Waterfront Living - Fort Loudon Lake
Real Estate Guide

Shining a Beacon on Fort Loudon

More than two million outdoor enthusiasts visit Fort Loudoun Reservoir each year, according to Tennessee Valley Authority. They come for boating, bird watching and other leisure pursuits.

Whether as a resident or visitor, it’s easy to enjoy the river and its surroundings. It is the first in a chain of lakes along the 650-mile Tennessee River, and supports recreational activities, along with providing hydroelectric power and flood control.

Many locals and visitors flood the river – and Knoxville – as part of the “Volunteer Navy.” This fall phenomenon brings together hundreds of boats that form a giant floating tailgate party at University of Tennessee home football games. Knoxville has one of the few universities in America with a stadium next to a large body of water, one of fewer still that allow such a celebration.

Legend has it that former UT Vols broadcaster George Mooney “founded” the Navy when he discovered a quicker and more exciting way to get to Neyland Stadium than fighting traffic. Navigating his little runabout down the Tennessee River to UT games, he thereby launched a fall tradition in Big Orange Country.

But another trend – already prevalent out Alcoa Highway, along Cherokee Boulevard and in deep West Knox County – has taken as firm a stronghold as UT football: waterfront living on Fort Loudoun Lake.

Blending elements of longstanding waterfront institutions will be Beacon Park, a new 500-acre development from Schaad Companies off Northshore Drive.

“We have planned a premium development in West Knoxville that we have already been working on for two years,” says Townes Osborn, spokesperson for Schaad Companies.

It promises a “rich” layout, look and tapestry that “could really only be compared with Sequoyah Hills,” she adds.

Working with Land Design of Nashville, Temptations Concept Design and management and design teams that have been part of various Biltmore Farms developments in Asheville, N.C., Beacon Park will “have the feeling of historical neighborhoods of the late 1800s to the 1920s, where homes will be designed using a variety of classical architectural styles,” says Osborn.

Single-family homes and town homes are planned, along with waterfront condominiums. Schaad Companies is also selecting preferred builders who will work in Beacon Park.

Formerly the Kraemer Farm, the property had the distinction of seeking out its developer, Osborn says.

“There has been record interest down through the years, but the family was not interested in selling until choosing Schaad Companies,” she adds. “They chose [us] to ensure the development would be one of quality.”

That also applies to planned amenities, such as two miles of walking trails, a guard-gated entrance, community clubhouse, event lawns, Olympic-sized pool, extensive landscaping and an observation tower from which the community’s name was derived.

“The property will have a lookout reminiscent of a beacon,” says Osborne. “When the creative team looked at the options [with that amenity in mind], that name just sort of jumped out.”