Unusual lakefront compound for sale

A unique waterfront family compound is for sale on Lake Norman for $5.9 million. The property, at 151 Travis Pointe Drive in Mooresville, has been in Travis Stewart’s family for more than 30 years. Sitting on more than 6 acres, it features a main house in traditional Southern lake style with four bedrooms and 3 1/2 baths and a guest house with two bedrooms and two baths. The property has 1,300 square feet of shoreline with two docks and three covered boat slips as well as a barn and horse stables. It also has a recreation or events hall with its own kitchen.

Beyond the beautiful acreage and stunning water views, the site offers privacy and tranquility. Travis Pointe’s driveway is a 40-foot right-of-way winding through a tree-covered area to a gated, key-pad operated entry. Tucked off of Camino Real, even many local residents are unaware of what lies beyond the gate.

“It’s one of the rarest and most prestigious spots on the lake,” said Shelley Johnson of LePage Johnson Realty with Keller Williams Realty in Cornelius who is handling the listing. “Whoever gets this property will get a real treasure.”

It’s a spot for a buyer who values privacy, the beauty of the lake and its proximity to Charlotte. Johnson said there are no equivalent properties on Lake Norman that still retain that rural, undeveloped feel.

Travis Stewart’s mother, Travis Wylie Stewart, bought the site in 1979 from Irwin Belk, former president of the Belk Group of department stores. The Stewarts, a family of self-described gentleman farmers, was seeking to escape the development that was altering the landscape around their Cotswold area farm. At Travis Pointe, which is named for the elder Stewart, they found the tranquility they so desired as the area was largely undeveloped at the time. It was a place to “let your soul catch up to your body,” according to Travis Stewart.

An accomplished musician, the elder Stewart also had a taste for restoring unusual pieces of furniture with a history to tell. Such was a case with a neglected old piano she found in an antiques barn which she resurrected and for which she held a celebratory “birthday” party that lasted for days, according to her daughter.

Celebrating events runs in the family. The younger Stewart and her husband, Bob Nelson, have used the compound as a place for others to celebrate the special moments of their lives, including weddings and anniversaries. “We’ve hosted weddings representing every branch of the U.S. armed forces,” Stewart proudly boasts.

The compound also been used for private family vacations, and corporate and charity events benefitting groups like the Dove House and Levine Hospital’s Little Smiles program.

Stewart and Nelson run a full-service special events operation on the property, including providing catering, tents, seating and floral arrangements and fulfilling other needs.

“Bring your own cake and minister, we take care of the rest,” said Stewart.

But now the couple is looking to move on. Last year, they were approached by a buyer interested in 151 Travis Pointe, but the deal never materialized. The offer set in motion a plan for the couple to take stock of what they wanted to do next, which is travel throughout the nation, so they decided to sell Travis Pointe. Johnson said the seller chose to list with LePage Johnson because of the company’s web presence and the custom work they do for clients.

While they wait for an interested buyer, Stewart and Nelson are still accepting short-notice special event bookings. Johnson said she plans to hold a charitable event this spring at Travis Pointe in order to showcase the uniqueness of the property to potential buyers.