Nondenominational Church in Jedburg, SC

SUMMERVILLE — A national builder wants to disturb about a dozen acres of wetlands to build a 661-home development off Interstate 26 on a large parcel recently annexed into this once-sleepy town west of Charleston.

D.R. Horton is asking federal regulators to approve filling 10.7 acres of wetlands and excavating 1.6 acres for road crossings and infrastructure on an 836-acre tract at Drop Off Drive and Sheep Island Road near Nexton Parkway interchange.

The residential subdivision would sit on 311 acres of higher ground “while avoiding and minimizing wetland impacts to the greatest extent practicable,” according to the environmental permit application.

To offset disturbance of the wetlands, the Texas-based homebuilder plans to put restrictive covenants on 542 acres, including 504 acres of wetlands and a 25-foot buffer that encompasses 38 acres of high ground.

D.R. Horton is proposing that the preservation would qualify the builder for a 25 percent reduction in required mitigation credits, and it would buy about 106 wetland credits through a Palmetto State mitigation bank with a site in Berkeley County.

The homebuilder’s move comes after Miami-based land-banking firm HIC Land LLC paid $4 million earlier this year for a 122-acre parcel in the same nearly 1,000-acre tract that Summerville annexed in 2020.

The sold site extends from Drop Off Drive near I-26 to Sheep Island Road, near the rear portion of the age-restricted 55-plus Del Webb Nexton neighborhood.

Historic Charleston Foundation, with its recent reversal of the controversial decision to sell one of its homes after an outpouring of opposition, is making another pivotal move.

The preservation group plans to close its nearly four-decade-old gift shop at 108 Meeting St. on the lower peninsula by the end of February as part of its multiyear strategic plan to focus on its two museum properties and advocacy issues in the Lowcountry, according to CEO Winslow Hastie.

Hastie also pointed to the changing consumer landscape as a reason to shutter the 4,500-square-foot store that was once a gas station.

“Retail is a very volatile world, and it’s changed dramatically since (the shop) first started in the late 1980s,” he said.

The foundation opened a second retail space in 2011 in the City Market, a few blocks north of the Meeting Street gift shop, to capitalize on tourist-heavy foot traffic. The proximity of the two retail outlets is no longer ideal, Hastie said.

“The need for that amount of space is not really necessary,” he said of the soon-to-be-darkened site.

Retail

The foundation ideally hopes to lease the commercially zoned property, which is between Chalmers and Queen streets, as offices for a government agency or a professional services firm. Hastie doesn’t see the building as a good fit for restaurant or retail uses. He added the foundation would adamantly oppose any effort toward transforming the T-shaped structure into an inn.

“We will have restrictive covenants on the property,” he said. “It also doesn’t have parking. Any user will have to get creative on parking.”

The foundation acquired the property in 1986 from Exxon Corp. after paying $207,000, according to Charleston County land records. It made a few changes to the site, including the construction of a connection between the former storefront and the rear garage bays, but the building’s exterior, with its Colonial revival architectural features, remains intact.

The existing design came about to help the 1930s-built gas station blend into the surrounding historic neighborhood. When Exxon-predecessor Standard Oil decided to build the service station on the property, it demolished three historic homes built between 1782 and 1805 in 1929, stirring Charleston’s preservation movement to life.

Founded in 1947, Historic Charleston Foundation now wants to focus its attention on broader advocacy issues such as land use, development, tourism management, sea-level rise and settlement communities. It also hopes to expand its affordable housing-focused Common Cause Loan Fund that helps make home repairs for longtime city residents.

The decision to darken the retail shop is part of the recommendations in the group’s multiyear strategic plan, which included the decision late last year to sell the Nathaniel Russell House it owns down the street at 51 Meeting.

The group reversed its decision earlier this month after a public outcry, including a petition with thousands of signatures opposing the sale to a private entity.

“It’s been a rough couple of months,” Hastie said. “We are in a better place now.”

The foundation plans to keep its gift shop in the City Market as well as retail outposts in the Nathaniel Russell House and the group’s historic Aiken-Rhett House on Elizabeth Street in the Wraggborough neighborhood. The group also will focus on online sales more to generate revenue for its Lowcountry-centric products such as china, jewelry and home decor items.

Several new commercial tenants are coming to a large housing development on the edge of Summerville.

Lombardi’s Pizza Kitchen, The Co-op Frosé & Eatery, The Backyard Biergarten, Lowcountry Yoga and children’s gym KidStrong are all lined up to be a part of The Hub in Nexton.

The restaurants and fitness sites are expected to move in by late June or early July, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline.

The Hub is a collection of office and commercial buildings under development on Nexton Parkway and Brighton Park Boulevard near Home Telecom and Refuel convenience store.

Office tenants include Coastal Vascular & Vein Center, Charleston Wound Care, Palmetto Primary and Specialty Care Physicians, Derrington Dermatology and Holliday Ingram law firm.

