Nondenominational Church in Mount Pleasant, SC

Alan Freeman and Jeff Yurfest of The Shopping Center Group represented the buyer, Edens, in the sale of 104,000 square feet and 8.8 acres of retail space at Moultire Plaza on Coleman Boulevard and Simmons Street in Mount Pleasant.

GMB LLC sold the property for $28.5 million. Tim Wood and Woody Kapp of Meyer Kapp and Associates represented the seller.

Other commercial real estate transactions in the Charleston area include:

Jing “Julia” Donovan of Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic represented the tenant, Manqing Ye, in the lease of retail space at 1039 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. in Mount Pleasant. Mark J. Tezza of Kennerty, Ratner, Tessa LLC represented the landlord, Caro-Cal Associates LLC.

Hannah Kamba and Brent Case of Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic represented the tenant, Dulce Inc., in the lease of 2,404 square feet of retail space at One Nexton Blvd. in Summerville from The Shopping Center Group. Jeff Yurfest represented the landlord.

Robert Pratt of Re/Max Pro Realty represented the landlord, 113 N. Magnolia LLC, in the lease of 1,366 square feet of retail space at 113 N. Magnolia St., Suite A, in Summerville to Sip of the South LLC. Roy Oglesby of Carolina One Real Estate represented the tenant.

NAI Charleston veteran broker Will Sherrod recently facilitated the sale of a 23,755-square-foot former bank branch and additional office space on 3.7 acres of land at 201 N. Spence Ave. in Goldsboro, N.C. The property is located approximately one mile from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base and sits near N. Berkeley Boulevard, which is the main retail corridor serving the Goldsboro market.

Jenna Philipp of Palmetto Commercial Properties LLC represented the landlord, James Island Business Park LLC, in the lease of 15,315 square feet of industrial space at 1750 Signal Point Road to Jenna Mobile Philipp.

Caroline Boyce of Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic represented the tenant, Sweet Moon Bakery, in the lease of 1,200 square feet of retail space in Unit 12 at 5131 Dorchester Road in North Charleston. Vitre Ravenel Stephens and Taylor Sekanovich of Harbor Commercial Partners represented the landlord.

Hannah Kamba and Brent Case of Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic represented the tenant, Blue Clements Ferry Inc., in the lease of 4,000 square feet of retail space at 834 Foundation St. in Charleston. Fritz Meyer and Eric Meyer of Meyer Kapp & Associates LLC represented the landlord.

Hannah Kamba and Brent Case of Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic represented the tenant, Catrinas Nexton Inc., in the lease of 4,567 square feet of retail space at One Nexton Blvd. in Summerville. Jeff Yurfest of The Shopping Center Group represented the landlord.

Todd Garrett, Tradd Varner and Crawford Riddle of Harbor Commercial Partners represented the buyer, 2514 Oscar Johnson Road LLC, in the sale of 4,968 square feet industrial space at 2514 Oscar Johnson Road in North Charleston from the estate of Johnathan Uram for $785,000. Robin Pye of Carolina One Real Estate represented the seller.

Vitré Ravenel Stephens and Taylor Sekanovich of Harbor Commercial Partners represented the landlord, Fifty-Two Associates, in the lease of 2,750 square feet of retail space at 8410 Rivers Ave., Suites B and C, North Charleston, to Mulligan's.

Mark Erickson and Jarred Watts of Colliers represented Geopolymer International LLC in the leasing of 4,000 square feet of industrial space at 200 Varnfield Drive in Summerville.

Hot Properties highlights recently sold or leased commercial properties in the Charleston region. Send in your transactions using our online form.

MOUNT PLEASANT — His belief in both are unshakeable.

Why not combine them?

“I still enjoy teaching the game, I still enjoy being around kids. And as you know, I still hate to lose,” chuckled Joe Hudak, the memories of 31 years as a college baseball coach as fresh as the ideas for his new venture. “What’s even more exciting to me at this point is of being part of these young men’s spiritual development.”

Baseball and faith have always intertwined in his life, represented by a bracelet on his wrist featuring two hardballs flanking a cross. Hudak won 866 games in his career, 660 during 19 seasons at Winthrop, but when his tenure with the Eagles ended in 2010, he was looking for the next opportunity.

That’s where the seed for Kingsmen Baseball Academy, a full-time baseball development institution for high-school players, sprouted. Headquartered at Mount Pleasant’s Shipyard Park, it’s recruiting players for its first school year, which will begin in August.

A wave of baseball academies has crested with the creation of schools from southern Virginia to Florida, including Lexington’s P27 Academy. The idea is to take players who are planning to play in college — the Kingsmen are already talking to recruits who are committed to college programs for the 2025 season — and give them a baseball experience much more than the standard high-school season. They’ll practice three to four hours per day, do their academic work online and live within five miles of the field.

“We’re talking to a young man right now from Minnesota, who’s committed to Creighton,” Hudak said. “And it’s like we’ve told him — ‘You can stay home, where you’re going to play 20 games in high school, maybe, and the weather is horrible. Or you can come here, where the average temperature from November to February is 64 and a half degrees, play 60-70 games and get on the fast track to be successful in college, not just go to college.’

