaker Zig Ziglar or McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc when describing his business’ mission?
“Doug is one of those people who try to squeeze everything out of life,” says Alan Simonini, chief executive of Simonini Builders. He gave McSpadden his start in the luxury-home business. “He’s done well because his attitude is incredible.”
Lake Wylie Living Spring 2006
“Inspired Design” Custom-built homes popular around the lake
by Leigh Pressley
An Active Lake Lifestyle
Doug McSpadden spent his summers and winter weekends on Lake Wylie from the time his family bought a boat when he was 10.
Now a custom home builder who works on Lake Wylie exclusively and lives there himself, McSpadden chose the lake so his boys, Harrison, 16 and Connor, 13, could grow up with the same outdoor active lifestyle. McSpadden and his wife, Laurie, enjoy a deck boat, jet skis, kayaks, canoes, wakeboards, sailboards, a dinghy and an ultralight plane with their sons.
NC Boating Lifestyle April 2004
“The Wilds of Lake Wylie”
Leigh Pressley
Lots of people live on a lake, but not everyone lives in it. For Doug and Laurie McSpadden and their two boys, Harrison, 14, and Connor, 11, life on Lake Wylie means a deck boat, a jet ski, kayaks and canoes, wakeboards, sailboards, a dinghy and an ultralight plane.
“The family that plays together, stays together,” says Doug, a custom home builder who grew up in nearby Gastonia spending summer days and winter weekends on Lake Wylie. “I got my first boat, a 23-foot Sport Craft, when I was about 10, and as I got older, I’d take evening cruises with my friends whenever my dad allowed me to take the boat out on my own. Having a boat was a major deal because it meant freedom to get out on the water, explore and have fun. I wanted that same freedom for my boys.”
Charlotte Place May - October 2003
Wylie Waterfront “The Castle” is Couple’s Quiet Retreat
By Leigh Pressley
Most people move to lakefront homes for the peaceful atmosphere overlooking the water, for the brilliant sunsets sweeping across the trees, the majestic blue herons flying above, the mallard ducks scooting across the surface and the unspoiled beauty and quiet.
Unfortunately, the very things that attract lake dwellers risk disappearing when development goes too far. But, with new neighborhoods such as Woodland Bay, Misty Waters and Cloister Pointe, Lake Wylie could be the best-kept secret in the Charlotte area.
“If you look at all the factors involved in development - lower taxes, the future belt loop, roads to Charlotte being widened, and undeveloped, unspoiled waterfront – that’s why we’re seeing more luxurious, high-end homes,” says Doug McSpadden of McSpadden Custom Homes on Lake Wylie. “In the next decade, I think we’re going to see a huge surge of Charlotte people looking seriously at luxury homes on the lake.”