Air Conditioning and Refrigeration Repair in Charleston, SC

NORTH CHARLESTON — In the south end neighborhood of Union Heights about one out of every 10 houses was built just recently, nearly all of them by two Charleston-based companies.

“We took a gamble on a transitional neighborhood and it’s turned out wonderfully,” said Jeffrey Roberts, owner of the company JRR Development that built the houses.

Two unusual things made the flurry of home construction possible and added dozens of homeowners to the community.

First, Chris Leigh-Jones of real estate company Luxury Simplified started buying vacant lots in Union Heights about five years ago and eventually owned 46 of them. Then Roberts’ company partnered with Luxury Simplified and built new houses on those lots, with the low cost of land helping to keep home prices affordable.

Second, the company decided it would only sell to people who planned to live in those houses, and included a very unusual deed restriction in the sales.

“Nothing cleans up a neighborhood like homeowners,” Roberts said. “In our Union Heights project we have a voluntary deed restriction that you can’t rent them for two years.”

“Not that we have anything against renters, but when you become a homeowner you clean up a neighborhood, 30 feet at a time,” he said.

Thirty feet is about the width of some of the small home lots in Union Heights, though many are just 25 feet wide.

“I could have sold every house, all at once, to a rental company,” said Roberts. “That would have done nothing to promote the wholesomeness of the neighborhood and its trajectory.”

JRR Development has built large apartment buildings and hotels in the Charleston area, but also modest houses in neighborhoods including Union Heights and affordable housing in Charleston.

“The way these communities were before, folks are glad to see some investment,” said Councilman Michael Brown, who represents most south end neighborhoods.

Roberts was certain building new houses in Union Heights made sense.

He noted that the neighborhood lies just a mile and a half from Pacific Box & Crate, a 10-acre development in the Neck Area above the Charleston peninsula that includes technology companies, restaurants and a microbrewery.

“It’s all about the location,” he said. “The growth could only go one way.”

That one way is north from the Charleston peninsula, and Union Heights is the southernmost community in North Charleston.

The first houses JRR built sold for under $180,000, and the latest ones have been sold for more than $250,000.

Sherry Brown, JRR’s chief operating officer, has been a presence on the ground in Union Heights, where she knows many of the residents and has attended community meetings.

“I sincerely care about everyone in that neighborhood,” she said.

Brown said she’s urged longtime homeowners in the community to not sell their houses, because the neighborhood is on the rebound and prices are rising fast.

“Parents and grandparents worked really hard to get that land,” she said.

Brown said that some in the community face the challenge of dealing with heirs’ property, which is property with unclear ownership that has typically been handed down through families without a will.

When that happens, every living descendant of the last recorded owner can own a share of the property — a legal mess that takes lots of time and money to resolve. Sometimes, homes sit vacant or are lost at tax sales as a result.

“The amount of heirs’ property in that community, it really hurts my heart,” Brown said.

Roberts said the company has so far built 34 houses on the vacant lots, with six more nearly completed. He said the rapidly rising price of vacant lots in the community has made it difficult to buy more.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A new cellphone tower in Charleston has Charlestonians comparing it to a toilet paper roll and holder.

However, Jojo Craven, the general manager at The Daily, says the tower means good things are coming to the Charleston area.

"As our city changes and grows, the whole landscape is going to change and grow," Craven said. "We're no longer a small three-story tall city with church steeples poking up. We have big buildings and large companies coming in. It's helpful to our economy."

Charleston's 'toilet paper roll' cell tower: An eyesore or a sign of growth? (WCIV)

Read more: Alex Murdaugh will plead guilty to federal fraud & money laundering conspiracy charges.

The cell tower is difficult to miss. It is located where the crosstown and I-26 meet.

"Of course, coming over the big bridge, it's a little more jarring," Craven said.

News 4 asked Mayor John Tecklenburg about the tower, and in a statement, he explained that the city has to protect cell service, but its residents should have more say about the makeup and placement of the tower.

"We understand the need to protect cell service," the statement reads. "But denying local government and our citizens meaningful input into the look of these towers in our communities isn't reasonable."

Read more: Student stabs staff member with pencil at Memminger Elementary School.

The government is bound by a federal law limiting citizen input on the cell towers.

"No state or local government or instrumentality thereof may regulate the placement, construction, and modification of personal wireless service facilities on the basis of the environmental," according to federal law.

As individuals continue questioning the cell tower, Craven thinks people will eventually get used to it, especially if its placement improves cell service.

"We can sit here arguing about what is the prettiest, but what's going to get the job done?" Craven asked. "I hope it doesn't deter people from coming in to visit us or any business in the area, but I don't think it will."

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCIV) — A James Island church is finally replacing an important part of its sanctuary after a fire caused by lightning destroyed it nearly two years ago.

“The rebuilding of the steeple is kind of a beacon to our community that ‘hey, we’re still here,’” said Marty Middleton, pastor at Fort Johnson Baptist Church.

Past coverage: Fort Johnson Baptist Church members mourn fire-damaged building while looking forward

Church members gathered at Fort Johnson Baptist Church on Wednesday to watch as three separate pieces weighing close to 2,000 lbs. were hoisted into position.

