Lake Norman mansion with own island drops $8 million in price, listing shows
The latest asking price for a Lake Norman mansion and its 4.5-acre private island has dropped by $8 million since 2023, real estate listing records show.
The former $22 million price was the Charlotte area’s most expensive home listing and the second-most expensive ever in North Carolina, The Charlotte Observer reported at the time.
Merancas, the name of the island and the two-story home, is now for sale for nearly $14 million, according to its listing by agent Liza Caminiti of Ivester Jackson | Christie’s International Real Estate.
The property lies at the southern end of the lake in Huntersville, about 4 miles west of Interstate 77 Exit 25. Merancas is located off Sam Furr Road/N.C. 73 and Hagers Ferry Road.
Many decades ago, packing untold tons of sand together, the island’s original owner created a narrow road to the island from a peninsula that connects to the mainland. The island is now no longer surrounded on all sides by water.
The mansion, at 14051 Island Drive, has 360-degree views of the lake.
Multiple patios, 25-foot high great room ceiling
Built in 1999, the home is 14,317 square feet and has five bedrooms, eight bathrooms and a half-bathroom. Its great room, described as “the heart of the home,” has a 25-foot ceiling, lake views on three sides and expansive windows.
“A gas fireplace anchors the space as doors flow out onto multiple patios overlooking the water,” the listing states, referring to the great room.
The kitchen has a large island, gas cook top and ovens, granite countertops, a wet bar, butler’s pantry and a breakfast area with lake views.
The dining room includes architectural ceiling details, a stone fireplace and a custom light fixture by Schrader, and has direct access to a screened outdoor patio. Nearby is a wine room with stone finishes, custom racks and glass display cabinetry.
An enclosed indoor pool includes Tennessee field stone, cedar walls beneath a cedar ceiling with skylights and plant walls, and a full bath with a sauna.
The home also has a private office, storage room, full bath, powder room and a “drop zone” from the three-car garage with a refrigerator and dog-wash station.
A primary suite anchors the upper level. A custom platform bed area has bookshelves, a fireplace and a hidden bookcase door that opens to a reading loft with a spiral staircase to the great room.
The primary bathroom includes dual vanities, a soaking tub, a custom stone and wood shower and two walk-in closets with glass display cabinets. A private terrace from the bedroom overlooks the lake.
Two guest bedrooms also have lake views.
The home also has a theater room with a pool table, wet bar and projector, and a children’s playroom with a hand-painted mural that wraps the walls and ceiling,
The recently updated guest house includes an open living and kitchen area, two bedrooms, a shared bath and a garage.
Outside the mansion, stone walkways connect all parts of the island, including a fenced tennis court with evening lighting, two docks with boat lifts and a covered gazebo, a sandy private beach, a shed and a dog run. Multiple patios surround the main house.
Photo studio fortune
Owners Cornelis and Johanna Mermans paid $1.5 million for the land in 1997 and completed their home two years later, according to Mecklenburg County public records.
The couple, now in their 80s, are part of a Charlotte family that made their fortune in a chain of photography studios dating to the late 1960s.
Formed in Charlotte and headquartered in Matthews, Photo Corporation of America operated its first test studio in a Kmart store in Detroit, Michigan, and quickly became the fastest growing company in North Carolina in the 1970s, according to Merancas.org, the website of the family’s charity, The Merancas Foundation.
In 2024, the foundation reported $154 million in total assets and $19.8 million in revenues for the year, ProPublica reported.
The mansion and its island have a current total assessed value of nearly $6.8 million, Mecklenburg County public records show. It wasn’t immediately clear why the county valued the property $7 million below the current asking price.
In a 2023 interview at the home with the Observer, son Bryan Mermans said his parents are selling their home because the required upkeep at their age is too difficult for them. He said he and his brother, Andy, and their families live in south Charlotte.
He said he and his brother were away at college when their parents built the island home, but they and their families have always enjoyed visits.