By Jessica Johnson
Contributing Writer

A shopping village will take shape on an expanse of empty land along Dorchester Road, near the entrance to the Coosaw Creek community and its country club.

CB Richard Ellis Carmody LLC is pre-leasing the 25,000-square-foot retail and office space. Construction is scheduled to begin by the end of the year.

The Charleston real estate company is in the final negotiations to sell 5,000 square feet of that space to SunTrust Bank. Once the bank’s construction plans receive approval from the city of North Charleston, construction should also begin on the Village at Coosaw Creek, said Cory Dunlap, a retail and investment broker for CB Richard Ellis Carmody.

The remaining 20,000 square feet of retail and office space would be divided into 1,500- to 10,000-square-foot spaces, with lease rates ranging from $18 to $21 per square foot.

The bank will likely open in spring 2007. The stores would be available for occupancy at a later date, but probably in summer 2007, Dunlap said.

The plan is to attract retail and professional service businesses such as boutique stores, restaurants, cellular phone companies and salons.

“We’ve had tremendous support from the surrounding community and a lot of interest from national and local businesses,” Dunlap said.

The push for retail space is driven in part by the growth along the Dorchester Road corridor and the lack of businesses between the intersections with Ladson and Ashley Phosphate roads. Approximately 37,000 cars pass along the road each day.

CB Richard Ellis Carmody brokered the sale of the former Greenwood Development Corp. parcel to Coosaw Partners LLC in February 2005.

Greenwood Development did not intend to develop the space but requested commercial zoning early on, said Markus Kastenholz, an investment and land broker with CB Richard Ellis Carmody.

“This is a great location. If you look up and down Dorchester (Road), there is no retail up and down that corridor,” Kastenholz said.

Original plans called for erecting buildings housing 45,000 square feet of space, but both deed restrictions and North Charleston ordinances limited the amount of construction, which is why Coosaw Partners went with a village concept, Dunlap said.

“You will see the building from the road, but parking will be behind the building. North Charleston has regulations that really maintain the aesthetic value of Dorchester Road,” Dunlap said.

Residents of the gated Coosaw Creek community are looking forward to taking a break from Dorchester Road traffic, said Dan Svrcek, president of the Coosaw Creek Property Owner’s Association.

“We are pretty enthusiastic about the project as long as it turns out reasonably similar to the way it’s depicted on the sign that’s posted out there. It looks like a neat project that would fit into the community well,” said Svrcek.

Greenwood Development took homeowners’ opinions into account when it deeded the property and placed restrictions to allow for buffers and protection of trees, Svrcek said .

Coosaw Creek residents are eager for conveniently located retail.

“We would like to see it get going. It’s been sitting there for quite some time,” Svrcek said.

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