Michael Patrick/Knoxville News Sentinel
This aerial photo shows Mike Ross’ Rarity Mountain development in East Tennessee.JASPER, Tenn.-John and Jennifer Heimbold thought they had found their dream place to retire in 2007 when they bought a picturesque lot at Rarity Club on Nickajack Lake.
But four years later, the San Diego couple are among more than 50 property owners in the lakefront resort still waiting for the promised golf course, marina and wellness center.
“We’re surviving, but this has devastated us,” said Jennifer Heimbold, a 69-year-old retiree who said she and her husband have given up on their plans to move to Tennessee and are still in San Diego.
“We looked all over and this seemed to be exactly what we were looking for, with all of the amenities of a golf course, wellness center and lakefront living in a state with no income tax. This sure isn’t the retirement we had planned.”
The Heimbolds and others collectively paid Rarity Club developers more than $26 million for lots in the 578-acre complex. But nearly five years after TVA sold the property and crews began clearing the land, there are no residents, boat slips or golf courses in what was designed to be the costliest residential development ever built in Southeast Tennessee.