A new pair of two-story office buildings is expected to be completed in 2024 and 2025. They will be 30,000 square feet and 20,000 square feet, respectively, and be built beside Nexton Parkway.

Nexton is a 5,000-acre, mixed-use development next to Summerville between Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 176 in Berkeley County. With more than 2,500 homes already sold, the development is expected to have 7,500 residential units at full build-out.

It also could house as many residents as the current populations of Clemson, North Myrtle Beach or West Columbia, roughly between 16,000 and 20,000. That would make it as big as Moncks Corner and Georgetown combined.

Now open

A new pizza restaurant is now open in Mount Pleasant.

BarPizza opened May 12 at 656-G Long Point Road in the revamped former Kiki & Rye space.

It’s part of Free Reign Restaurants owned by Ryan and Kelleanne Jones. They also operate the recently opened Southbound on the Charleston peninsula and Community Table in Mount Pleasant.

Stepping in

A new retail shop that incorporates a clothing item in all of its wares is close to opening in downtown Charleston.

Respoke hopes to open by the weekend at 377 King St. in the former location of Simply J Boutique.

Get the best of the Post and Courier’s Real Estate news, handpicked and delivered to your inbox each Saturday.

Email

The shop will offer shoes, clothing and other items that are made in part by repurposing different sections of scarves. Hours will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, but they could change after the shop opens, according to store manager Joseph Fennell.

New threads

Also, coming to downtown Charleston is a new women’s clothing store, now with a shop in Asheville.

Hazel Twenty owner Lexi DiYeso plans to open in August at 73 Wentworth St., formerly part of 269 King St. that was used as back-of-house storage for the former Gap store. The front section houses Aerie, also a clothing shop.

Real Estate

The 3,641-square-foot space is currently under construction behind clothing store Collared Greens and next to The Port Mercantile, part of The Restoration Hotel, according to Blair Hines Gearhart of Oswald Cooke & Associates, who represented the tenant. Charles Constant with Constant Properties represented the landlord.

Fresh return

Ruke’s Produce Stand returns to Mount Pleasant on May 24. Operated by Arthur Brown, the vegetable and fruit vendor will operate 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday through Dec. 31. It’s at 378 Mathis Ferry Road next to Holy Trinity AME Church.

Book it

That Big Book Sale returns for its 41st run May 19-21 at Omar Shrine Auditorium at 176 Patriots Point Road in Mount Pleasant.

More than 60,000 books in all categories will be on sale, starting at $1. Sponsored by Charleston Friends of the Library, the event helps support Charleston County Public Library System.

A pre-sale event for members is 5-8 p.m. May 18. The event is open to the public 9 a.m.-7 p.m. May 19, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. May 20, and 10 a.m-3 p.m. May 21.

Checks, cash, major credit cards and electronic payments, such as ApplePay, will be accepted.

Real Estate

Our twice-weekly newsletter features all the business stories shaping Charleston and South Carolina. Get ahead with us - it’s free.

Three new shops are in the works for the Charleston region’s growing suburbs, and a longtime downtown retail business is moving to a new location.

A butcher shop is opening near Summerville while a new coffee shop is in the works in Goose Creek and a new fast-food restaurant is planned near Jedburg.

Business partners Devin Kelly and Hunter Bishop, a former Stingrays hockey player, plan to open New York Butcher Shoppe at 502 Nexton Square Drive in Nexton Square off U.S. Highway 17A by late August.

The two Charleston residents bought the franchise last October and purchased development rights southward to Savannah. They plan to explore options for new venues in the Beaufort/Hilton Head area as well as Savannah at a future date.

In addition to select cuts of beef, chicken, pork, veal and lamb, the shop will offer prepared dishes along with a selection of wines and specialty items such as cheeses, exotic sausages and international groceries.

“We will also have something that the other restaurants don’t offer,” said Kelly, a former Blackbaud Inc. employee. “We will have an in-house smoker, and we will offer some cooked meats as well.”

The shop will be open 10 a.m.-7 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

The New York Butcher Shoppe chain has eight locations in South Carolina, including three in its home base of Greenville. Others are on Daniel Island and the Isle of Palms and in Mount Pleasant, Columbia and Indian Land near Charlotte.

The Mount Pleasant shop is the original location, Kelly said.

Seven others are located in Alabama, Florida, Georgia and North Carolina.

The butcher shop will be the 15th food-and-beverage venue to open in and around Nexton Square. Other restaurants in the shopping center include Halls Chophouse, Taco Boy and D’Allesandro’s Pizza.

As 2023 wrapped up for the hospitality industry, downtown Charleston’s biggest hotel nabbed one more recognition as it prepares to undergo a major overhaul.

The Charleston Place made Condé Nast Traveler’s worldwide “Gold List,” which identified 75 properties as getaway destinations for 2024. They were handpicked by the magazine’s editors.

