Lake History
The Lake at Woodlake (originally name Lake Surf) was originally developed in 1968 by local developer, A.B. Hardy, who envisioned a golf and lake destination on par with the historic resorts of the surrounding areas. He began with the construction of Lake Surf, a private 1,200 acre spring-fed lake.
In 1980, Woodlake was sold to German Developers where it changed over with various German ownership a few times where they endured financial and upkeep troubles over the last decade of ownership. The final straw for the Woodlake community was the breach of the dam during Hurricane Matthew as a direct result of ignored repairs under the previous ownership where the Lake serving this community has been empty since 2016.
For more information on the dam restoration, please visit www.woodlaketoday.com
2019
Keith Allison, a longtime Woodlake property owner, along with his family, were asked to step in and help the community, who had recently obtained a $165 million+ class action judgment against the German ownership entity. It wasn’t until March of 2021 that Mr. Allison and Atlantic National Capital (ANC), were able to secure the property in a foreclosure auction and quickly began to work closely with Moore County to clear up any and all unpaid property taxes (some dating back to 2014). They immediately took over efforts to identify next steps to repair the dam and fill the lake, working closely alongside the Restore Woodlake Committee.
Late 2021
Atlantic National Capital received confirmation of the funding for the reconstruction of the Woodlake Dam to help prevent downstream flooding throughout Spring Lake and Fayetteville and shortly after, the first step in the process commenced with the surveying by the WitherRavenel firm and Design/Engineering by Schnabel Engineering. The new dam proposed 7-cycle labrinyth design is an inline structure with a minimum top elevation of 230 and gates to the spillway exit. The complexity of this design aligns with our efforts to mitigate any future downstream flooding and ensures longterm sustainability.
Mid 2023
While engineering plans were being finalized, ANC announced that they hired TA Loving to be the lead contractor on the dam construction once all permits and approvals have been issued. As of May 2023, ANC has received a letter of approval from NC DEQ on Subject Erosion and Sedimentation Control plans, obtained an extension on the 401/404 permit for Wetlands Plan, and awaiting one final approval from NC DEQ Dam Safety. Once those approvals are received, construction is expected to take up to 18 months, for a projected Dam completion and Lake delivery date of late 2024/early 2025.
