By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer

New homes and condominiums, traditionally a rare site on the Charleston peninsula, are rising in neighborhoods above and beyond Calhoun Street, keeping company with modest wood-framed homes as well as vacant lots and abandoned buildings.

New construction here is bringing an urban edge, and a higher price tag, to predominantly low-income neighborhoods that have battled their share of blight and crime, yet have remained home to families, businesses, churches and schools.

The city’s Cannonborough and Elliottborough neighborhoods are at the heart of the action, where developers are catering to buyers who are longing for the urban lifestyle and eager to own a piece of the peninsula.

“I think the main reason developers are going there is the land is available and it’s less expensive than what it would be on the opposite side of Calhoun,” said Al Parish, director of the Center for Economic Forecasting at Charleston Southern University.

Never mind that many of the older homes in those neighborhoods haven’t seen a coat of paint in decades. Developers, investors and house hunters are saying this is the place to be.

“I think this whole area has been on the upswing for years and years,” said George Reavis, a partner in Reavis-Comer Development. “This area is totally on the up and up and I think the sale prices in the area prove that. I also think people want new construction. Yes, there’s something great about a great old house, but they also come with a ton of problems.”

Reavis and partner Craig Comer, along with architect Neil Stevenson, have created Midtown, a complex of 33 residential units with two commercial spaces at the development’s corners. The project lies on 1.4 acres just north of Cannon Street between Coming and St. Phillip streets, on the site of a former gas station and warehouse. Two short blocks away, upper King Street hums with new shops and restaurants as the city gets closer to completing a total streetscape renovation.

“We’re just in the middle of it all,” Comer said. “Obviously, we’ve targeted this area because we saw the vast potential of the actual property.”

There are 10 condominium units at Midtown, while the majority of the project consists of single-family homes. The homes are mostly three-story dwellings, which blend into the rows of older Charleston single houses around them but exhibit more contemporary features such as floor-to-ceiling windows. Prices range from $559,000 to $900,000. About a third of the project has been sold.

“We have definitely gone with a much more contemporary approach to architecture, along with a much more modern and urban approach to the interior design, and I don’t think Charleston has seen much of that,” Reavis said. “I truly believe this will be a breath of fresh air for people who’ve been waiting for this type of product for a long time.”

Comer said the project’s target market is ever-changing.

Young professionals are one segment that has been attracted to the project, he said, although not every young professional can afford Midtown. The developers are also targeting second-home buyers who want the city lifestyle.

“We’re not targeting the investor or the college kids’ parents. We want people who are going to be living here,” Comer said. “I don’t want to ostracize the college student’s parent who might want to come in and pay $700,000 for a house, but I think we’re priced out of the college rental market and that was done intentionally by creating a very high-end project.”

New center of development

Comer said it shocks him every day to see the number of houses being built in the neighborhoods around Spring Street.

Monarch Development built a cluster of duplexes and single-family homes at Coming and Morris streets last year. The I’On Group is developing Morris Square, a Morris Street project that will have some commercial elements along with condominiums in the $450,000 price range, plus a small number of more affordable housing units being initiated by the Episcopal Diocese Community Housing Development Organization.

Not far from Midtown, a smaller condominium complex of 12 units is going up at 106 Spring Street. Marco Romano, a builder and partner in the project, said there are few parcels of land available for less than $1.5 million an acre in downtown Charleston, and preservation laws in the historic district also hinder demolition.

“Honestly, there’s no other area where you can buy the land,” Romano said. “The reason people are doing it is because they can get more dollars per square foot on the peninsula south of the Crosstown than they can anywhere else short of going to Kiawah or Isle of Palms. The reason there’s such a demand for it is people know it doesn’t matter what they buy downtown, they’re probably looking at doubling their money in five to 10 years.”

College students are also swarming into neighborhoods near the Crosstown, creating new housing demands.

“Even those streets like Vanderhorst and upper Smith that used to be a heavy college area, all that has pretty much been reclaimed and is becoming single-family homes and condos,” Romano said.

Revitalizing the neighborhood

As downtown property values continue to rise and the availability of land continues to recede, a number of developers are blazing a trail into areas of the peninsula that probably wouldn’t have attracted them a few years ago.

Atlanta developers Terwilliger, Davis & Leadbetter LLC have 59 condominium-style townhouses planned for one acre at 400 Meeting Street. The site is currently a vacant lot two blocks north of the Charleston Visitors Center.

“It’s not the kind of thing that you’d drive by and say, ‘Hey, I’ll develop that,’ but I think it’s going to be a really nice project when it’s done,” said Elliott Hutson, the listing agent with Prudential Carolina Real Estate.

Prices for the 800- to 1,700-square-foot units range from the mid-$300,000s to the mid-$700,000s.

“Interest has been good, and the thing that is cool about it to me is that someone can own a residence downtown for well under $400,000,” Hutson said. “For new construction where you can walk to the Battery, that’s a heck of a price.”

Grant Leadbetter, a partner in the development, said about 20% of the project has presold since sales were launched in September. He said new stores and restaurants on nearby King Street, the new Meeting Street Piggly Wiggly and the new Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, which has access ramps onto Meeting Street, are revitalizing the neighborhood.

“There’s just a lot of opportunity to do things farther up on the peninsula, and we’ve been committed to getting this thing going for some time,” Leadbetter said. “It’s a good purchase at a reasonable price on the peninsula and there’s not that much opportunity there for a brand new product.”

Contemporary design

While the opportunity for new residential construction is limited, developers are finding interesting spots for their projects and bringing contemporary flair to new buildings in the city.

Bee Street Lofts, a mid-rise residential complex wedged between the Robert H. Johnson VA Hospital, a Comfort Inn and the Crosstown, offers panoramic views of the city’s marinas along with streams of traffic winding past on Lockwood Boulevard and the Crosstown.

Here, builders are fashioning 108 New York-style loft condominiums with exposed air ducts and plumbing, high ceilings and stained concrete floors. Residents can opt for built-in bookshelves and art niches, and amenities include a private parking garage, fitness center, private courtyards, balconies and a community lounge with a Starbucks coffee bar.

RE/MAX listing agent C. Knight Barton has sold four units to one client.

The hustle and bustle of traffic and the nearby medical complexes don’t seem to concern buyers, he said. Hill Construction Co. is constructing the steel-enforced building to commercial specifications.

“The location is phenomenal, and the key to real estate is location, location, location,” Barton said.

Bee Street Lofts range in price from the mid-$300,000s to just over $1 million for units of 806 to 2,053 square feet.

Scott Barfield, on-site sales agent for Bee Street Lofts, said about 60 of the 108 units have been sold, with buyers ranging in age from 23 to 65.

Peter and Emmy Anderson, a retired couple who live on Kiawah Island, toured the under-construction complex recently because they are thinking of making a permanent move to the peninsula.

“Of course, our medical needs are also a consideration,” Emmy Anderson said. “(On Kiawah) we’re 45 to 50 minutes away from any emergency needs we might have medically.”

Peter Anderson said he was impressed by the new loft-style condos.

“When you can see new construction, you certainly see a lot of advantages,” he said.

Barfield thinks a lot of people have wanted to see the loft style in Charleston, especially those who have traveled extensively.

“It’s something that’s never hit here,” Barfield said. “I think this is just the start of things to come to Charleston from a contemporary residential standpoint.”

Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.

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