The 434-room hotel and retail complex at King, Market, Meeting and Hasell streets is the only South Carolina lodging to make the cut and one of 13 in U.S. The international hotels Conde Nast singled out included The Ritz Paris and The Four Seasons Hotel Greshum Palace in Budapest.

According to the accompanying review, The Charleston Place had a “stately European elegance with a heap of Southern charm.” It gave high remarks to the dining and retail scene at the hotel, the lobby’s welcome atmosphere and accessibility to locals and added amenities like childcare and dog sitters on site.

Becky Hubbard, managing director of The Charleston Place, said being recognized by major travel media outlet helps keep the city on the map and that it’s indicative of the local industry’s success.

“When we’re creating these experiences, we’re always thinking about the kind of memories that people are going to take away once they leave,” Hubbard said. “Charleston’s hotels elevate tourism and travel as a whole.”

Last year, Conde Nast readers named Charleston as the most popular for the second year in a row. The streak follows a brief dethroning in 2021 after the city’s decade-long stay in the top spot. Rival publication Travel + Leisure ranked Charleston as the “Best City in the U.S” to visit for the 11th consecutive year.

The Charleston Place owner Beemok Hospitality Collection has a $150 million renovation starting this year. The locally based company owned by Ben Navarro and his family will kick off the overhaul with improvements to the exterior façade and the second-floor banquet spaces, according to management.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - ST. GEORGE, S.C. (WCSC) - Two massive warehouses will soon be coming to Dorchester County after the council voted to go into an agreement with an industrial developer.

The council unanimously approved an agreement with developer Dalfen Industrial that will see the warehouses, totaling over half a million square feet, to be built near Summerville.

The 75-acre complex is located off Deming Way near Hodge Road, which is less than a mile from the Dorchester County Jail. The developer will spend just under $49 million dollars to build the complex, but it’s unclear how many jobs will be created.

John Truluck, the county’s director of economic development, says the development will only benefit county residents.

“It could be that they are able to get a job there,” Truluck said. “They may be driving 20 or 30 miles to work, and they may be able to find a job much closer to them, which even for the same pay would be a raise because they’re not paying for gas money, and that’s time they’re not having to spend on the roads.”

On their website, Dalfen Industrial said the site will be home to two distribution centers, and that some of their tenants include giants like Amazon, U-P-S and FedEx.

Truluck says the county bringing in development like this can help combat inflation, leaving taxes low for county residents.

“The government can raise more money by imposing higher taxes on the people that are already here, or they can bring in new businesses that pay those additional taxes, so they’ll get more services for the same money, in essence,” Truluck said.

Tommy Feagin has lived in Dorchester County since the 1960s.

He hopes the money coming in from these developments will help pay for more infrastructure projects in the future.

“We need a lot more infrastructure because things are stopped up terribly,” he said. “We have several, several, several bottlenecks. Dorchester Road, you can’t get up and down. I-26, you can’t get in and out of Charleston.”

County officials said they expect the two warehouses to be completed in about a year.

What ultimately goes in those warehouses depends on who the developer leases the buildings to.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - Located at the corner of Berlin Myers Parkway and Highway 78, a 57-acre multi-use property will bring new development to the Summerville area by early 2025.

The property, named Sawmill, will include 474 multi-family apartment units, offices, restaurants, hotels, stores, banks, outdoor spaces and a 40,000-square-foot Roper St. Francis facility.

Summerville spokesperson Mary Edwards said the task to get the development started was a long process.

“It’s something that people have been wanting for a long time, and council has really supported the developers, too. It’s a big deal for us; I mean, it’s a new big development that’s coming to our area,” Edwards said. “It’s something that’s needed. It’s something that the public has really wanted.”

The developers, Lee & Associates, said in a news release that “a new walkable community designed to better connect residents with the fun they want and services they need will be anchored by a major healthcare system.”

Although not everyone in the area is excited about the new development. Some members of the Summerville community shared their concerns on a Facebook post with over 400 comments mentioning traffic problems, school enrollment and housing availability.

Located near the development, the Spinx gas station may see increased traffic with the upcoming construction. Employee Rona Emons, shared her concerns.

“I don’t think we can really handle it because this road is already always backed up; it’s already hard to get in and out of the store,” she said. “I think that’s going to make it a lot worse unless they try to widen the road somehow, which I don’t know how they can do that. But yeah, it’s going to cause a lot of congestion in this area.”

In response to the concerns, Edwards said the city and developers studied research before deciding if the project was appropriate for the area.

“The town is growing really fast,” Edwards said. “So, we know that people want to come here, and they want to experience the area. We want to be able to provide these types of options for people when they come.”

Construction on the health care facility and multi-family apartment units will begin in early 2023.

“I’m kind of excited,” Emons said. “I’d like to get out. You know, it’d be nice to see something new in this area. So yeah, I’m looking forward to it in some ways, and otherwise, I’m kind of a little leery of it.”

Overall, the project is expected to cost $200 million.

Copyright 2022 WCSC. All rights reserved.