Business is Buzzing

       Cottage Living magazine has named Noisette, the North Charleston community, as one of the Top 10 Neighborhoods for 2008. They say” Today those 3,000 acres-dubbed Noisette after the 19th century botanist- are being reshaped in a massive effort that may indeed result in a model new city, where sustainability and quality of life are the top priorities.” Wow!     The wholly green neighborhood in Noisette, Oak Terrace Preserve, has been named one of the nation’s leading green built community developments. Included in the book “Choosing Green: A Homebuyer’s Guide”, they also honored developments in Atlanta, Wilmington and Florida.

     Travel + Leisure’s readers have bumped Charleston up two spots from last year’s World Best Awards. Rated 4th in the Top 10 Cities, Charleston trailed only New York, San Francisco and Chicago. Charleston Place (#31), the Planters Inn (#57) and the Sanctuary At Kiawah (#76) ranked among the Top 100 Hotels in the continental US and Canada.

     If you’ve been to St Andrews Shopping Center recently the demolition of 70,000 square feet of existing stores has begun. Harris Teeter will build a 52,000 square foot store in the 50 year old shopping center. Home Depot has announced a new southeastern supply center will be built near Dixiana, mid state.

       Revitalization experts from Main Street South Carolina and the National Trust Main Street Center will be assessing the downtown Summerville area at the beginning of the month. They will present a plan to enhance the historic downtown area with the accent on historic.

     Speaking of revitalizing an area, Jafza International’s plans for a logistics, distribution and manufacturing center east of I 95 near 301 will be bringing about 10,000 jobs to the area. Already the area is beginning to see a construction boom. A gated community on the shores of Lake Marion in Clarendon county has begun selling homesites in anticipation. Across the lake, Orangeburg county is bracing for an explosion of construction with land acquisition already underway.   

     With new development comes the need for roads. Charleston County’s Roadwise Program has hired seven interns to work with engineering companies that have county road projects. It’s your half cent sales tax at work.

     Clemson has been recognized as a Center for Excellence for Watershed Management by the EPA. It’s the third center to be designated in the southeast.

     The Medical University has been named by the US News and World Report as one of the country’s best hospitals in the treatment of digestive and respiratory disorders. MUSC has also announced it will be the site of a new center for stem cell research. This could position our state as a bioengineering and biomedical leader.

Business is Buzzing

Continental Terminals has announced plans to lease aclose to 250,000square foot food-grade warehouse in jedburg just off I-26 to serve as a holding area for coffee coming in from the tropics to the new Starbucks roasting facility in St. Matthews about 60 miles away. The roasting facility will serve the southeast and hopefully will smell divine. Read more »

It’s BIG News…as of 5/1 we’re Carolina One

Spring is all about change and we’re making a big one.

As of 5/1, we are no longer Prudential but will be reborn as Carolina One Real Estate, an independent company with more flexibility to change with the market. Our local franchise is one of the top 50 real estate companies in the country.

Carolina One will be working hand in hand with 700 major companies located in 38 different countries, forming the #1 real estate network worldwide.

But, as always what’s really important is my relationship with you.

I can’t imagine finding any other company that has the services in place to help me help you. Whether it’s the backing from our in house Marketing or IT departments, relocation services or our new homes division, having a full service company behind me allows me to do more for you.

Join me in welcoming our new brand. It’s an exciting time for us and it sure is nice to generate some positive real estate news in the media!

No Capital Gains Tax for 10% or 15% income tax brackets!!!

The words Capital Gains Tax  loom large in the mind of anyone contemplating selling investment property. Read more »

Good news and bad news from the Lender

 We’ve gotten some good news and some bad news from the lending department today. Read more »

Just when you thought it was safe…

I’m no accountant but it’s nice to know ahead of time that some things will save you money and some things are going to cost you.

10 Tax Changes for the Next Tax Year –  2008 from Realtor magazine* Read more »

Jafza coming to Charleston

And for some business news…You remember that Jafza, the Dubai based group, purchased 1,300 acres near Orangeburg. They have decide to make their North American headquarters in Charleston near the SC Aquarium. They plan to launch their $600 million U.S. logistics and business park on the Orangeburg tract in 2009 or early 2010. The park will include light manufacturing, warehousing and distribution facilities and create 8,000-10,000 jobs. (Charleston Business Journal)