“And we’ll help them with what it really means to be a Christian. It’s not a list of dos and don’ts, it’s having a personal relationship with Christ. We want them to understand what it is so they can decide if they want to pursue that ideal. We won’t force it on them, but it is who we are.”

The Kingsmen will practice year-round and play in the spring against those other Southeast academies. They’ll take a mission trip to the Dominican Republic every year, where they’ll also play against local teams, with Bible study and church a regular part of their everyday stateside routine.

Tuition that covers travel, housing and all other aspects is $25,000 per year, with limited scholarship opportunities available. It’s open to sophomores, juniors and seniors although rising freshmen could be given a chance, if they meet certain requirements.

The goal is to get 48 players for the first year, enough for two teams. If the Kingsmen can get double that, they will get a year’s head start on their next venture: A branch program located in Gastonia, N.C., for a Charlotte-based team, currently set to start in August 2025.

“We have lodging at two apartment complexes in Charleston nine minutes away from Shipyard, and the players and parents will sign a contract about our expectations,” Hudak said. “We’ll run a really tight ship — they’re high-school kids — and monitor their academics and nutrition. They’ll be on their own at night so we’ll be prepping them for college, even if they don’t play.”

Hudak surrounded himself with a top staff. Charleston Southern alum and former big-leaguer Tyler Thornburg is handling the pitchers and one of his Winthrop products, ninth-round draft pick and Stratford High alum John Murrian, is coaching hitters and catchers. Former CSU baseball coach Jason Murray is a part-time assistant and Coastal Carolina coach Gary Gilmore will also help part-time, after he retires from CCU following this season.

“I wanted to start a baseball academy but wanted it to be faith-based,” Hudak said. “We’ve sent 1,200 flyers around the country to recruits in the Class of 2025, and will do the same for 2026.”

Hudak worked with the Piedmont Fellowship of Christian Athletes from 2010-16, interested in coaching again but not wishing to uproot his children, in high school at the time, from Rock Hill. While coaching his son’s travel-ball team — his son is Preston Hudak, who played at North Carolina before chronic shoulder problems ended his career — the elder Hudak created a summer college-league team that was also faith-based.

The Piedmont Pride would eventually morph into the Kingsmen and their lion’s-head logo. Hudak dreamed of building the academy in York County but the project never really got off the ground, which is when Charleston and Mount Pleasant entered the picture.

Now his vision is nearly reality. Starting in August, the ol’ skipper will once again don the uniform, lace his cleats and lead another team.

“The ability to go to practice every day and play 60 or 70 games is really exciting to me,” said Hudak, who stressed the message of a favorite book of his: “Halftime,” where the message is to have success in life, then transition to significance.

“Our goal is to help them with baseball and their faith.”

The Town of Mount Pleasant is considering a ban on new slab-built single-family homes in flood zones. Also known as “slab-on-grade” or “fill-and-build” construction, the method involves placing homes directly on a concrete slab foundation, which can make those buildings vulnerable to flooding.

The practice can also create a domino effect that impacts adjacent homeowners. When trying to ensure new homes reach a certain elevation above sea level, developers often will raise a plot by importing dirt. That practice, multiplied across an entire development, can dramatically shift the hydrology of an area and worsen flooding. Developers often clear-cut trees and other plant life that help capture and control flood water — further complicating an already problematic situation.

Charleston City Council approved an essentially identical ban in April. It was a years-in-the-making policy that involved input from local environmental organizations and developers, according to the Southern Environmental Law Center, one of the ban’s key supporters.

Mount Pleasant’s ban would only bar new slab-built homes in the 100-year floodplain. Those are areas that have a 1 percent probability of flooding in any given year.

The proposed ban would go into effect July 1, six months after Charleston’s takes effect. Katherine Gerling, Mount Pleasant’s floodplain manager, said the proposed timing of the ban was intentional.

“This effective date was chosen to kind of see how the city of Charleston is going to manage their ordinance,” Gerling said at a Dec. 13 meeting of Mount Pleasant’s planning commission, where the proposal was under consideration.

Planning Commission member Adam Ferrara expressed concerns that the ban could make it more difficult to build affordable housing in Mount Pleasant, which has seen rising rents and home costs as a result of a decadeslong population boom. Mount Pleasant’s population has roughly tripled since 1990.

“Just bear in mind, that does kind of go against the narrative of trying to build workforce housing that is single-family,” Ferrara said at the meeting. “That does create a cost burden to builders and to homeowners. I’m not saying that’s right or wrong, I’m just saying that is a result of what we’re doing.”

Despite those concerns, the commission passed the measure unanimously. The ban still needs approval from Mount Pleasant Town Council.

Also at the Dec. 13 meeting, planning commission members voted unanimously in support of a measure extending restrictions on new residential construction in Mount Pleasant. Town leaders enacted that measure in 2019 to curb traffic and strain on local resources in the growing suburbs.

