Well if you didn’t know better, you’d think you were visiting the quaint island of Nantucket while strolling through the Village at The Point on Lake Norman, near Charlotte, North Carolina. But even though The Point is a long way from Massachusetts, it offers the same leisurely, small-town feel. A lakeside golf community spanning almost 18 miles of waterfront, The Point sits on Lake Norman, the largest lake in North Carolina. With 520 miles of beautiful shoreline stretching into four counties, the lakefront is home to more than 7,500 people.

The Inspiration

So what made officials at Crescent Resources, developer of The Point, look to the island of Nantucket for their inspiration?

In Nantucket, the waterfront is an integral part of the lifestyle. The same is true at The Point, where the stunning natural surroundings and historically inspired architecture combine to create a charming and inviting atmosphere. In order to assure an authentic recreation of the picturesque Massachusetts island, officials from The Point and Crescent, accompanied by the clubhouse architect, the landscape architects and master planners, and the graphic designer, all traveled to Nantucket to survey the historic architecture and minute details that give the island its charm.

"We wanted to create an environment with a warm, friendly, pedestrian scale," says Art Oldham of Oldham Planning and Design, landscape architects and master planners of The Point. "We created a lot of small, brick-paved courtyards with park benches to encourage the pedestrian-friendly atmosphere."

Nantucket is known as a seaside village holiday destination, with granite cobblestone streets, brick-paved sidewalks, white picket fences, and neighbors strolling in and out of quaint shops, the general store and the town grocery. The Point team left their island visit knowing they wanted to recreate that feeling of relaxation and escape in their own "Nantucket on Norman," complete with gray weathered shingle siding, window flower boxes, copper-topped cupolas and gas-fired post lamps. Visitors might even notice that street and neighborhood names at The Point – Wauwinet, Quaker Road, Meeting House Way and others – are all taken directly from Nantucket.

Unique Architecture

Stone stair details and a gas-fired lamp post accentuate a brick-paved walkway at The Point on Lake Norman. The entire Village spans approximately 6 acres and is all connected by sidewalks and intermingled courtyards paved in Old Tavern pavers.

The Point isn’t an exact replica of Nantucket. One particularly interesting factor is the variance in architecture. While the central Village facility and the homes immediately around it are all distinctly modeled after Nantucket, many of the homes around the 1,200-acre community have their own style. While some have the New England look, others are modeled in the Colonial, Low-country, classical, European, transitional and even contemporary styles. Various architects and homeowners have created distinct homes that give The Point community a very eclectic appearance, unique in many ways.

The Village

Instead of creating one enclosed clubhouse facility for the country club members, the master planners created a Village that includes all the amenities of a clubhouse with the added features of open sidewalks, lakeside patios and numerous specialty shops and cafés. Community members can visit the general store, several clothing shops for men, women and children, a golf pro shop, an ice cream and coffee shop and a shoe repair shop, all without leaving their community. There is even an information center for visitors.

The Village is set around a central brick meeting house that sits on the Village Commons – a large green space almost the size of a football field. In the Commons stands an elegant 40-foot stone obelisk that serves as a central point of the community. Also in the center of the Village is the town square, paved with imported granite cobblestones.

"We decided to import the cobblestones because they were the best color and texture for our project," says Bill Toler of Draw Enterprises, paver installer for The Point. "Of course, the original stones used in Nantucket were also imported, so they make our own waterfront community even more authentically New England-style."

Bringing it all Together

One of the many New England-style houses around the Village Commons of The Point with picket fence and pergola is surrounded by Old Tavern pavers that feature an "antique edge" and rustic coloring that creates a historic look and feel.

The entire Village spans approximately 6 acres and is all connected by sidewalks and intermingled courtyards paved in Old Tavern pavers from Pine Hall Brick. The Old Series from Pine Hall Brick features an "antique edge" and rustic coloring that create a historic look and feel.

"We suggested Pine Hall Brick pavers for The Point project for several reasons," says Toler. "In my opinion, Pine Hall Brick has the best quality for the price by far, as well as the best line. They offer a large selection of styles and colors, so it was easy to choose the right historic look for The Point."

Known for durability and size control, all Pine Hall Brick pavers exceed ASTM C902 and C1272 standards for severe weathering and traffic as well as the PX application for dimensional tolerance. Although the PX standard requires bricks be uniform in size +/- 1/8", Pine Hall Brick maintains a consistent internal standard of +/- 1/16".

"Installers often find Pine Hall Brick pavers easier to work with because of our rigid internal requirements on size standards," says Ted Corvey, marketing director and paver business director for Pine Hall Brick. "Consistent sizing makes it easier to maintain an exact pattern when installing the pavers, giving the project a better overall look when it is complete."

While Pine Hall Brick pavers are extremely uniform in size, cobblestones are not. And, the cobblestones are four inches thick while the pavers used for the crosswalks are only 2.75 inches thick. This posed an interesting problem for the paver installers when trying to keep the road and the crosswalks level. To solve the problem, installers first put in all of the cobblestones, then raised the base for the crosswalks before fitting the pavers in place. This required a lot of picking and choosing among the cobblestones to get the perfect fit before placing the pavers, but you’d never know it looking at the finished product today.

Other Amenities

"There was a lot of attention to detail," says Oldham. "As the master planners and landscape architects, we really enjoyed laying out all of the special details that give The Point its wonderful atmosphere."

From the gas-fired street lamps to the hand-carved wooden signs outside each shop, no piece of Nantucket ambience was left out. But there are also several modern features that were added to give The Point its own look and feel.

Included in the Village area are tennis courts, a swimming facility, a movie theater, a fitness center and an outdoor deck with a foodservice cabana. The swimming facility is another example of thoughtful design. Complete with a lighthouse at the tip of a peninsula between the seventeenth and eighteenth holes, the swimming area is attractive to both children and adults. While parents enjoy the view of the lake and the par-72 golf course created by golfing legend Greg Norman, children can play in the water with its numerous spinning fountains.

A Special Place

The Point on Lake Norman is truly a beautiful community, appreciated by all of the residents and their guests. In fact, some couples have already taken advantage of the warm, inviting atmosphere by choosing to hold their wedding ceremonies beneath the pergola on the Village Commons. What better place to have a wedding than on an open green lawn, lakeside, in the midst of a Nantucket-style community? All without having to travel to Massachusetts. And an added bonus of The Point: no harsh northeastern winters.

Project: The Point on Lake Norman, Charlotte, North Carolina

Developer: Crescent Resources, LLC, Charlotte, North Carolina

Landscape Architects and Master Planners: Oldham Planning and Design Associates, Inc., Charlotte, North Carolina

Paver Installer: Draw Enterprises, Charlotte, North Carolina

Architect: Chapman Coyle Chapman, Atlanta, Georgia

Product: 150,000 units, Old Tavern clay pavers by Pine Hall Brick, Winston-Salem, North Carolina. www.pinehallbrick.com