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Carnes Crossroads ready to fuel Berkeley growth
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
It’s doubtful that the thousands of people who will soon be living in new communities at Carnes Crossroads will ever know that the area was named for Dallas Carne and that he let his hogs and cows run wild all over the property.
That is what Zayda Cannon Yoder remembers of the Carnes Crossroads of her childhood, when she rode through the area in a Model A Ford on the way to visit her grandparents. In the 1930s, U.S. Highway 176 was a dirt road almost all the way to Columbia, liberally filled with potholes.
Yoder’s memories will soon rest in the history books. Carnes Crossroads is now solidly on the map.
“It will be like a small town,” said John Scarborough, Berkeley County’s planning director.
Three major communities are currently planned for the area, which will add nearly 30,000 homes at build-out. Cane Bay and The Parks at Berkeley, which are in the unincorporated county, and Carnes Crossing, which is in the town of Goose Creek, will be mixed-use developments with a combination of residential and commercial construction. Cane Bay is well underway and will include a high school, scheduled to open in fall 2008.
“It will absolutely change the character of that area completely,” said Berkeley County Supervisor Dan Davis. “It will beget other types of development.”
How the area takes on development is something Berkeley County officials say they are planning carefully.
“This growth is not catching us by surprise,” Scarborough said. “It is a little faster paced than we originally thought it would be, but we have done a considerable amount of planning for this type of growth.”
Scarborough grew up in the area and had to ride a bus from Goose Creek to go to Berkeley High School in Moncks Corner, where he graduated in 1965. Carnes Crossroads was largely timberland owned by farmers and large timber companies.
Now, Scarborough expects the population of Berkeley County to possibly double in the next 20 years.
Al Kennedy, project manager for Berkeley County Economic Development, said the area would go from a rural, agriculturally oriented area to an urban area. He expects solid development along the U.S. 176 corridor from Goose Creek to well north of U.S. Highway 17-A.
The Parks of Berkeley is slated for 13,000 homes and 10,000 more are planned for Cane Bay. Carnes Crossing, which is being development by the Daniel Island Co., will probably have 5,000 homes or more, Kennedy said. A Del Webb retirement community is also planned for the area.
“You’re really talking about close to 30,000 units. And when you compare that to the town of Moncks Corner, it’s considerably larger than the town of Moncks Corner already,” he said.
Daniel Island Co. officials said the company wants to help create a new center for growth in the region and create a “sister community” to Daniel Island.
“Since Crowfield Plantation was developed, there have been no other mixed-use community developments introduced in this area of Berkeley County,” said Matt Sloan, the company’s chief operating officer. “We see a real opportunity here to participate in responsible growth for this area.”
As Berkeley County stretches its wings, planners say they want to insure that it retains as much of its rural character as possible. Berkeley County Council already reduced densities in the area from 10 1¼2 units per acre to three units per acre, and ordinances are in place to require buffer zones and set-backs to help preserve as much green space as possible.
“The other thing is the quality of the developers of these tracts of land, particularly with Daniel Island and Cane Bay,” Scarborough said, “There’s a great deal of green space and protected areas in the plans.”
Kennedy said planners have tried to encourage developers to cluster homes together within the communities, along with commercial and public areas, so that a good portion of the land remains green.
“We’re trying to develop more livable communities that include amenities, and that allows folks not to have to go outside the community for needs they have—grocery stores, drug stores, dry cleaners. What we’re accomplishing is, everybody doesn’t have to jump out on (Highway) 176 or into Summerville or Moncks Corner to do banking or conduct normal household business. It can be done within the residential community.”
Once an overlooked, pine-strewn spot in the country, Carnes Crossroads now has what developers want.
“I think the biggest thing driving it is the price of land,” said economist Al Parish, director of Charleston Southern University’s Center for Economic Forecasting. “Also, this is 20 minutes to Summerville, 20 minutes to Goose Creek and 20 minutes to Moncks Corner. It’s right in the middle of everything, and I suspect we will see the town of Goose Creek annexing out toward that area. If that happens, I think we see the city center of Goose Creek move from (U.S.) Highway 52 out to Highway 176. If not, then I think we would see a new area incorporated.”
Initial effects of the new residential communities will be new businesses in the area, he said.
“Certainly within the next two years you’re going to see a fast-food restaurant located out there because of the high school,” Parish said. “I think you will see a grocery store locate and probably a bank and a gas station would be the first set of things to come.”
Another thing that may soon arrive is a high-tech company that could employ as many as 400 workers. An unnamed company has purchased 520 acres on the Cooper River, but Berkeley County officials have not announced its name. Internet giant Google has confirmed an interest in the area, but hasn’t made an announcement.
“Right now you’re going to see prices of the homes out there ranging from $200,000 upwards. If Google comes, that will very likely change the mix of the homes in Cane Bay,” Parish said. “You’ll see even more upscale than what they’re planning.”
Area homeowners have already seen real estate appreciation, but the average hourly wage in the area has also risen, from about $8.50 per hour to $13 an hour, Scarborough said.
“The jobs we’re bringing in now are paying higher wages, so people can afford the higher quality,” he said.
Kennedy said the increase in real estate values that have been seen in Charleston County are likewise being reflected in Berkeley and Dorchester counties.
“It’s not just a Berkeley County thing, it’s a regional thing,” Kennedy said.
While the county’s growth is imminent, Scarborough said Berkeley County has been a leader in establishing green space and almost 40% of the county is in conservation easements, including 20 miles of protected environment along the Cooper River.
“It’s very pristine out there and there are few subdivisions that have grown up there,” Scarborough said. “I’m not aware there are any plans to develop anything else along the Cooper River currently, so it will stay as beautiful as it is now for a long time.”
Kathleen Dayton is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail her at kdayton@charlestonbusiness.com.
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