(Photo: Wynne Lake near Biwabik.)
Naterra Land is parceling off 2,000 acres on the east shores of Sabin and Wynne lakes for development of homesiteswith covenants to protect the areas natural beauty.
One year after Iron Range Resources announced a plan to attract nearly $1 billion worth of development in the Giants Ridge Recreation Area, the work of one of the largest stakeholders is taking shape.
Naterra Land has sold about two-thirds of the 209 lots its made available at Voyageurs Retreat, a housing development located along the eastern shores of Sabin and Wynne lakes in Biwabik. The company is selling the lots in phases, referring to each new grouping as a settlement.
Steve Giese, a vice president with the company, said the first 11 settlements comprise about half of the 2,000 acres the company owns and plans to develop. Most of the property was acquired from the Minnesota Power subsidiary of Allete for $3.35 million.
Weve sold 133 lots since we opened this thing, Giese said. Eighty-five percent of the lakeshore lots are sold out. Weve sold them all on the south lake and were marching up the north lake. We really only have one more grand opening of lake lots left.
What makes this housing development uniquein addition to its location, across the water from Giants Ridge Golf and Ski Resortis Naterra Lands commitment to preserve the areas natural beauty. The company has established protective environmental covenants that require extended setbacks from the lake on all parcels, and limits the removal of trees.
Prices for the lots range from $33,950 and $229,950.
Naterra wont build any homes, but has made infrastructure improvements like installing underground power lines, access roads, walking paths and boat landings. Each site has municipal water and sewer, and is wired for high-speed Internet.
Park spaces have been created between the settlements with docks, fishing piers, picnic tables, fire rings, and bike and canoe racks. The parks also allow lake access for inland residents.
There are seven miles of hiking and biking trails in the development, which will connect to the 132-mile Mesabi Bike Trail when that project is complete.
The first settlements at Voyageurs Retreat went on the market three years ago. Giese said sales have been better than expected.
This was going to be a 7- to 10-year kind of deal, he said. Were way ahead of schedule.
Giese said most of the buyers are from the Twin Cities area, some looking for vacation properties and others for a place to retire. That makes the golf courses at Giants Ridge a major selling point.
Were obviously tying this into the whole Giants Ridge concept plan, trying to make the whole area a bigger success, Giese said. This project is different than most just because of its location and where we are. We kind of let the lake dictate what we do and how we do it.
About 30 homes are either under construction or completed. Giese said buyers generally take a year to make a plan before building.
Were creating a community in there that feels very up-north and very rustic, but has a lot more of the amenities youd expect out of home living, he said. In fact, having the sewer and water in a place like this actually helps the lake more than a lot of septic tanks and whatnot would. A lot of those things were taken into consideration when we put this project together.
Although the U.S. housing market is weak and shows no signs it has hit bottom, Giese said thats unlikely to impact the Voyageurs Retreat development.
Fortunately, were in a special area, he said. The good news for us is its a pretty limited supply in a pretty popular area.
Voyageurs Retreat is named after the voyageurs who portaged their canoes along the inlet of the Embarrass River and into the north end of Wynne Lake in the mid-1600s. The property hosts part of the Height of Land Portage, where the Continental Divide splits the watersheds of the Great Lakes and Hudson Bay.
Naterra Land is headquartered in Minneapolis, with seven branch offices in five states where its selling land: Minnesota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Georgia and Tennessee. Its Northeastern Minnesota office is in Brainerd; Wisconsin offices are in Minocqua, Spooner and Stevens Point.
Phil Taylor, the companys president, started it in 1979 as Taylor Investment Corp. He entered the Giants Ridge scene in 1990 when he developed the Villas, the first lodging property within the recreation area.
Taylor Investment was unified with two other companies, Four Seasons Realty and Four Seasons Properties, and renamed Naterra Land in 2005.
Naterra is a combination of the words nature and terra (Latin for earth).
Taylor wasnt available for this story. Giese was unsure of Naterra Lands annual revenue or the total acreage it has under development nationwide. Manta.com lists the companys annual sales at $40 million; the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal reported an estimated 14,000 acres were under development in 2005.
Naterra Land has about 100 employees. Giese is a former CEO of World Data Products, a Minnetonka-based provider of refurbished computer products. Hes been with Naterra Land for four years.
Useful Link: Naterra Land