“In response to people that said, ‘We need to have all this development because it’s the only way we’re going to keep real estate reasonable,’ — they are wrong,” commission member Kathy Smith said. “That argument only works when the supply and demand curves are in a state of equilibrium. As long as we are net positive in demand in Mount Pleasant, no matter what we do, prices will go up. You can build until your brains blow out, and the prices will go up.”

The proposed ban would extend the restrictions, which would only permit up to 600 new residences annually, until January 2029. The restrictions also still need approval from the full town council.

Graze Craze, a new charcuterie concept known for crafting grazing boards and boxes, has opened its first South Carolina location at 3373 South Morgans Point Road in Mount Pleasant.

The new storefront is located in the National Crossing shopping center at the main entrance of the Charleston National neighborhood, according to a news release. Graze Craze is a part of Big Flavor Brands, the food service division of Starpoint Brands, a family of companies affiliated with United Franchise Group.

At Graze Craze, charcuterie experts, known as grazologists, design arrangements that feature an array of ingredients that are ideal for grazing, like fresh fruits and vegetables, premium meats and cheeses, artisanal sweets, nuts and more, the release stated.

The Mount Pleasant Graze Craze is the only one of its kind in the Charleston area, and the franchise owners behind the new store Keith and Kendra Lovas are thrilled to share something completely new with the community they call home, the release stated.

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“The wonderful people of Mount Pleasant love to gather and celebrate,” said Keith Lovas in the release. “There is no better centerpiece for a special occasion than a Graze Craze charcuterie board — it’s unmatched in quality, beauty and functionality.”

The Lovas enjoy playing a role in their community with Kendra working at a local elementary school and Keith coaching youth sports teams through the Mount Pleasant Recreation Department, according to the release. In addition to serving exceptional grazing boards, the Lovas plan to use their Graze Craze to expand their local involvement and sponsor sports teams, further supporting kids in being active and chasing their dreams. The Lovas are also interested in bolstering regional business development through their involvement with the Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce.

Graze Craze charcuterie arrangements incorporate an assortment of flavors, like the popular Gone Grazey board, balanced to provide a bit of everything – a mix of cured meats, premium cheeses, crackers, fresh produce, nuts and more. The Vegegrazian is designed with a medley of fresh fruits and vegetables for anyone embracing a plant-based lifestyle.

The artisan-inspired charcuterie offerings at Graze Craze are available in different size options, from Char-Cutie-Cups and Picnic Boxes for nibbling to sharing-size boards with enough fresh food to feed a large party, the release stated.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - The town of Mount Pleasant is looking to extend limiting building permits for another five years in an effort to slow growth down and build infrastructure up.

A proposal to extend the building permit allocation system was presented at a planning commission meeting Wednesday night with one more final vote left from the town council.

As people continue to move to the Lowcountry, the town of Mount Pleasant put this building permit allocation into effect back in 2019 and is now looking to extend it until 2029.

“The council is very serious about maintaining our level of service,” Mount Pleasant’s Director of Planning, Land Use and Neighborhoods Michelle Reed says.

“Keeping the growth slowed down, the way they have the last five years, and slowing that growth rate down, has really allowed them to continue the levels of service that we provide to our citizens,” she adds.

The goal is to finish major capital improvement projects before allowing more growth to happen in the town.

“I think the idea is really to allow the town to continue with their infrastructure improvements and to catch up with all the growth that occurred over the years,” Reed says.

The system is broken down into three categories single-family units, accessory dwelling units and multifamily units with a certain number of permits to be issued on a semi-annual basis.

Reed says they never maxed out single-family permits with 480 available and a large amount carrying over into the next year, not really affecting single-family builds.

But if you want to add another dwelling unit to your property, only 20 permits are available each year with a large waitlist putting people on a list for July of 2024.

Five hundred multifamily units were available on a first come first serve basis when the system was put into place, with the permits going quickly to builds at Patriots Point and South Bay.

“Those are the two really that were most affected; your average person that’s coming here and is going to build a single-family home, really didn’t affect them,” Reed says.

But looking at the status of real estate in Mount Pleasant, Charleston Trident Association of Realtors Government Affairs Director Josh Dix says they find the most problems with the dwelling unit permits.

“You have this permit allocation taking place on single-family residential, but it extends beyond just single family,” Dix says. “It’s if you want to add a grandmother, in-law suite, or some duplex on a single-family lot, all of that is contained by this extension.”

Dix adds people are going to be priced out of the area with regulations like the building permit allocation system.

“You have folks in Mount Pleasant, this is an aging demographic, and we want them to be able to age in place,” he says.

“I think permit allocations and caps like what we’re seeing in Mount Pleasant is not the answer to keeping communities and residents in place, where they currently live and exist in their neighborhoods,” Dix adds.

Pricing is also affected, with single-family homes in Mount Pleasant that used to cost $500,000 are now in the millions, Dix says.

“The everyday, middle American that lives here in Charleston, they are being priced out of Mount Pleasant because of these onerous regulations,” he says.

Mount Pleasant Town Council will vote on the final approval for the permit building allocation system in January.

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