Mattress storein Summerville, SC

SUMMERVILLE — There will soon be a new sculpture right outside of Saul Alexander Playground, and it’s going to be absolutely bananas.

Town Council accepted the Sculpture in the South’s donation of a 350-pound, 7-foot half-peeled banana with feet reclined on a 6-foot-long bronze bench.

Sculpture in the South is an organization formed in 1999 to add art to public spaces throughout Summerville.

The group is in the process of fundraising to purchase the sculpture, which costs $50,000.

Otis Engelman, chairman of Sculpture in the South, said every sculpture the organization has purchased to place in Summerville has been paid for by donations from Summerville residents and no town funds.

The banana sculpture will be placed between the Miracle League field and the playground, near the horseshoe. Town Council accepted the sculpture during its Jan. 12 meeting.

The banana is a work of Jack Hill, who is based out of DeLand, Fla. Dora Ann Reaves, a member of Sculpture in the South, said the banana is one of Hill’s favorite forms, adding that he has other sculptures of bananas on roller skates.

“He’s got a real interesting sense of humor,” Reaves said. “The idea that a banana could sit on a bench or roller skate is of interest to him.”

Sculpture in the South has already placed a variety of sculptures around the town, many of which are in Summerville parks. The organization helped facilitate the sculpture of the late John McKissick and his wife, Joan.

Sculpture in the South was looking to add a more whimsical piece to its collection, Amy Evans, parks and recreation director, said.

Reaves spoke for the banana at the standing committees meeting on Jan. 9, where the Parks and Recreation Committee voted unanimously to accept the donation.

Reaves said she likes the banana sculpture because it’s a more fun piece, and has a unique look.

Town Councilman Aaron Brown spoke in favor of the sculpture after Reaves gave her endorsement.

“I think it would be a good idea if we try to be more broad-based with the sculptures that we approve,” Brown said at the meeting. He then suggested getting a sculpture at Wassamassaw Community Park to represent Native Americans’ heritage.

Town Councilwoman Kima Garten-Schmidt said she believes the banana is the perfect sculpture for the park.

“It’s not supposed to be anything serious,” Garten-Schmidt said. “The kids are going to absolutely love it. They’re going to love climbing on it, getting their picture taken with it — even adults are going to love getting a selfie taken with it.”

While it was board of the Sculpture in the South’s decision to choose the banana to place in Saul Alexander Playground, Reaves said she was pleased with the choice.

“Most of our other pieces are memorials or animals,” Reaves said. “We don’t have any other bananas.”

If anyone is interested in donating or contributing to the fundraiser for the banana sculpture, email sculptureinthesouth@gmail.com.

A sizable parcel near Mount Pleasant Regional Airport where a large warehouse and office development is being proposed has been sold for $10.5 million.

Charlotte-based Cameron Property Co., an affiliate of Madison Capital Group, bought the 60-acre tract on Faison Road on March 8 from Lerato LLC, according to Charleston County land records. Lerato had owned the site since 2011.

The new owner wants to build three buildings totaling nearly 500,000 square feet northwest of the Faison Road and Park Avenue Boulevard intersection.

The proposed structures, in the master-planned Carolina Park development, will serve as flexible space with offices in the front and storage or showrooms in the rear, according to Lance Ravenscraft with Madison Capital.

Plans presented to state environmental regulators show the largest building will be 187,100 square feet. A second structure will be 181,790 square feet while a third would be 113,400 square feet. More than 400 parking spaces also are planned.

Ravenscraft foresees the business park as having tenants that need office and storage space such as biomedical companies or those that make items such as home building products.

The 1,700-acre Carolina Park development is mostly a residential neighborhood that also includes a hospital, other health care services, schools, fire station, library, churches, senior care facilities, apartments and commercial enterprises.

The tract slated for development sits between Charleston Ear, Nose, Throat & Allergy and Gerber Collision & Glass on Faison Road. A storage facility is planned just north of the Gerber site.

Ravenscraft said development of the site is not imminent, citing tight credit markets and high construction costs.

Changing hands

A North Carolina firm now owns a former Summerville restaurant on a high-traffic corridor.

An affiliate of the commercial real estate development firm Woodhaven Development Group of Raleigh paid $4 million March 6 for the shuttered Mellow Mushroom pizzeria at 1306 N. Main St. The previous owner was Flour-Town Holdings LLC, which bought the site in 2013 for $1.905 million, according to Berkeley County land records.

Mellow Mushroom, which was at the entrance to Azalea Square Shopping Center, closed in 2021 after seven years in Flowertown. A Woodhaven representative did not immediately respond for comment on plans for the building.

Office space

The president of a Mount Pleasant-based furniture firm plans to build a new office building on the former Navy base in North Charleston.

