Chiropractic Care in Nexton, SC

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At the mid-year point, South Carolina boasts three of the top-selling 50 master-planned communities in the U.S.

RCLCO Real Estate Consulting ranked Cane Bay Plantation in Berkeley County at No. 5 with 525 sales during the first six months of 2022. That’s down 9 percent from last year’s midpoint.

Nexton, also in Berkeley, came in at No. 22 with with 308 sales, down 5 percent from the first six months of last year.

Latitude Margaritaville in Hardeeville near Hilton Head Island ranked No. 39 with 234 sales, down 29 percent from last year from January through June.

The top-selling, master-planned community continues to be The Villages, between Ocala and Orlando, Fla. It had about 1,500 sales, down 25 percent from last year at the midpoint.

Almost all of the top 50 are in the southern tier of states. Texas posted the most with 20, Florida landed 15, Nevada had four, California and Arizona saw three each, and Utah and Washington state notched one each.

Total new home sales among the 50 top-selling master-planned communities declined by 18 percent in the first half of 2022 compared to the same time period last year, according to RCLCO.

“Supply chain issues and inadequate new home inventory have continued to pose problems for developers, as price increases and interest rate hikes have begun to impact traffic from potential buyers in recent months,” RCLCO said in its mid-year report.

Nationally, the average price among all new single-family homes is up 15 percent since mid-2021.

“The results of this updated mid-year report confirm that supply chain disruptions continue to have an impact on the ability of master-planned communities to meet new home demand, though climbing interest rates and price appreciation??????? have begun to have an impact on that demand, at least in the near-term,” said RCLCO principal Karl Pischke.

“However, it is important not to overreact to the slowing of sales seen over the last year, as these are still short-term trends,” he said.

“The long-term future of the for-sale housing industry, as evidenced by favorable demographic tailwinds, is strong,” Pischke said. “And the future of master-planned communities, particularly in their ability to capture an outsized share of buyer demand during uncertain or difficult economic times, provides another reason for optimism.”

An affiliate of King and Society Real Estate of Charleston bought the 1.5-acre parcel in 2019 for $1.25 million and plans to open a 38-room new lodging??????? with a restaurant and other amenities on the edge of Beresford Creek.

4427: Address on Spruill Avenue in North Charleston for a new alcohol-making business called Wind & Waves??????? Brewing.

28,200: Square footage of new Buy Buy Baby store soon to open in North Charleston. It’s the company’s second store in South Carolina.

5,703: Square footage of new sports bar The Natural coming to Johns Island, tentatively in mid-August.

+ Sold: The historic Two Meeting Street Inn changed hands earlier this month for nearly $7.7M. It’s had just two previous owners in its 131-year history.

+ The scoop: Jeni’s Splendid Ice Creams plans to open a second Charleston-area venue in Mount Pleasant Towne Centre.

+ Breaking ground: Charleston kicks off work on $42 million affordable senior housing complex??????? at former Archer School.

Developers Capital Square and Method Co. plan to open the 50-room ROOST Apartment Hotel??????? by early 2024 at the site of the former Dixie Furniture Store at 529 King St. in downtown Charleston.

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There’s been no shortage of news over the past 30 months about office vacancies. In large gateway cities, office occupancies fell dramatically during the pandemic as staffs found they could work from home. Moreover, occupancies have remained stubbornly low, as employers and staff faced off over remote work.

Though the weeks since Labor Day have seen a number of firms’ employees return to in-office mode, many corporate tenants in the nation’s biggest office markets are downsizing to considerably less space.

But let’s pause before assuming the well-reported empty office is the ubiquitous norm. In an assortment of cities in the Southeast U.S., the opposite trend has taken hold. Developers and communities in Alabama and South Carolina, for instance, have noted growing tenant interest in office space, particularly in high-end office buildings.

No vacancies

The Jasper, a luxury 12-story, mixed-use structure in the historic downtown district of Charleston, S.C., features 75,000 square feet of AAA office space, as well as 25,000 square feet of first-floor retail space and 219 luxury multifamily units. All spaces in The Beach Company building, which touts its riverside geography, are currently filled.

The Range, situated within a designated Opportunity Zone in the western end of downtown Huntsville, Ala., not far from acclaimed restaurants, museums and parks, is a commercial office development offering three floors and 49,000 square feet of Class A commercial office space. Walking a fine line between big-city office environments and those with a small-town vibe, The Range offers pedestrian-friendly access to a variety of the Rocket City’s most popular dining, retail and entertainment options. That may be why it recently welcomed two new corporate tenants, Eyecare Partners and Bridgeworth Financial Services.

