Mattress storein Charleston, SC

A recent letter to the editor made the case that downtown Charleston is overrun by tourists.

I say Charleston Municipal Golf Course is as well.

In the time since the course was renovated in 2020, it has been increasingly difficult for city residents to get tee times.

I believe a large part of the problem is the booking of wedding parties and other groups of visitors who are able to reserve blocks of tee times weeks or months in advance.

They are able to bypass the computerized tee time system and go directly through course management to get however many times they need.

In recent weeks, the course has been closed to local play for whole days and as many as one or two days as week to accommodate these groups of visitors.

A public recreational facility is meant to serve the recreational needs of those of us who support it with our tax dollars.

I believe the city golf course has strayed from this important mission. The culprits seem to be the city bureaucrats, not the course managers.

It is time for Charleston City Council to take a close look at how this public resource is being managed and correct it.

ROBERT H. BACON

Charleston

A recent commentary on a regional electricity transmission group distorted how competitive energy markets operate and pointedly ignored benefits that could help all South Carolinians.

The writer of this column, “Why SC shouldn’t join a regional electricity transmission group,” neglected to inform readers that he is employed by Power for Tomorrow, a group funded by Dominion, the utility that acquired the infamous V.C. Summer nuclear project, and which continues to collect more than $9 billion from customers to pay for a plant that was never built.

Competitive markets supply clean, reliable and cost-effective energy to more than two-thirds of Americans. Markets incentivize power producers to find more efficient ways of operating every day, creating better outcomes for consumers.

PJM Interconnection, a regional transmission organization, has successfully phased out more expensive, higher-polluting resources, reducing emissions 35% since 2005 and saving Americans living within the service territory an annual $3.2 billion to $4 billion.

Competitive markets are independent, well-regulated not-for-profit organizations subject to extensive state and federal oversight and have been hotbeds of innovation, integrating new technologies while ensuring that shareholders — not customers — are on the hook for bad investments.

The writer would have South Carolinians look to a single utility that has residents paying for its failed investments and reject the tangible benefits of reduced costs, decreased emissions and flexibility that come with a competitive electricity market.

TODD SNITCHLER

President and CEO

Electric Power Supply Association

Washington, D.C.

There is something terribly wrong with a society that thinks it is OK to censor school libraries and attempt to ban legal medication while permitting citizens to carry (and use) guns with fewer and fewer restrictions.

CAROL HECKROTTE

Mount Pleasant

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Letters can be a maximum of 250 words and are subject to editing for clarity, tone and libel. They must carry the writer’s name and address for publication and a daytime telephone number for verification.

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A 50-unit timeshare complex is being proposed for the City Market area, on the same wraparound site where plans for a conventional boutique hotel surfaced more than six years ago.

Marriott Vacations Worldwide Corp. disclosed the development in a quarterly financial update to investors on May 5.

The Orlando, Fla.-based company told shareholders Friday that it has acquired the two adjoining properties, which are at 235 East Bay St. and 36 Market St. The sale price was $16.45 million, according to Charleston County land records.

The previous owner was locally based Pearce Development LCC. It acquired the parcels under a different name six years apart starting in 2006 for a combined $4.36 million. It then filed plans to construct a 50-room boutique hotel in late 2016.

City zoning officials approved the project the following year after determining it wouldn’t significantly increase traffic in a nearby neighborhood.

The East Bay portion of the Marriott Vacations property borders Guignard Street and is used as a parking lot. It formerly was the site of several restaurants, including Molly Darcy’s Irish Pub, Meritage and Kiva Han.

The existing 1850s-era building at 36 N. Market includes several ground-floor retail businesses and will be incorporated into the timeshare resort. Marriott Vacation said in its quarterly report Friday that it plans to use some of the space for an onsite sales center.

For now, the company has been testing the Charleston site for soil and groundwater contaminants.

“The property has been used by various commercial owners since the late 1800s,” according to a voluntary cleanup agreement it entered into with the state environmental regulators in December. “It was also developed with auto repair shops from the 1930s to the 1960s and a gasoline filling station from the 1950s to the 1970s.”

Marriott Vacations, also known as Marriott Ownership Resorts Inc., has been in the business since 1984. Its timeshare brands include Marriott, Sheraton, Ritz-Carlton, St. Regis and Hyatt, and it operates 90 properties worldwide.

On Friday, the company reported revenue from “vacation club products” jumped almost 21 percent to $375 million in the first quarter compared to the same period of 2022.

Earlier this year, newly installed CEO John Geller cited the strength in demand for the company’s leisure-ownership units and other travel offerings even as the economy remained on shaky ground.