Stephen Jensen, the head of Maxwood Furniture, wants to acquire a 2-acre site at 2335 Noisette Blvd. where a fire station once operated. The S.C. Commerce Department’s Division of Public Railways owns the parcel.

The past use of the property may have caused environmental pollution, and a voluntary cleanup notice has been filed with the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control through SAVJ Navy Yard Property LLC.

If a voluntary cleanup contract is approved, DHEC will allow the firm to acquire the property as a “brownfields site,” with cleanup and development subject to state regulations.

Jensen did not immediately respond for comment for further details of the proposed building.

Flying in

Breeze Airways recently leased 240 square feet of office space at 3300 W. Montague Ave. in North Charleston, according to Steve Hund and Trey Davis of the real estate firm Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic, which represented the landlord and tenant in the transaction. The Utah-based carrier flies nonstop to more than 20 cities from Charleston International Airport.

Spring home festival

The Historic Charleston Foundation will present the 76th annual Festival of Houses and Gardens with several new events March 15-April 16.

The five-week event, the foundation’s largest fundraiser and educational tool, provides a glimpse into some of the historic homes and gardens in the 353-year-old city through guided walking tours, workshops, lectures and concerts.

New this year will be a music series featuring jazz, bluegrass and Gullah spirituals as well as a return of history boat cruises and a sunset harbor tour. Also, a finale brunch will be held.

For tickets and more information, go to HistoricCharleston.org/festival

New townhomes

A new townhome community with units starting in the upper $300,000s soon will open in Summerville.

The Townhomes at Daniel’s Orchard at 600 N. Laurel St. will offer 14 residences in two floor plans ranging from 1,852 to 2,182 square feet with two- to four-bedroom options and up to 3½ baths.

Constructed by New Leaf Builders of Johns Island, the development off U.S. Highway 78 offers prospective buyers an optional finished ground floor area that extends the flexible layout by 170 square feet. They can also add an elevator or select their own styles of cabinets, countertops, flooring, trim, plumbing and lighting.

Construction is expected to be completed in the spring. Carolina One New Homes is marketing the property.

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. (WCSC) - The Town of Summerville announced the approval of the Maple Street Extension project on Monday.

Years after the project was introduced in 2014, Blythe Development Company was awarded the bid to begin construction on the project, which will improve in total a mile and a half of roads throughout Summerville.

The town acquired 90 pieces of property in order to make the project possible with the first of four major projects of the extension being Maple Street, which will be widened from two lanes to four to reduce traffic and improve safety in the area.

The project does not just include Maple Street, but intersection improvements at US-78 adding turn lanes on all approaches, installation of a traffic signal at West Richardson Avenue and new alignment from West Richardson to Parsons Road where it will transition from three lanes to two lanes at the Parsons Road connection.

Summerville Director of Public Works and Town Engineer Russ Cornette has been with the project since the beginning. He says he’s really happy to see the project get approved for construction.

“I think this is the largest purchase order the town of Summerville has ever approved,” Cornette says. “The towns and cities the size of Summerville don’t take on large projects like this; this is kind of a unique situation.”

The cost of the project, including construction engineering and inspection services, will be funded by the Town of Summerville’s Mid-Town Tax Increment Finance District funds up to $11 million Dorchester County Sales Tax Referendum Funds will fund the remaining cost.

“The project purpose is to reduce traffic congestion and improve safety and that whole corridor anytime you have that many cars, taking up that little space that’s there, you’re going to have accidents and we’ve seen that the past four years,” Cornette says. “That extra lanes extra capacity will help congestion and get people moving a little more freely than they are now.”

Construction on the Maple Street Extension project starts in April or May of 2023 with the goal of completion being in the spring of 2025.

“The Maple Street extension project will help alleviate traffic congestion and improve safety,” says Summerville Mayor Ricky Waring. “I am grateful for the support from our agency partners and the Dorchester County voters who supported the transportation sales tax referendum that helped fund this project.”

For further details on the Maple Street Extension project, visit project page on the Town of Summerville’s website.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Two new retail shops are ready to launch in a Target-anchored shopping center in North Charleston.

“Opening soon” and “Now hiring” signs are posted in front of Advance Auto Parts and Popshelf in North Rivers Towne Center at 7250 Rivers Ave.

They are splitting a formerly 31,433-square-foot vacant space next to a recently opened Buy Buy Baby store. The retail center is owned by LBX Investments of Los Angeles.

Popshelf is a new concept from Dollar General that offers home furnishings, party items, toys and beauty products. It’s geared toward the suburban shopper with a household income between $50,000 and $125,000, higher than Dollar General’s lower-income targeted customers.

Opening dates for the new stores have not been announced.

Tool time

Tool giant Harbor Freight plans to set up shop in Summerville.