“People are leaving western and northeastern markets for small and mid-sized Southern cities like Huntsville,” says J.C. Darby, development manager at The Beach Company. “In the past decade Huntsville has become Alabama’s No. 1 city with the addition of thousands of jobs and billions of dollars in investment from companies like Mazda, Toyota, The Boeing Company and Remington, all things The Beach Company looks for when scouting development sites.

“The Range is equidistant to the Interstate and all of Huntsville’s economic drivers, including the medical district, Cummings Research Park, NASA’s Space Flight Center and Redstone Arsenal. And we are predicting occupancy growth as a result of this, its walkability and the structure’s distinctive modern design.”

Near job hubs

Meanwhile, demand for office space sparked the development of two new office buildings in Nexton, a master-planned Summerville, S.C. community situated near the region’s top employers, including Volvo and Boeing. One, Atelier Downtown Nexton, offers two-story buildings featuring 2,500 to 18,000-square-foot spaces in a campus like setting where office structures are connected by walking trails.

Developed by Sharbell Development Corp. of New Jersey, the development is the latest within the live-work-play milieu of Downtown Nexton. “The Southeastern U.S. has appealed to Sharbell for years, especially South Carolina, due to its population and job growth, as well as its burgeoning diversity,” says the company’s Thomas Troy.

“Many companies are relocating to the South in search of lower costs and higher quality of life for employees, and our developments reflect that shift.”

Not to be outdone, Workplace at Nexton, a Class A office park within the community, offers 3,000 to 20,000-square-foot spaces, and connectivity to Nexton’s residential side. Residents can walk to Nexton Square’s shopping, hotel and other commercial businesses. Workplace at Nexton’s office spaces had all been claimed before construction was completed, and there’s been no attrition.

“Garden office space with minimal shared common spaces, private entrances and outdoor parks have become the gold standard for commercial leasing in the Charleston, S.C. region,” says Cassie Cataline, Nexton director of marketing.

“Leasing interest for Workplace at Nexton was so great we are developing additional commercial campuses, such as The Hub, to provide office, retail and medical space to address this demand.”

Tatum here. Did you know there’s a new Viva Chicken location in Nexton? If you love chicken, Peruvian food, or exploring Nexton’s restaurant scene, this spot should be on your radar.

Viva Chicken is a Peruvian rotisserie chicken joint whose co-founder is from Peru. The menu includes bowls, salads, sandwiches, and rotisserie chicken or pollo a la brasa.

I recently got to check out the new location in Summerville. Keep reading for insider tips (read: what to order) + discover how you can Try This.

What we tried (with pricing):

I tried the quarter chicken with yuca + plantains ($9.55), the maracuya juice ($3.25), and a churro ($3.50). My pollo a la brasa was crisped to perfection + I got the huacatay sauce for a bit of a kick.

When I bit into the yuca (which is like a potato) I thought I’d fried + gone to heaven. Pro tip: Dip the yuca in the huancaina cheese sauce or pair it with maracuya for a sweet and tangy complement.

What not to miss:

If you’re craving pollo, order the quarter, half, or whole chicken with sides like cilantro rice, green beans, and plantains. The chicken is charcoal-fired + marinated in spices.

The eatery has plenty of healthy options like the Andina Power Food or the Inca Wrap. Plus, the menu is 70% vegetarian with the option to add a protein.

Choose from three sauces (all made in-house daily):

And wet your whistle with one of three signature juices:

What we’re still talking about: I learned that Viva Chicken partnered with No Kid Hungry and donates 50 cents for every churro sold. Talk about a win-win.

Also, the outdoor patio was the perfect spot to eat. If it’s a nice day, order on the app ahead of time + enjoy your food in the sunshine. ??

How you can experience this:

There are several ways to get your fix — order through the Viva Chicken App, online, curbside, in-store, or over the phone. Pro tip: Download the app, make an account + start earning VivaPoints. Earn 750 points to reach Aji Status and receive $5 off, 2,000 points to reach Haucatay Status and receive $7.50 off, and 3,500 points to reach Rocoto Status and receive $10 off.

Getting there: After turning left onto Nexton Square Drive, turn left again when you see Poogan’s Southern Kitchen + Viva Chicken is up ahead. Luckily, there’s plenty of parking.

Things to know if you go:

The company that’s building out a master-planned community in Berkeley County that’s as large as the Charleston peninsula is set to come under new ownership.

California-based Brookfield Residential announced this week that it is acquiring Newland, the developer of the 5,000-acre mixed-use Nexton neighborhood between Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 176 near Summerville.

