Mattress storein Nexton, SC

What’s next for Nexton?

The master-planned community in Summerville broke ground on SOLIS Nexton, a 320-unit multifamily development.

Charlotte-based Terwilliger Pappas is developing the 11-acre project, which is expected to be completed in late 2022.

SOLIS Nexton plans include for-rent residences that are available in one-, two- and three-bedroom floorplans. The development will consist of nine three- and four-story buildings. Garages also will be available for lease. The new community is located within walking distance to Nexton Square.

“We are excited to add Terwilliger Pappas to Nexton’s expanding list of talented partners who provide high-quality residential offerings that cater to a variety of lifestyles and preferences,” said Nexton’s Vice President of Operations Brent Gibadlo. “From young professionals to families and empty nesters, SOLIS Nexton will blend the best of Nexton living through its thoughtful planning and innovative design.”

Amenities for the new community include a resort-style pool, dog park, peg spa, entertainment lounge, electric car charging stations, a fitness center and private yoga/spin studio. Plans also carved out space for a community pocket park.

“We are thrilled to be located in the heart of Nexton,” said Tom Barker, regional CEO for Terwilliger Pappas. “This is exactly the type of location we’ve been searching for – a walkable location with access to restaurants and other amenities desired by our future residents.”

Additional project partners include Summit Contracting, Group 4 Architecture, which will focus on architect and interiors; and Cline Design Associates and Seamon Whiteside, which will handle civil and landscape architecture.

Terwilliger Pappas was founded in 2013 and develops multifamily apartment communities in Southeast submarkets. The company has regional offices in Raleigh and Atlanta.

SUMMERVILLE — A Charlotte-based developer recently paid just over $12 million for nearly 24 acres in Nexton where a new mixed-use, grocery-anchored development will be built.

Crosland Southeast plans to build a Publix supermarket and 351 apartments on the western side of Nexton Parkway where Brighton Park Boulevard now deadends. The property is currently undeveloped without any streets.

The site, called One Nexton, is directly across the road from a planned Harris Teeter supermarket and is less than a mile from Interstate 26.

The sales agreement calls for at least 54,000 square feet of retail construction to begin by March 22, 2023, with two more phases and an additional 31,000 square feet of commercial development by one year later.

Publix announced in December it has leased property for the new store, but the Florida-based grocer did not say when construction will begin or how large the store will be.

If the developer fails to start construction by the start date, the deed allows Nexton developer Brookfield Residential to repurchase the property at the original sales price.

Construction on the multifamily development is expected to start by late summer, with an opening in 2024.

Future phases will include a hotel, office space, additional retail and more apartments, according to a statement. In all, another 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space will be added.

Plans also call for an office core to be developed around Nexton One in about five to seven years.

The new project is part of Nexton’s effort to provide housing, services and job opportunities within the community to allow residents to live, work, play and shop without long commutes, according to Brent Gibadlo, vice president and general manager of Nexton.

“One Nexton will create more employment and business development opportunities for Nexton while also providing meaningful spaces where people can connect and be active,” said Peter Pappas, managing partner with Crosland Southeast.

After Nexton One is completed, it will be connected to a network of parks and trails throughout the 5,000-acre Nexton development where as many as 7,500 homes will one day be built about 25 miles from downtown Charleston.

At the end of 2021, the developing community mostly in unincorporated Berkeley County had 1,675 occupied homes and another 250 sold and under construction, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline.

At full buildout, Nexton could be home to 18,750 residents, larger than the current combined populations of Moncks Corner and Hollywood.

Just west of Nexton near the Nexton Parkway interchange at I-26 sits about 1,000 acres annexed by the town of Summerville in 2020. The tract almost abuts the One Nexton site.

It’s approved for up to 700 homes, and plans for the first 177 along Linda Way near Drop Off Drive have been presented to the town. Drop Off Drive is a frontage road between Nexton Parkway and Jedburg Road along the northern side of I-26.