“The past two months have felt a lot like when I joined the company just over 13 years ago, full of potential and possibility,” Geller said during a Feb. 23 conference call with analysts. “Long term, I expect our timeshare and exchange business to remain the core of our business model while we look to add to our growth by diversifying into adjacent leisure-focused businesses where we can leverage our core capabilities.”

The company’s L-shaped vacation club near the Market is expected to open around 2025. The project must go through the city’s design review process and meet new stormwater requirements.

A company spokesman said specific details about the project weren’t available Friday.

It’s one of several accommodations developments in the works for the immediate area.

In addition, Marriott Vacations will be competing with at least three existing timeshare complexes, including the Lodge Alley Inn near East Bay and Cumberland streets and King 583 Resort on upper King Street, both operated by Bluegreen Vacations.

The third is the 100-unit Liberty Place Charleston at East Bay and Calhoun streets. It opened two years ago and is half-owned by Hilton Grand Vacations.

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The Morris, a 115,000-square-foot, two-building office and commercial complex on North Morrison Drive, is nearing completion and already 35 percent leased.

In the smaller building, an upscale Cantonese restaurant is coming to the ground floor while the developers, Cowan Nakios Group, tentatively plan to occupy the second floor.

Several new tenants have lined up for the main 107,000-square-foot office building, and co-developer and investor Thomas Nakios said several others are in the works, with “paper being swapped now.”

To see the line-up of tenants and several photos of the new project’s interior and exterior, click here.

The Germany-based, no-frills grocery chain is planning a second East Cooper location in northern Mount Pleasant.

1,450: Square footage of new coffee shop that recently opened, bringing a second location to the Charleston peninsula.

1.42: Acreage leased in Goose Creek for a new discount store.

1,300: Square footage of new Charleston-born herbal body products store now open in West Ashley.

+ New bloom: A new tropical-themed clothing store is coming to downtown Charleston via a Mount Pleasant couple.

+ On the way: A new dining venue is upfitting the space in Mount Pleasant where another restaurant once operated.

+ Filling up: Two new businesses are coming to southern Moncks Corner and another is now open, all near a rapidly developing area of Berkeley County.

Charleston condo castle listed for $14.5M

The two-floor penthouse atop the Peoples Building in downtown Charleston is on the market for $14.5 million, three years after selling for $12 million. If it sells for the list price, it will be the highest-priced residential property on the peninsula.

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In early 2020, developers Thomas Nakios and Ross Cowan were ready to break ground on a new three-story, block-long office building on Charleston’s upper pensinsula.

Then, the COVID-19 crisis swept across the nation, stalling the 115,000-square-foot Morrison Drive project — The Morris — for a year.

During that time, they made adjustments to their plans by upgrading the air systems and enlarging corridors and common areas.

Construction, which began in early 2021, is now mostly completed, and 35 percent of the two-building complex has already been leased. The first tenants could move in by late summer.

Coming to the new $50-million-plus structure will be a corporate office for Fifth Third Bank, the commercial real estate firm CBRE, LG|Capital Investors, The Raptor Group and three other unannounced tenants, according to Reid Davis of Lee & Associates, which is handling the leasing.

One of the unidentified tenants is a European-based private equity firm that plans to open its North American headquarters in Charleston. They will occupy 11,000 square feet on the third floor.

“We are in discussions with several other prospects for large blocks of space in the building,” Nakios said.

The smaller structure will house XO Brasserie, an upscale Cantonese restaurant with Szechuan influence on the ground floor, while the structure’s developer and investor, Cowan Nakios Group, tentatively plans to put its offices on the upper level.

A tree-shaded courtyard sits between the two structures and will serve as an outside dining area for the new restaurant and an open-air gathering place for tenants.

Shielded behind the main structure is a 347-space, five-tier parking deck that will include several spaces for restaurant patrons who can get tickets validated at the dining venue. The garage is accessible from Morrison Drive and Brigade Street.

The main 107,000-square-foot building includes open floor plans, large windows, terraces and private balconies.

“Providing outdoor space for tenants has been a big draw,” Cowan said.

To help shield the interior offices from the direct sunlight, vertical fins have been installed on the building’s exterior. Awnings can be cranked out during the day for tenants with balconies.

Large tenant spaces, ranging from 14,000 to 18,000 square feet, anchor each floor on the office complex’s south end. They can be subdivided, but Nakios and Cowan prefer not to, saying they want to focus on leasing the smaller offices elsewhere in the building first.

Along the hallways and near the glassy walls overlooking Morrison Drive, small nooks have been created for tenants’ employees to work out of the office or to take a break and have lunch.

A space near the central staircase and the elevators will also serve as a gathering place for corporate events.

