Women's Clothing Boutique in Mix Historic Charleston, SC

CHARLESTON, SC - Quarterra Multifamily, a subsidiary of Lennar Corporation and a vertically integrated multifamily apartment builder, developer and asset manager, announced the opening of Cormac Apartments. Cormac is a mixed-use apartment community on Charleston's upper peninsula and represents the first joint venture between QMF and Cresset Partners and was capitalized in their Cresset Diversified Qualified Opportunity Zone (QOZ) Fund I.

Cormac, featuring 303 apartment homes and 13,068 square feet of retail space, as well as a pair of public ground level courtyards – offers an unprecedented level of modern living to the rapidly growing North Morrison "NoMo" district. The mid-rise community's unique and enviable location puts residents within easy reach of employment centers and dining options, as well as entertainment and sporting venues. It also provides prime access to Downtown Charleston, Mt. Pleasant, Park Circle in North Charleston, and West Ashley.

"Cormac represents a significant step in the evolution of Charleston's Upper Peninsula district, bringing an element of sophistication through next-level living and retail opportunities," said Beach Corontzes, development manager for Quarterra. "The Upper Peninsula has become a destination dining and nightlife locale, not to mention a coveted neighborhood to call home. We're excited to welcome residents and help to accelerate the surging momentum in the neighborhood."

Situated at 1310 Meeting Street Road, Cormac is central to regional employment, shopping, dining and entertainment options. The retail shops at King Street, East Bay Street, Historic Charleston City Market, West Edge and Mt. Pleasant Town Center are all within a short drive. Local hot spots such as Butcher & Bee, Edmund's Oast Brewing Company, Home Team BBQ, Revelry Brewing and Brewlab Charleston are just blocks away. Cormac residents also find themselves in close proximity to several local attractions such as The Refinery, Pacific Box & Crate, and The Wonderer.

Cormac's location on Meeting Street Road (U.S. Highway 52), is less than a quarter mile from Interstate 26, and approximately 1 mile from Ravenel Bridge – which leads to Mt. Pleasant – creating exceptional connectivity to employment centers in Downtown, Mt. Pleasant and North Charleston. Residents have access to a controlled-access three-story above-grade parking facility, as well as on-street parking and 19 electric vehicle charging stations.

The community features studio, one- and two-bedroom apartment homes, highlighted by Nest smart thermostats, keyless entry and stainless-steel Whirlpool appliances. Custom cabinetry, quartz or granite countertops, hardwood-inspired flooring and pendant lighting is featured in two distinct design schemes. Homes are equipped with tile backsplashes and under-cabinet lighting in kitchens, and baths come with oversized tubs or walk-in showers with full tile surrounds.

Residents also enjoy a full amenity lineup which includes an eighth-floor rooftop terrace complete with butler kitchen and spectacular views of Downtown Charleston and the Ravenel Bridge. The fourth-floor features three elevated courtyards – one of which is highlighted by a resort-style pool and clubhouse. The clubhouse is home to multiple coworking spaces. A state-of-the-art fitness center, a bike storage room, package lockers, rentable storage spaces are at residents' disposal, as well.

Source: Quarterra Multifamily

WASHINGTON, DC - TM Associates, United Planning Organization (UPO), and Gilbane Building Company were joined by the Department of Housing and Community development (DHCD), Department of Human Services (DHS), DC Housing Finance Agency (DCHFA), partners, and community members to announce the grand...

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — UPDATE (6/4/23): A spokesperson for Charleston Animal Society confirms that Mika was one of 15 dogs adopted from the shelter on Saturday.

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ORIGINAL: A viral social media creator visited the Lowcountry on Saturday to give a 7-year-old shelter dog at Charleston Animal Society a day of fun filled with treats, pup cups, and bike taxi rides around downtown Charleston.

After 7 years in his owner's care, Mika was surrendered to the Charleston Animal Society.

Johnathan – creator of @aguyandagolden on TikTok – visited the Lowcountry to give the 7-year-old Golden Retriever-Husky mix a much-needed pick-me-up.

We went there to break him out, and every dog barked as we passed their kennel, except for him," Johnathan said. "He was sad and lonely, and our goal was to give him the best day ever and break him out of his shell.

The day started out with some pup cups and treats followed by a visit to Pet Smart to pick out some brand-new toys. Mika also got fitted for a new collar complete with a special-made dog tag.

After more treats, Johnathan and Mika took a tour downtown on a bike taxi, visited a local bakery and taco shop, and wrapped up their day with a walk by the water before returning to the shelter.

Currently, Charleston Animal Society is facing a life-threatening emergency due to the number of dogs in its care and is asking for help from the community to adopt dogs like Mika.

The shelter is offering free adoptions for dogs over the age of 1 this weekend.

"We’re at a breaking point and we urgently need the public to adopt a homeless dog this weekend,” said Charleston Animal Society Vice President of Operations and Strategy Aldwin Roman, CAWA.

Charleston Animal Society is open Saturdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and from noon to 5 p.m. during the week.

To view adoptable pets, visit CharlestonAnimalSociety.org/Adopt.

About AGuyandAGolden

Johnathan and his dog, Teddy, first gained traction on TikTok while constructing Teddy's doghouse.

Nearly 6 million followers later, the duo are continuing to make people laugh with videos coming out several times each week.

While much of the content featured on the channel is light-hearted and geared toward comedy, Johnathan and Teddy decided to start a series called "Shelter Dog Saturday" in which they take a shelter dog out for a day to lift their spirits and attempt to get them adopted.

We’re following up on our new and coming soon businesses story with a guide to development terminology. Check out these definitions of common terms paired with ongoing projects and examples you might recognize in the Holy City.

These are projects that provide more than one purpose in the community, like a building with apartments on top and shops on the bottom. Expect to see combinations of housing and commercial components.