According to one of the workers, the steeple is 35 to 38 feet tall.

“I call it making God’s House look beautiful,” he said.

It’s restoration this congregation has waited for since the September 2021 blaze.

“Well, it means we’re coming to a conclusion before long,” one churchgoer said. “We still got four months to continue renovating it.”

The sanctuary below is still recovering, just like those waiting to worship back inside.

But Wednesday’s celebratory feeling was nearly soured.

“They delivered the steeple, set it into place, and then the crane broke last night,” Middleton said.

Bad luck for Alabama-based Fiberglass Unlimited.

Read more: Homeownership Initiative brings affordability to first-time homebuyers in Charleston

But hours later, Lopez Crane from Summerville showed up – and teamed up – with the original crew.

7:05 “I’m going give him credit because he's coming off a job to do it for us,” said Barry Owens with Fiberglass Unlimited.

The combined effort is raising up hope.

“A lot of times the way the steeples are designed- they point you upward,” Middleton said. “And a lot of times as you’re looking upward, you’re seeing- obviously God’s not in the sky, but we put the cross at the top of the steeple to remind us really of the reason we worship.”

This is the church's second steeple to be replaced.

In 1989, Hurricane Hugo destroyed the previous one.

Insurance is helping the congregation pay for much of the work.

However, the pastor tells News 4 that they are still short about $1.5 million, even with the coverage.

It’s just another match.

At least that’s been the message all week from Charleston Battery coach Ben Pirmann as the club prepares to face his former team, Memphis 901 FC, on Aug. 26 at Patriots Point.

Pirmann spent five seasons with Memphis 901 FC as an assistant or head coach. A year ago, Pirmann led Memphis 901 to a second-place finish in the USL’s Eastern Conference and earned USL Coach of the Year honors.

But that’s all in the past.

“I know most of the guys on their team, I signed most of them, so it’s always a little difficult to play against your old club,” Pirmann said. “I’ve done it before, so it’s not a huge deal for me. You expect it to happen when you play a high-level sport.”

Pirmann joined Memphis FC in 2018 as an assistant coach and was named the interim coach late in the 2020 season.

He quickly turned the club around, making Memphis playoff contenders. Pirmann guided Memphis to back-to-back postseason appearances, compiling a 37-22-14 mark.

During the 2021 season, Memphis finished with 68 points, earning 21 victories.

Pirmann isn’t the only member of the Charleston Battery with ties to Memphis. Assistant coach Devin Rensing, defender Derek Dodson, midfielder Chris Allan, and keeper Trey Muse will all be facing their former team on Saturday.

“I know most of the guys on their team,” Allan said. “I’ve got a lot of friends, but once we step between those white lines, I’ve got no friends over there for the next 90 minutes. It’s a big match and we’re here to get a result.”

Getting a result will be crucial for the Battery, which is in third place in the USL’s Eastern Conference. The Battery is five points ahead of Memphis in the conference with two games in hand. The top four teams in each conference will host a playoff match.

“It’s a six-point game,” Pirmann said. “If you win, you put that much more space between you and them and if you lose, they close the gap. There are eight matches left, so every match is huge at this point in the season.

“We’re focused on getting better each day. If we’re lucky enough to be one of those four seeds that gets a home match, great. Our goal is to be a hard-working team and make it really tough for Memphis to enjoy their time in Charleston.”

This is the second meeting with Memphis this year. The Battery fell in the first game, 3-2, on June 24, but the team described it as “one of our best performances of the year” afterward.

“We probably deserved a better result,” Allan said. “We made a couple of mistakes that ended up in the back of our net.”

It’s been a while since the Battery played a match in the Lowcountry. Charleston’s last home match was Aug. 4 against Oakland Roots SC.

“Every club has to play 34 matches and since we’re on a coast, we might have a little extra travel,” Pirmann said. “We can only control what we can control and that’s our attitude, our effort and our execution.”

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A new entertainment site and sports bar plans to open in September in Mount Pleasant.

Mix at 730 Coleman Blvd. recently received its certificate of occupancy and is in the final stages of staffing up, according to owner David Breen. The opening date has not been announced.

The venue includes duckpin bowling, a curling platform, ax-throwing cages, ping-pong, cornhole, indoor and outdoor bars and a private speakeasy.

The soul food dining venue closed in 2020, but the granddaughter of the late Martha Lou Gadsden plans to salvage art on the building. A two-story commercial building is slated for the property on Morrison Drive.

4,750: Square footage of new car wash planned next to a future Chick-fil-A in West Ashley.

4: Cost of movies in dollars at most theaters across the nation on Aug. 27 as part of National Cinema Day.

4,800: Square footage of planned restaurant next to car wash on site in West Ashley.

+ Better flow: Chick-fil-A wants to make changes at one of its Charleston-area restaurants.

+ Now open: A new wine shop that carries other items recently launched operations in Charleston.

+ Floating away: The owner of a man-made floating island that’s been moored in a tidal creek near Folly Beach has agreed to remove the structure, but he’s not conceding any wrongdoing.

Church & Union restaurant is located at 32 N. Market St. in downtown Charleston. The owner of the property, which includes neighboring restaurant Tempest and a corner candy store, plans to sell the buildings.

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