Did you know that Berkeley County is #35 on the US Census Bureau’s list of fastest-growing counties in the US? It’s also the fastest growing county in South Carolina. Other counties in South Carolina that made the list include Horry County at #73 and Dorchester County at #97.

As of July 2012, the population was 189,781, up almost 12,000 people since 2010. We look forward to seeing continued growth in the area and in our community.

By Lauren Ratcliffe
Charleston Regional Business Journal
Published March 12, 2013

The Charleston-area residential market is continuing to grow with sales in 2013 outpacing last year by 18.7%.

In February, 722 homes sold at a median price of $181,334 in the region, according to data released by the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. Sales activity hasn’t been this high in February since 2008 when 733 homes sold.

Year-to-date, 1,367 homes have sold at a median price of $181,917. Available inventory has also decreased by about 1,000 homes when compared with this time last year. Currently, 5,632 homes are available on the Charleston Multiple Listing Service.

“When you look at the last decade of market activity, you can see how well our market is performing following the economic downturn,” said Owen Tyler, 2013 CTAR president. “More importantly, you can clearly see that the activity in 2004 and 2006, particularly the sales activity, was abnormal and the sales and pricing activity we’re seeing now is indicative of a more balanced and sustainable market.”

Association members and multiple listing service executives expect sales and pricing to continue to trend upward in 2013, but say that low inventory may lead to more pricing growth than anticipated. Year-to-date, prices are 4% higher than where they were last year.

“Many areas of our region are squarely in seller’s market territory,” said Dave Sansom, 2013 Charleston MLS president . “That doesn’t mean that sellers can start overpricing their homes and expect them to sell, but it does mean that they have a bit more room to negotiate for the price they want than they have in recent years.”

Across the tri-county region, Berkeley County saw 171 homes sell in February at a median price of $160,000. In Charleston County, 371 homes sold at a median price of $239,500, while 154 homes sold in Dorchester County at a median price of $154,250.

If only we had been there to see this…

By Brenda Rindge, The Post and Courier

A flash mob broke out Wednesday at Publix at Cane Bay, but about all you’ll get is this lousy story.

Store management — at a level higher than the local folks — got a little skittish about having media there to record the event, so even though local photographers were ready to shoot, all they could do was watch as nearly 30 seniors box-stepped, ball-changed and boogied between the Easter candy and ice cream cake displays.

A grand total of one photo captured the event.

Retirement community Del Webb’s Come Dance With Me Line Dance Club planned and executed the spontaneous dances for the store’s busiest time, noon on Senior Day, the day those 60 and older get 5 percent off.

“We’ve been working on this for a month,” said J.R. Van Vechten, who with his wife, Judy, leads the dance club.

As shoppers streamed into the store before the event, many greeted each other and stopped to catch up, some in the know, but many unaware of what was about to happen.

As the strands of “Mama Maria” started playing over a boom box, the Van Vechtens began strutting their stuff as others joined in.

They finished their seven-minute performance with the “Florida Boogie.”

Some spectators captured the event on cellphones, and all had big smiles on their faces as the crowd disbursed.

“That really was a sight to see,” shopper Jennifer Roberts said.

Click here to see the full article and picture.

We are thrilled to share this wonderful news!

Developer gives 68 acres for Cane Bay YMCA
BY BRENDA RINDGE
brindge@postandcourier.com

Folks in Cane Bay don’t have to leave their neighborhood for school or the grocery store. In a few years, they will also be able to play soccer, softball or swim in their own community, too.

Cane Bay developer Gramling Brothers Real Estate and Development Co. recently gave 68 acres to the newly formed YMCA of Greater Charleston for a 70,000-square-foot, state-of-the-art sports facility with a 50-meter pool, basketball court, track and multipurpose space. The surrounding land will have fields and courts, and the complex will be surrounded by 15 miles of trails.

“This will draw people from many miles,” said Paul Stoney, president and CEO of the YMCA of Greater Charleston. “This is a comprehensive venue where on a given day, 10,000 people could be attending a softball tournament, an aquatics tournament, a tennis tournament and soccer tournament.”

It’s the largest gift of land ever donated to a non-camp YMCA in the United States, said local YMCA officials.

Groundbreaking could come within 18 months, and the project will be built in phases, with hopes to complete it in a decade. The $12 million first phase includes the building, and the second phase, which does not have a price tag, includes the fields.