Gov. Henry McMaster’s proposed budget for 2022-23 will be unveiled Monday afternoon as the legislature gets ready to return for a session Tuesday in which their plate is full with issues ranging from how to spend extra billions of dollars to dealing with redistricting and mask mandates. More: The Post and Courier, Charleston City Paper, The Governor’s Office, AP News

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Murdaugh gets Rolling Stone coverage. The Alex Murdaugh saga continues with Rolling Stone charting the twists and turns of the cases stemming to the unsolved murders of the disgraced lawyer’s wife and son in 2021. Also, on Friday, a bank CEO was fired after allegations surfaced about Murdaugh’s schemes. More: Rolling Stone, The Post and Courier, Fox News

State prison chief gets national award for agency turnaround. S.C. Corrections Department Director Bryan Stirling was honored Saturday by the Correctional Leaders Association for the changes in South Carolina prisons over his eight years of leadership. More: AP News

Governor nominates Columbia attorney to chair DHEC board. Gov. Henry McMaster nominated Friday Columbia-area attorney Robert Bolchoz to chair the state’s health board, succeeding outgoing chair Mark Elam. Bolchoz has practiced environmental law and has also supervised the Department of Health and Environmental Resource’s legal counsel on some issues. His nomination must be confirmed by the state Senate. More: AP News

Three coastal S.C. communities’ sales make them top in nation. Summerville area’s Cane Bay and Nexton, and Latitude Margaritaville-Hilton Head made the top-50 in the nation list by RCLCO Real Estate Advisors for the most home sales last year in master-planned developments. More: The Post and Courier

To get dozens of South Carolina news stories every business day, contact the folks at SC Clips.

By Jenny Peterson
Contributing Writer

Tens of millions of dollars are being invested in parks and recreational spaces in the Lowcountry: $13 million in Dorchester County, $5.5 million in Mount Pleasant and $8 million in North Charleston.

More projects come down the line every year as municipalities purchase land to develop parks, including an additional $45 million slated for regional projects in 2022.

Even before the pandemic, the emphasis on parks and greenspace in the Lowcountry was picking up and finding support, said Lee Gastley, managing principal and landscape architect at Seamon Whiteside civil engineering and landscape architecture firm.

“There has been a better appreciation of parks in that they have really come to the forefront,” Gastley said.

The development of parks and recreational spaces is big business, in both the public and private sector. Engineering firms have even created specialty areas within their firm for developing these types of spaces.

“If a neighborhood is built today without a park component, then the return on investment is not going to be as high,” said Steve Dudash, landscape architect, urban planner and regional director of Thomas & Hutton civil engineering firm. “In the last five to 10 years, it’s been market-driven in that people want access to parks. It was trending up, but when COVID hit, it went exponential.”

Notable projects slated to open in 2022 include the Ashley River Park, a $13 million 85-acre public park in Dorchester County along the Ashley River, adjacent to Bacons Bridge Road. The riverfront property will feature trails, a fishing pond, pavilion, picnic shelters, playground, splash fountain, dog parks, ropes course, climbing wall, festival lawn and kayak launch.

Another recreational project is the $8 million Battery Park Pedestrian Bridge in North Charleston which will connect Riverfront Park to future development on the northside of Noisette Creek.

“You can feel that everyone is just chomping at the bit for these spaces,” Dudash said.

Planners said an emerging trend in the parks space is incorporating event spaces that can add to the city’s revenue stream.

North Charleston announced that Battery Park Pedestrian Bridge will allow for small outdoor weddings. The Ashley River Park will also have a “significant event component” for gatherings with opportunities to rent space, Gastley said.

“An important consideration with a lot of public entities is designing facilities that can be revenue generators in and of themselves — not only serving their population, but other populations,” Gastley said.

Another emerging trend in the parks space is adding dog parks.

“If we’re doing any kind of larger park, almost one hundred percent (guarantee) a dog park is a component of it,” Gastley said.

Pickleball courts are also being added to recreational spaces. Four pickleball courts are included in Phase III of the development of Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park, a $5.5 million project, slated to be complete in 2024.

