Civil Municipal Magazine Aug 2023

30 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 8 forward by the Russell Lands Group, which owns approximately 25,000 acres of lakeside property and has embarked on developing Lake Martin as a high-end residential area. “They have one large development going on right now,” Baird describes. “It’s going to be 400 homes, but it’s an extremely exclusive gated community, with a huge Coore and Crenshaw golf course. The homes, by the time you buy a lot and build a house, you’re looking at $3 to $4 million.” A planned neighborhood community is also in the early stages of development, bringing another 700 residences, which are desperately needed in the city. “It’s going to be a mixed- use subdivision. We have the lake, so part of it is going to be lakefront and then there’ll be lesser-priced, medium-priced homes that are backlots. And then even further back than that, you’re going to have patio homes, townhouses, and apartments. If they can get that off the ground, that’s going to be huge for us, because we’re in a housing crunch right now for affordable starter homes,” Baird admits.