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CC&T to develop 24-acre river tract
By Dan McCue
Staff Writer
Walking amid the tall pines and oaks on 24 acres adjacent to the Ashley River, CC&T Real Estate Services broker Robert DeMoura was making a point about the importance of balance in development.
“Make no mistake, this is a highly valuable property, but what truly makes it valuable is the nature you can preserve while meeting the needs of the marketplace,” said DeMoura, who also serves as a development partner on the property.
“This land has already been entitled by a previous group of investors for far more intense development than we would ever consider for this site,” he said.
“We want to develop this site, one of the last developable pieces of land along the river, but we want to do so while saving as many of these grand trees as we can, incorporating more green space than was included in the original plan, and respecting the wetland buffers.”
If all goes according to plan, the parcel DeMoura was visiting—located just north of the intersection of Ashley River Road and Bees Ferry Road, said to be one of the last pieces of undeveloped riverfront land in the Ashley River Historic District—will be marketed beginning in January as the Ashley River Club.
DeMoura and CC&T broker Jeff Carron worked with the seller, an undisclosed offshore investment group, and the seller’s advisor fund manager, Grosvenor Investment Management of Philadelphia, for more than a year to structure the $11.5 million deal.
Joint venture ownership
Ownership has been transferred to a joint venture comprised of developer Carlisle Realty Group and Florida Capital Real Estate Group. The venture plans to build an environmentally friendly, upscale residential neighborhood village consisting of 174 condominiums and 34 town homes.
The price of the units will range from the low $300,000s for the 1,650-square-foot town homes to the high $600,000s for the 1,850-square-foot riverfront condos, said DeMoura, who became part of the development team post-closing. The property has 880 feet along the Ashley River.
The total construction value upon completion will be about $50 million, but the real seller of the property will be its natural accoutrements, DeMoura said.
“Increasingly, the market is demanding developments like the one we envision here,” he said. “Our target audience is one that appreciates what you see all around us, experiencing nature and living within it.”
Open space added
In addition to the residential units, the restructured project includes a clubhouse, parks, open space, view corridors and tree buffers between the Ashley River and Ashley River Road.
“This fits right in line with Florida Capital’s prior development and our current strategy of developing upscale multi-family communities in premium locations,” said C. Thomas Selby, president of the Orlando, Fla.-based real estate group.
“The site and unit designs have a lot to offer the future residents of Ashley River Club in the form of river views, terraces and shady green spaces befitting all of Charleston.”
Mark Findura, president of Carlisle Realty Group, said the Ashley River Club is only the first of several projects his company plans to undertake in the Charleston area.
“In fact, we will be announcing another one soon,” he said, without elaborating.
However, he did say, “We greatly appreciate the assistance we have received from the Charleston community, CC&T and, in particular, the city staff (on the Ashley River Club project).”
Standing beneath a lush canopy of trees, DeMoura predicted the Ashley River Club would be developed relatively quickly thanks to the capitalization of the partnership.
“These are companies that have done billions of dollars worth of multifamily developments across the country, so we don’t have to rely on meeting the requirements of commercial lending institutions,” he said.
Typically in a major development deal, a commercial lender requires 70% of the units to be pre-sold before it put its money on the line.
Since they have the funds, the partners can begin construction as soon as they get the necessary approvals from the city, DeMoura said.
But given the financial news of late, an obvious question is why the partners believe now is the right time to break ground on a new residential development, rather than perhaps investing in a commercial real estate project.
“To begin with, these partners have been looking for a property like this in the Charleston region for a very long time,” DeMoura said.
“The other thing that’s important to remember when talking about development, particularly here in Charleston, is that the timetable for development is typically two to four years, and some take even longer. As a result, short-term peaks and valleys in the primary economic indicators don’t have that much of an impact on a project like this.”
Dan McCue is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at dmccue@charlestonbusiness.com.
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