Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Repair in Cane Bay, SC

A Charleston real estate investor and land developer is looking ahead to the next commercial venture in Cane Bay Plantation.

Buck Investments, led by Eddie Buck, recently paid $13 million for nearly 45 acres on the northwest corner of the future Fair Winds Boulevard intersection at U.S. Highway 176.

The seller was an affiliate of Charleston-based Gramling Brothers Real Estate & Development, which is developing the 6,500-acre Cane Bay project.

Buck’s company also is developing the nearby commercial land on both sides of North Creek Drive at nearby Nexton.

“We expect to see buildout there over the next four years, and development moving north of that for the next phase,” he said, referring to the existing tract in Nexton and the newly acquired tract in Cane Bay. “That’s certainly a growing area of the tri-county region.”

Buck also paid $2 million for 2.47 acres on the northwest corner of the intersection of Nexton Parkway Extension and Highway 176. He plans to build a Blue Water convenience store and gas station by the end of 2023.

Cane Bay had about 7,000 homes on the ground at the end of 2022, according to spokeswoman Kelly Gramling. The tract has been approved for more than 15,000 units.

Nexton recently announced 2,500 home sales at the 10-year mark. It’s expected to have 7,500 residential units at full buildout.

Law and office

A regional law firm is now firmly footed in a new multistory office building on the Charleston peninsula.

Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein LLP recently moved into the sixth floor of the 12-story Morrison Yard complex on Morrison Drive near the base of the Ravenel Bridge.

Representatives of the Charlotte-based firm said the 12,000-square-foot space allowed it to align with new trends in the legal industry and position the practice for future growth.

Parker Poe partner Robert Jordan called the move a “long-term investment in the Charleston community” after serving the Lowcountry for more than 20 years.

The new office has an open design with views of the Ravenel Bridge and Charleston Harbor, flexible work and communal spaces and more meeting rooms. It also features video-conferencing.

The practice previously was located in Bank of America Place at 200 Meeting St. in downtown Charleston.

The firm has more than 275 lawyers in eight offices in the Carolinas, Georgia and Washington, D.C.

Expanding

A commercial builder with offices in Charleston and Charlotte is expanding south. Frampton Construction Co. said it’s adding an office in Tampa, citing growth in demand in the Sunshine State. The company currently has construction projects in Ocala, Lutz and Lakeland, Fla.

Island homes

New model homes are now available in a Johns Island development.

PulteGroup has opened two one- and two-story single-family dwellings that would-be buyers can check out in Grace Landing at 1610 Main Road.

The models showcase two of the five floorplans. A total of 76 homes are planned, with prices beginning at $455,990.

Planned community amenities include a pool, pavilion, playground, firepit and picnic area. Pulte expects to complete them later this year.

About half of the 50-acre site will be set aside as green space.

Grace Landing is Pulte’s third development on Johns Island. The others are Oakfield and Sea Island Preserve.

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCBD) – A family living in one Berkeley County community said they have not been receiving their mail on a regular basis, even after contacting postal officials. That’s when they reached out to News 2’s Raymond Owens.

“We moved here about a year and a half ago and over the past year or so we have had problems with sporadic mail delivery,” said Cane Bay resident Tim Jacintho. “It doesn’t show up when it’s supposed to; it now has gotten to where we’re getting mail maybe two or three days a week.”

He said a lot of people depend on the mail for prescription medications, Social Security checks, and other items. He said everyone is frustrated with the situation.

Jacintho said he and other Cane Bay residents have reached out to the Summerville Post Office with their concerns.

“She’s been telling me what’s going on- they’ve had a lot of turnover with contractors, and they’re shorthanded. She said that the growth in the Cane Bay/Nexton area, which they serve, has put too much stress on the post office. They don’t have the staff or the facility to handle it.”

He contacted Congressman Nancy Mace’s office, and his state representative and state senator. He has not heard back from them. He said Berkeley County Supervisor Johnny Cribb returned his message.

“He, like, within a few hours, and said no thanks for reporting it. He said he can’t really do anything. It’s at the federal level.

Finally, he reached out to News 2 for help.

“I reached out to you because certainly I’m frustrated with the situation here and I know that my fellow neighbors and residents are also very frustrated,” he said.

News 2’s Raymond Owens called Congresswoman Mace’s office. Their office called Jacintho back and told him they would look into the problem.