More recreational projects are coming down the line over the next few years. A 50-acre tract in Hanahan along Henry Brown Boulevard will transform into a multi-use park with fields and courts, nature trails and event space.

At its October city council meeting, North Charleston passed a resolution to purchase 13 acres on Patriot’s Boulevard across from the North Charleston Aquatic Center. Plans include adding outdoor soccer fields and a senior center, according to TJ Rostin, recreation director.

“As the new year hits, we will begin to plan and design for that,” Rostin said.

North Charleston additionally approved $45 million to update its Park Circle recreational facility and Danny Jones recreational complex, Rostin said. The Park Circle facility will double in size, adding a Miracle League-type baseball field, an inclusive playground and parking.

The Danny Jones facility improvements will completely replace the existing pool and basketball gym, Rostin said.

The nearby town of Summerville and Nexton neighborhood continue to add more green space and trails.

Planners said challenges involved with developing parks include getting necessary permits near waterways.

“Permitting is always a challenge,” Gastley said. “They’ve got some great people in permitting, but there’s just not enough of them, and that makes it difficult to get permits in a timely manner. You want to bring a park online as soon as you can, and for a lot of these parks, it can take up to 10 months to a year just to get the permits. For a 25 or 30-acre park, between the design process and the permitting process and the bidding process, it's reasonable to expect anywhere from a year-and-a-half to two years before construction can start.”

Another challenge is that full funding is not always available for a project. Some public projects are contingent on referendums, which is why some parks get built in phases based on an overall master plan.

“There are a lot of disciplines involved in developing any kind of park — geotechnical engineers, arborists, architects, structural engineers and mechanical engineers. There’s a tremendous amount of grading and drainage that goes into developing appropriate sports fields,” Gastley said. “COVID spurred people to recognize the importance of natural areas. I’m hopeful that this new appreciation of what parks can bring to a wider audience is going to be beneficial for the construction of parks in the future.”

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - The Nexton community in Summerville continues to see new growth right off of I-26 and Highway 17A.

Nexton Vice President of Operations Brent Gibadlo says the community can expect to see new restaurants, parks, employments opportunities, offices, and a variety of homes coming in the next few years.

“Nexton is already in a really great location, right off of I-26, so it’s very accessible. I think the other thing is a lot of employment here,” Gibadlo said. “So, this isn’t really just about homes, it’s a lot about businesses. So, it’s this idea of integrating where people work and where people live and getting those things more inter-connected.”

The Midtown area of Nexton opened about six months ago and currently has about 100 homes on site, but within the next 10 to 15 years, Gibadlo says they plan to have around 3,000 homes there.

“I think that’s the biggest thing that we’re trying to do at Midtown Nexton is offer housing options across the board,” Gibadlo. “So whether you’re a young person looking to buy your first home or you’re an empty nester looking to downsize, and everything in between.”

Gibadlo says the Midtown space will have apartments, townhomes, and individual houses. They also just broke ground on the Midtown Club which will have a resort pool, lap pools, exercise facilities, and other amenities.

Downtown Nexton is expected to break ground later this year. It will be separate from the existing Nexton Square with restaurants, stores, and offices. It will be about 100 acres along Sigma Drive. Gibadlo says it will have hotels and apartments in a more urban and city-like area of the community.

He says he’s excited for Nexton to also become a health and wellness hub for the area. That includes new offices already and the anticipation of a MUSC Community Hospital expected to open in 2022.

Gibadlo also says they realize the growth of this area may not seem beneficial for everyone.

“You know, it’s very fair for folks to have concerns about growth. What we always think about is we want to make sure that there’s far more positives than negatives associated with growth,” Gibadlo said. “So I think first it starts with a good, thoughtful master plan. And that’s one thing that we’re lucky in the case of Nexton. This is a plan that’s been in the works now for over 10 years.”

He adds that Nexton has a master plan for the road networks and stormwater plans that come with the rapid growth here.

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