Madison Taylor

News that developers of the tony Mackintosh on the Lake area bordering Alamance and Guilford counties took me by surprise on Tuesday. After all, the sprawling housing and recreational project on Burlington’s Lake Mackintosh appears financially healthy — rich even. It was the tip of Burlington’s push as far west as it could legally go and annex turf.

But, as usual, things aren’t always as they appear to be. And in always 20/20 hindsight, we really shouldn’t be surprised at all.

Nearly everyone knows that the real estate market has been chugging slowly for the past three years in Alamance County. That was the first sign of the current recession, which may actually be a depression. The truth is, foreclosures started cropping up in Alamance County ahead of much of the rest of the nation — as early as 2007. We’ve been talking about foreclosures here for a long time.

So that an ambitious development — one that guided the location of a new elementary school, hosts a summetime triathlon and had dreams a community shopping center — is now in trouble seems rather predictable — expected even.

That doesn’t make it any less sad. The community could stand better economic news. I’m sure the news has residents of that site concerned about the development’s future.

And now a friend tells me that the developer at Lake Mackintosh has  a trail of similar troubled ventures — including one in Brunswick County. Wakefield Development is apparently behind San Rio, a development in Shallotte now facing dozens of questions and potential lawsuit, according to the Wilmington Star News. The plan there included 2,000 homes but the site is largely vacant and unfinished. Meanwhile, a blog in the Star also makes reference to L.M. Sadler and Sons, Inc., which is affiliated with Wakefield Development. A story in the Virginian Pilot details the company’s recent financial woes.

We plan to stay on top of this story. Let us know of any details we might be overlooking.

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