We also called the postal service – their spokeswoman said she is researching the issue to learn more and will get back to us. They later provided the following response:

“The Postal Service appreciates its customers and always strives to provide the best possible service. We apologize for any inconvenience that may have been experienced by customers living in the Cane Bay and Nexton communities. Local management is currently working with all stakeholders to ensure any delivery concerns are resolved. We can confirm the Summerville Post Office, like many businesses, is experiencing staffing challenges; however, through successful hiring efforts we have increased our workforce significantly. The Postal Service will continue flexing our available resources to match the workload, in addition to hosting more hiring events until all positions are filled. Interested applicants should log on to http://usps.com/careers frequently to check for new postings. We appreciate the patience of our customers and the efforts of employees as conditions change on a day-to-day basis. We urge any customers with concerns or questions about their mail delivery service to contact their local Post Office, so that we can look into and resolve their concerns promptly. Customers may also visit our website at www.usps.com/help.”

News 2 will continue following this story and bring you updates as we learn more.

More new houses are headed to a Berkeley County mega-development that’s projected to have more residents than the city of Spartanburg.

Starlight Homes, a division of Ashton Woods Homes, recently paid $4.08 million for 50 acres in the former Wildcat Tract that is now part of the expansive Cane Bay Plantation off U.S. Highway 176.

A Starlight representative did not immediately respond for the number of housing units it is planning for the site.

Starlight’s website shows it has one subdivision in Cane Bay already called Pender Woods. The company also is developing homes in Watson Hill in North Charleston off S.C. Highway 61 in Dorchester County.

About 10,000 homes are permitted for the 4,500-acre Cane Bay tract off U.S. Highway 176. The neighboring 2,000-acre Wildcat Tract was bought by Cane Bay developer Gramling Brothers Real Estate & Development in 2016 and will have 5,700 homes at build-out.

Cane Bay has about 7,000 homes on the ground in the combined tracts, according to a spokeswoman. About half of the planned houses have been built in the developing unincorporated community that will have almost 40,000 residents at full buildout. That’s more than the current population of the city of Spartanburg, the state’s 12th largest municipality.

More multifamily

A new apartment development is in the works for North Charleston.

A 264-unit multifamily complex is planned on about 26 acres off Dorchester Road near Franchise Street, east of the Patriot Boulevard intersection.

The property is owned by DHI Communities, an affiliate of homebuilder D.R. Horton. The Arlington, Texas-based company paid $1.74 million in August for a 34-acre parcel on Dorchester Road, just inside the county line.

The property sits in front of a 52.5-acre parcel purchased for $8.25 million in June by an affiliate of industrial property developer Robinson Weeks Partners of Atlanta.

A traffic study by Short Engineering & Consulting LLC of Columbia references the site as the Whitfield Residential Apartment Project.

An access driveway with a right-turn lane off Dorchester Road is needed for the planned apartment development that will include eight buildings, a clubhouse and pool. Most of the complex would be located on the northeast corner of the site next to the Charleston County line because of wetlands throughout much of the property.

Upgrading

A Moncks Corner-based rehabilitation agency now has a new facility to house more men as they recover from drug addictions.

Changing Lives Ministry snipped the ribbon Dec. 9 on a nearly 5,000-square-foot facility at 470 Reid Hill Road near Walmart.

The $1.2 million structure includes two one-story buildings with space for 14 men and four staff members, who also live on site, according to spokesman Tommy Turpin.

The facility replaces a double-wide mobile home where 10 men and two staff members had previously lived.

The nonprofit does not charge its residents a fee for the 13-week rehabilitation program. It relies on donations. Proceeds raised at the CLM Resale Store at 502 E. Main St. help to support the program as well. The ministry bought the former Central Hardware shop in June for $765,000 after outgrowing its previous leased resale shop space at 506 E. Main St.

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Two of the Charleston region’s largest housing developments and another neighborhood near Beaufort rank among the 50 top-selling, master-planned communities in the nation, but they all saw sales dip in 2022 after the rip-roaring buying frenzy of the previous year.

Both of the Charleston-area developments are in booming Berkeley County.

Cane Bay and Nexton made the list by RCLCO Real Estate Advisors for the most home sales last year in master-planned developments. Also on the list is Latitude Margaritaville-Hilton Head in the lower part of the state at Hardeeville.

Cane Bay, which has made the list for several years running, came in at No. 4 with 959 sales, down 16 percent.

About 10,000 homes are planned for the 4,500-acre Cane Bay tract off U.S. Highway 176. The neighboring 2,000-acre Wildcat Tract was bought by Cane Bay developer Gramling Brothers Real Estate & Development in 2016 and will have 5,700 homes at build-out. The two tracts are both part of the overall Cane Bay development.