The Calabasas, Calif.-based retailer recently signed an extended lease for a 16,000-square-foot structure to be built at 388 E. 5th North St., also known as U.S. Highway 78, about a block south of the Berlin G. Myers Parkway, according to Dorchester County land records.

The 1.43-acre site, owned by Henbell Summerville HFT LLC of Augusta, Ga., sits east of a Spinx convenience store and gas station and next to Sawmill Branch. It also abuts a retail center where Planet Fitness and Palmetto State Armory are located.

Harbor Freight’s lease is for 15 years with five five-year renewal options. The agreement also grants the tenant the first right of refusal to purchase the property.

On the way

In northern Mount Pleasant, Red Bird Hospitality Group LLC plans to open a new Bohemian Bull tavern and beer garden in January in a 6,143-square-foot space at 2668 U.S. Highway 17.

The East Cooper franchise location for the bar and grill is the former site of Carrabba’s Italian Grill. It’s also near the newly opened Cabana Burgers & Shakes at 2664 U.S. Highway 17.

Bohemian Bull’s flagship venue is on Folly Road on James Island. Another restaurant is in Greenville, with a new site coming to Mauldin in the Upstate and another in Grapevine, Texas.

What’s cooking?

A Connecticut-based restaurant specializing in rotisserie chicken is close to opening in the Charleston area.

El Pollo Guapo recently applied for its state alcohol license at 1130 Folly Road on James Island where Black Magic Café operated before closing its last Lowcountry location in September after 13 years.

The new restaurant will offer whole roasted chickens, sides, tacos, rice bowls, salads, desserts and other items.

The company’s website says it plans to open by the end of the year and bring a food truck.

Cleaning up

Not one but two car washes are on the way to the Centre Pointe development in North Charleston.

Whistle Express, part of Charlotte-based Magnolia Wash Holdings, is building its first South Carolina location beside Mellow Mushroom on Tanger Outlet Boulevard while Tommy’s Express plans to take over the former Burger King site at Centre Pointe Drive and Tanger Outlet Boulevard near Walmart and Tanger Outlets.

Michigan-based Tommy’s Express has two other locations in the Charleston area on Ashley Phosphate Road in North Charleston and Trolley Road in Summerville. Opening dates have not been announced for either location.

Rolling in

A luxury rental transportation business recently added a second U.S. location in Charleston.

Double Black Transportation has set up an office at 310 Broad St. on the peninsula along with an off-site vehicle lot at 1211 Palm St. in Hanahan.

The company’s other location is in Jackson Hole, Wyo.

Case Resor is the owner of both businesses, which offer party buses for weddings, concerts and other social outings.

SUMMERVILLE — After years of traffic concerns, the town is getting started on a $21 million road project to improve Maple Street.

The road runs from West Richardson Avenue downtown to Nexton Parkway. The project includes widening Maple Street from two to four lanes just east of Shamrock Drive to West Richardson Avenue; adding turn lanes at all approaches to U.S. Highway 78; installing a traffic signal at West Richardson Avenue; and adding a new alignment from West Richardson to Parsons Road, where it will transition from three lanes to two lanes at the Parsons Road connection.

Even mid-morning traffic on Maple Street is notable; it becomes easily congested due to it being a two-way street. If one car needs to turn left, several cars will be held up waiting for the vehicle to turn.

The Maple Street extension has been in the works since 2015 and is one of many road projects the Dorchester County 1 percent sales tax will fund. The tax, which voters elected to continue last year, began in 2004 and has paid for improvements to several roads such as Bacons Bridge Road, S.C. Highway 27 and Patriots Boulevard.

The town of Summerville and Dorchester County are partnering on the project.

Officials said the project will help alleviate congestion in a town beset by traffic concerns as its population has exploded in recent years.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the town’s population has jumped from 27,752 in 2000 to 50,915 in 2020. The Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments projects the 2030 population to exceed 97,000.

“The Maple Street Extension Project will help alleviate traffic congestion and improve safety,” Mayor Ricky Waring said. “I am grateful for the support from our agency partners and the Dorchester County voters who supported the transportation sales tax referendum that helped fund this project.”

Up to $11 million of the project — including construction and engineering/inspection — will be funded by the town’s midtown tax increment finance district funds. Dorchester County sales tax referendum funds will cover the rest, totaling the construction costs to just under $21 million and engineering costs around $1.2 million.

“This project will be one of the first opportunities the county has to utilize funds made available to us through the continuation of the Transportation Sales Tax,” Dorchester County Council Chairman Todd Friddle said. “The Maple Street Extension Project is a great example of what can be accomplished when we collaborate to improve our community, and we look forward to working together again on future projects.”

Construction will start in April or May, with the goal of completion by spring 2025.