The facility will be built in the center of Cane Bay, a 4,500-acre community off U.S. Highway 176 in Berkeley County that will have about 10,000 homes.

Gramling Brothers also donated land for the three Cane Bay schools.

The neighborhood is near the future Sheep Island-Interstate 26 interchange and close to several other large planned developments.

“With the infrastructure that’s being built, all roads will lead to this new YMCA,” said Ben Gramling, president of Gramling Brothers.

Because Berkeley County does not have a parks department, Gramling teamed with the YMCA of Greater Charleston, which was formed in July with the merger of the Cannon Street and Berkeley County organizations.

The Y is pursuing $8 million to $10 million in funding through the U.S. Department of Agriculture and will also hold a capital campaign to raise $3 million to $4 million more.

“This is an investment in the community, and all we’re asking them to do is support it,” Stoney said.

The donation was contingent upon the merger of the YMCAs, each of which was struggling, Stoney said. Cannon Street’s strength is programming, and Berkeley County has a membership-driven exercise facility.

“The expected revenue generation from the new facility will more than adequately cover the operational losses of the other facilities,” Stoney said. “Cane Bay will help underwrite both the Cannon Street Y and the Berkeley County Y.”

Copyright, 2012, The Post and Courier. All Rights Reserved.

This list just ranked Cane Bay Plantation as the #40 Top-Selling Master-Planned Community in the United States.  Very cool!

Architect picked for new Berkeley County school

BY DAVE MUNDAY

Thursday, September 16, 2010

Berkeley County residents are a step closer to getting a new school.

The school board has picked an architect for a new middle school for 900 students in the Goose Creek area. It will be near the new high school and elementary school on Cane Bay Boulevard.

The school will serve rapidly growing areas around Goose Creek that are filling up existing schools.

LS3P Associates of Charleston will design the school, officials said this week. Construction is expected to start later this year.

LS3P also designed Wando High School in Mount Pleasant and Bishop England High School on Daniel Island.

Berkeley School Superintendent Anthony Parker said the new school will be a model of technology, energy efficiency and cost savings.

Cane Bay Plantation developer Gramling Brothers donated the 19.2-acre site for the school. It’s next to Cane Bay Elementary School. Project Manager Ann Williams estimated the value of the property at $4.5 million.

Developer Ben Gramling also donated land for the high school, which opened in 2008, and for the elementary school, which opened in 2009.

Cane Bay Plantation is a new community with plans for up to 10,000 houses, as well as shops and businesses, off U.S. Highway 176. It’s been the fastest-growing development in the Lowcountry the last couple years. The school will also serve other growing areas around Goose Creek.

Lennar Corp. buys 175 acres in Cane Bay

BY KATY STECH

The Post and Courier

Friday, July 9, 2010

Lennar Corp. has purchased 175 acres in the expanding Cane Bay Plantation neighborhood, a bullish deal that marks one of the largest local land purchases by a home builder so far this year.

The Miami-based builder plans to construct a yet-unnamed neighborhood of single-family homes, despite a glut of existing homes and unsettled economic concerns. Bob Hilliard, division president, called the move a “good tactic in a recessionary market.”

He added that Lennar has made contrarian investments before in Charleston.

“We were buying land in 2009, and we feel like the market has done nothing but improve,” Hilliard said.

The Cane Bay neighborhood near the Carnes Crossroads area of Berkeley County currently has three distinct residential areas — Old Rice Retreat, Sanctuary Cove and Del Webb — which combine to hold about 575 owner-occupied homes.

Lennar plans to build another roughly 500 homes on its newly acquired land, starting late next year.

Once completed, Cane Bay could hold up to 10,000 homes.

Cane Bay’s developer, Charleston-based Gramling Brothers Real Estate and Development, sold the land to Lennar. A Gramling representative and Hilliard declined to disclose the price.

New home construction activity in the Charleston region has been concentrated in a handful of markets, according to William Lattimore III of Georgia-based Coastal Market Graphics, which tracks local development. Moncks Corner and Goose Creek were the most active locations in recent months, he said.

Deep-pocketed national home builders such as Lennar are driving the new development, he added.

“They have the capital to acquire existing subdivisions but also groups of developed lots, and they can build at a lower price point,” he said.