The combined tracts had about 7,000 homes on the ground at the end of 2022, according to spokeswoman Kelly Gramling.

Just south of the Cane Bay tract is Nexton​​​​​​​. It made its debut on the list for the first time in 2020 at No. 49. Last year, the 5,000-acre development climbed to No. 26 with 467 sales, compared to 576 in 2021, according to Maryland-based RCLCO. That’s a 19 percent decrease.

Near the end of 2022, Nexton had 2,150 occupied homes and 1,500 occupied apartments. Another 250 homes and 600 apartments are under construction, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline. At full buildout, Nexton will have 7,500 residences.

Together, Cane Bay and Nexton will bring more than 23,000 new homes to the Lowcountry when completed if all of the approved houses are built.

At 2.5 people per household, the two communities, both almost entirely in unincorporated areas, will have 58,000 residents. That’s more than the town of Summerville, the state’s seventh-largest municipality, has now.

In the lower part of the Palmetto State, Latitude Margaritaville-Hilton Head appeared on the list for the first time in 2021 at No. 35 with 572 home sales. The tally slipped to 480 last year, down 16 percent, while the rank rose to No. 25.

The No. 1 master-planned community based on sales continued to be The Villages, a community between Orlando and Ocala, Fla., with 3,923 transactions last year, down 2.0 percent from 2021.

Eighteen of the top 50 are in Florida, but Texas has the most, with 19. Together, they make up about 76 percent of the sales among the top 50 master-planned communities.

A Virginia-based developer wants to build a new retail center on a 22-acre parcel next to Freshfields Village​​​​​​​ between Kiawah and Seabrook islands. It would include a bigger grocery store to replace the existing Village Market.

5: Number of Andolini’s Pizza restaurants that were once across the Lowcountry. The last one is now closed, ending three decades of serving slices, pies, calzones and other items.

10: Acreage on Johns Island where Low Tide Brewing plans to build a new facility.

30: Millions of dollars projected to build a new office development in northern Mount Pleasant.

+ Flight plan: Charleston International Airport needs more gates and more parking to accommodate the expected continued acceleration of growth. Plans are in the works to expand in both areas, but they will require the moving around of several components to make that happen.

+ On the way: A new restaurant and drinking venue is in the works to replace the former Caroline’s Aloha Bar in West Ashley.

+ Coming to King: A new retailer with items that incorporate sections of scarves plans to open by the spring in downtown Charleston.

A Raleigh-based developer is building a large, new multifamily community on a 30-acre site in West Ashley.

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BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Mobile learning units and more land for a future K-8 school made final approval at Tuesday’s Berkeley County School Board meeting.

A lease and purchase contract of a little over $2 million was approved for 16 mobile units to go to Cane Bay Elementary and Cane Bay Middle Schools. With the exponential growth in the county, the board says they needed this lease for at least five years. After those five years, the county will buy those units and can move them to whatever school in the district needs space for extra classrooms.

Berkeley County School District’s finance and capital planning committee also made headway on transferring COVID-19 funding, or ESSER II, to cover costs for virtual learning. Some of this now-approved money will cover salaries and benefits to teachers working with those virtual programs.

About $311,000 will come out of the purchase service account and technology and just over 100,000 will cover the cost of Lowcountry Virtual Academy. About $210,000 will cover virtual teacher salaries.

Superintendent Deon Jackson made an announcement that he has reached a land agreement with Brookfield Properties to bring a K-8 school to the Nexton area. This school will sit on 35 acres and the developer will pay voluntary impact fees of $1,850 per unit.

“This collaboration is a win for our students, a win for the taxpayers and a win for Berkeley County School District,” Jackson said. “We are excited to continue working with our area developers, builders and county government to ensure that the construction, expansion and updates of schools remains at the forefront of all plans.”

Jackson says this school is expected to break ground in 2025 if funding gets approved. He says this will depend on if the one cent sales tax is approved in November and if it’s not, this development will get pushed back.

Katie Tanner, the public information officer for BCSD, released a statement about the K-8 school:

“The plan to build a K-8 school, as opposed to a traditional elementary or middle school, is based largely on the ability to expeditiously and efficiently add capacity at both the elementary and middle school levels. Additionally, a K-8 model provides the District with more flexibility for conversion into a stand-alone elementary or middle school, if needed in the future as growth in the area is expected to continue.”

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