“The Morris is more hospitality-centric than a traditional suburban office building,” Nakios said.

The development is north of the Ravenel Bridge off-ramp and across the street from restaurants Butcher & Bee and Edmund’s Oast. It’s also a few blocks away from the 12-story Morrison Yard office and retail complex that recently opened south of the span.

The developers said they chose the location because of the recent influx of restaurants, technology firms and new apartment developments in that section of the peninsula.

“We believe that as the Charleston market continues to grow, the North Morrison corridor will become the urban core of the city,” Nakios said.

GREENSBORO, N.C. - Ty Good tied his career-high with 11 strikeouts moving into third place on the career strikeouts list at the College of Charleston Friday night as the Cougars pounced to a 16-5 win over North Carolina A&T.

Good entered the night just one strikeout shy of tying Bailey Ober’s 254 as a Cougar collecting number 255 to end the first inning. His dominant outing gives the senior 83 strikeouts on the season, just five shy of his career-high 88 set last season.

Charleston’s offense gave Good nine runs of support over the first five innings with six hitters collecting multi-hit performances and three driving in at least three in the 11-run win.

Tyler Sorrentino, Trotter Harlan and Luke Wood all drove in a trio while Khyree Miller had a team-high three hits and three runs. Cole Mathis drew a career-high four walks as the Cougars worked 12 free passes on the night.

Leading Off

Final Score: Charleston 16, North Carolina A&T 5

Location: War Memorial Stadium | Greensboro, N.C.

Records: Charleston (28-16, 14-8 CAA), North Carolina A&T (17-25, 9-14 CAA)

How It Happened

• Charleston scored five runs in the second inning and never looked back on their way to the 16-5 win.

• Three runs came around to score before the first out of the second was recorded as Cam Dean doubled home Khyree Miller, Noah Carter singled in JT Marr and Tyler Sorrentino’s RBI groundout brought home Dean.

• An error on a double play attempt brought home the fourth run before Trotter Harlan made it a 5-0 lead with his first of 3 RBI on the night singling home Miller.

• Harlan added a two-run single in the fourth to make it 7-0, then another came home on a bases-loaded ground ball double play for an 8-0 Cougar advantage.

• Joseph Mershon made it 9-0 in the fifth with an RBI single.

• North Carolina A&T finally got some offense in the fifth as Cameran Brantley hit a solo home run and a double play ball scored a second run.

• The Aggies would get back within 9-4 through six, but Good left it there fanning three in the seventh to match his career high of 11 strikeouts.

• Luke Wood hit an opposite field home run to lead off the eighth and make it 10-4 as the floodgates opened with a seven-spot when all was told.

• Khyree Miller singled in Tanner McCallister, Sorrentino doubled home Dean and Miller, a wild pitch scored Sorrentino and Wood singled home Mershon and Harlan in the eighth.

Notes

• Ty Good (264) passed Bailey Ober (254) for third-most career strikeouts at the College of Charleston in the first inning Friday night.

• Good tied a career-high of 11 strikeouts giving the senior 264 donning the Charleston maroon and gold as well as 83 this season - just five shy of a single-season best.

• Cole Mathis drew a career-high four walks as Charleston had 12 free passes on the night, the second time the Cougars have been issued 10-plus walks in a game this season.

• Luke Wood’s eighth-inning solo blast made it back-to-back games he’s gone deep. Wood leads the team with nine long balls and his 3 RBI gives him a team-high of 39 runs driven in.

• Charleston’s seven-run eighth inning was a season-high and first time the Cougars posted at least seven in a single inning since the season-opener of 2022 against Wagner.

• Trotter Harlan extended his hitting streak to 11 on a 2-for-5 night, the longest streak by a Cougar this season.

• Cam Dean extended his hit streak to seven with his RBI single in the second inning.

• Joseph Mershon made 32-straight reaching safely as the senior second baseman has been on base every game he’s played this season. Cole Mathis extended his streak to 28, Trotter Harlan’s is at 18, JT Marr pushed his to 14 and Tyler Sorrentino has reached safely in 10-straight.

• Friday was the fourth time Charleston has scored 10-plus against North Carolina A&T in series history and ninth win in 11 meetings.

• Charleston moved to 10-3 in Friday contests with the win and Ty Good picked up his sixth win and fourth-straight decision.

Up Next

Game two of the series at War Memorial Stadium is scheduled for 3 p.m. with Charleston looking to claim another CAA series. A win would push the Cougars to 3-1 in road CAA series and a perfect 3-0 against league newcomers (North Carolina A&T, Monmouth and Stony Brook).

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Order of Finish: 2, 3

Order of Finish: 6, 2, 4