The sale of San Diego-based Newland, which is involved in 20 large master-planned projects around the country, is expected to be finalized June 1.

Financial terms were not disclosed.

A Nexton spokeswoman declined to comment on the pending sale.

“No major, significant operational changes are expected,” said Brookfield spokeswoman Krista Ellingson.

She said the company’s specialty is supplying homes and lots in constrained real estate markets such as Charleston, where a scarcity of homes on the market has dropped to less than a one-month supply, triggering bidding wars and pushing up prices.

“We just aren’t a homebuilder, we invest in land to build homes and sell to homebuilders,” Ellingson said. “We want to show our partners that we are in it with them.”

Bob McLeod, Newland’s executive chairman, said the Brookfield deal “will provide more opportunities for the continued development of additional mixed-use masterplans well into the future as well as give us significant additional vertical development opportunities.”

As of this week, Nexton has 1,266 occupied single-family homes in four subdivisions — Brighton Park, Del Webb, Midtown and North Creek. About 200 more are under development within the neighborhoods.

Nexton also has about 900 finished apartments in three complexes, with another 600 rental units on the way.

When build-out is completed in about 10 years, Nexton will have about 7,000 residences with about 17,500 residents. That will make it roughly equal to the current populations of Moncks Corner and Georgetown combined.

Brookfield Residential currently has no real estate operations in the Palmetto State. The Newland acquisition will expand its footprint to eight new markets, including Charleston, Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington in the Carolinas, and five other areas where both companies have projects in the works.

Last year, Brookfield’s revenue from home and land sales was $1.74 billion, about $200 million less than in 2019, mainly because of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the company’s annual report.

During the first three months of 2021, total revenue topped $444 million, about 30 percent more than the first quarter last year, when the coronavirus began to spread throughout the overall economy.

Costa Mesa, Calif.-based Brookfield Residential is part of Canada’s Brookfield Asset Management, which oversees investment totaling $600 billion and is headquartered in Toronto.

Newland oversees the development of the Nexton tract for North America Sekisui House LLC. NASH, a subsidiary of Japan’s largest homebuilder, bought the property in 2017 from paper maker WestRock Co.’s former real estate division for $90 million.

Contributing Writer

The local master planned community named the best in the nation has begun work on another phase, on the way to 7,500 residences. This new phase of the Nexton community in Summerville and Berkeley County is expected to add apartments for rent, hotel, office space and 150,000 square feet of shopping and dining space when it is completely built out over the next five to seven years.

Nexton has sold nearly 24 acres to Charlotte-based Crosland Southeast, which plans to develop the new One Nexton segment in multiple phases, starting this coming summer. The first phase of One Nexton will include 351 new apartments and 37,500 square feet of retail space anchored by a Publix supermarket.

One Nexton is consistent with the mixed-use development philosophy of the larger Nexton community, which sits between Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 176 and was named the “Master-Planned Community of the Year” in 2021 by the National Association of Homebuilders.

Nexton sold 456 homes in 2020 and another 576 in 2021 to earn a spot on the RCLCO Real Estate Advisors list of fastest-growing planned communities. More than 1,800 homes currently comprise greater Nexton, including 250 under construction.

Located at the northeast corner of Brighton Park Boulevard and Nexton Parkway, the first phase of One Nexton will break ground in the summer and is expected to be complete in the fall of 2024.

“One Nexton illustrates that Nexton continues to be a national leader in modern community design,” said Brent Gibadlo, vice president and general manager of Nexton. “By fostering thoughtful commercial and residential growth along Charleston’s I-26 growth corridor, we can provide everything our residents want and need while cutting down on commute times and improving quality of life by allowing them to live, work and play and shop all within a short walk or drive from their homes.”

One Nexton will include green space, parks and trails that connect to the rest of Nexton. The master plan for the entire Nexton development calls for 50 miles of walking/biking trails; 2,000 of the total 5,000 acres set aside for woodlands, wetlands and open space; and 400 acres of office, commercial and retail.

One Nexton is the latest phase of the community, built one section at a time over the past decade. Originally developed by WestRock, the real estate company that was formed from lumber giant MeadWestvaco. Today, the development is under development by Brookfield Residential, which acquired the previous developer, Newland, last year.

Nexton’s previous phase to begin development was Midtown, five districts built around a central area of shops, restaurants and a wellness center complete with tennis center, lap pool, yoga studio and more. That followed on the heels last year of Downtown Nexton, 100 acres between Sigma Drive and Brighton Park offering the same amenities and walkability.