Think: Proposed plans for the Union Pier redevelopment, which feature a mixed-use neighborhood with housing, hotel rooms, civic spaces, and public parks.

This changes an area of land from the city’s designated use. Examples of rezoning requests include developers looking to build a high-rise in a neighborhood with a height restriction or open a business in an area marked residential.

Think: Zoning changes approved by the City of Charleston Planning Commission for a proposed luxury hotel on Meeting Street where the Days Inn used to be. (The Post and Courier)

PUD stands for Planned Unit Development, or land planned and developed according to an approved master plan. Developers work with local government to determine how the land will be used.

Think: Union Pier. The project’s PUD application was reviewed by the city. The approval process includes review by the Technical Review Committee, Planning Commission, and City Council.

Opportunity Zones are a federal program in South Carolina that encourage private investments in low-income communities through tax incentives, bringing jobs and economic development to these areas.

Example: Use this map to search Opportunity Zones in South Carolina.

This type of path is separate from vehicular traffic and may be used by pedestrians, bicyclists, skaters, joggers, and other non-motorized users.

Think: A county project is underway on James Island to build a 10-ft-wide multi-use path along Riverland Drive to the Lowcountry Senior Center, with work set to continue through September.

This is a building made for and occupied by one family. They can be attached, meaning they share a wall or walls with another one-family dwelling, or detached, meaning they are freestanding.

Example: Row houses on the peninsula are one-family attached dwellings.

This is a building that contains multiple housing units.

Think: Apartment buildings and residential condominiums.

Principal use is the primary or predominant function of a property.

Example: Living in a home within a residential zone is the principal use.

This is the use of a property that is subordinate or incidental to the principal use.

Example: The garage or shed on your home property may be labeled an accessory use.

The Aiken Corporation is moving forward with the plan to construct a building that could house a Savannah River National Laboratory workforce development center in downtown Aiken.

Aiken Corporation issued a request for qualifications Tuesday seeking architectural and engineering services for the building.

What is a request for qualifications?

A request for qualifications is a document where an entity like the Aiken Corporation looks for qualified companies that are interested in performing the work.

Wait a minute. I though the Savannah River National Laboratory would be making the decisions on the building. Or maybe it was the city of Aiken. How did the Aiken Corporation get involved?

In January, then Mayor Pro Tempore Ed Woltz announced initial plans that implied a building in downtown Aiken would be constructed and occupied by Savannah River National Laboratory.

But, in reality, the South Carolina General Assembly allocated $20 million to an unspecified governmental entity to construct a building in which the Savannah River National Laboratory could lease space for a workforce development center.

And the leadership at the national lab decided they would like to lease space in a building in downtown Aiken.

Thus, the city of Aiken sought and received the $20 million to construct a mixed-use building downtown in which the national lab could lease space on the top two floors.

At some unknown point in this process, the Aiken Corporation became involved when it contracted with McMillan Pazdan Smith for a feasibility study on the potential of constructing a building in downtown Aiken.

At a February public forum, K.J. Jacobs of McMillan Pazdan presented the feasibility study to be conducted as an evaluation of the Holley House and Warneke Cleaners site for the building.

But – without notifying the public – the study was expanded to include four other sites: the parking lot next to the Municipal Building; the former location of the Busbee, Hunter and Bodenheimer law firm on Newberry Street; the former Department of Public Safety headquarters on Laurens Street; and the old Aiken County Hospital.

The Aiken Corporation met this fall and recommended the Busbee, Hunter and Bodenheimer law firm site to Aiken City Council, thus completing the feasibility study and ending the formal role of the Aiken Corporation on the project.

Is that where the building will be located?

It is too early to tell. The Aiken City Council has not yet acted on the Aiken Corporation's recommendation.

Also, despite the recommendation, the request for qualifications does not specify a location for the building. Instead, the Aiken Corporation says in the request for qualifications the potential sites have been narrowed to the five evaluated by McMillan Pazdan Smith in the feasibility study.

Hold on. You just said the Aiken Corporation's formal role ended. How did they get involved in this part of the project?

As far as the Aiken Corporation's role in the project, nothing has been formalized.

However, the city is likely working toward an arrangement similar to the Amentum building in which the city owns the building but has executed a 99-year ground lease to the Aiken Corporation to manage the building.

Again, this potential arrangement has never been approved by the Aiken City Council.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - More retail space and hundreds of apartments may soon be coming to the heart of downtown Charleston after the Charleston Board of Architectural Review gave conceptual approval to a proposed mixed-use building.

The building, which could bring around 10,000 square feet of retail and 200 apartments, is part of the planned five-building Courier Square development across from the old Post and Courier headquarters on King Street near Line Street.

Christian Sottile, the lead architect for this building, which is one of several, said it has been in the works for around a decade.

“It will have retail at the street front,” Sottile said. “It will have residential uses above the storefront, and those residential uses will front onto King Street. Some of them will front onto some small gardens and alleys that are within the middle of the block.”

As part of the land’s zoning, the building must either keep 20% of its apartments affordable or pay a comparable fee into the city’s affordable housing fund each year.

Sottile said the structure’s design was created with input from the community through workshops and inspired by King Street’s storefronts.

“It’s not just a presentation of an idea, but we’re actually here working,” Sottile said, “so we draw and discard, test, refine, trying new avenues, so think of it as an open architecture studio.”

Historic Charleston Foundation Properties Manager Justin Schwebler said the inclusion of preservation groups and the community is rare in architecture.

“Creating a sense of ownership that communities can be proud of in the city’s architecture is very important,” he said. “That’s why we value the historic buildings in our city because people feel that sense of ownership.”

Several neighbors said they are not surprised a mixed-use building is planned for the lot, which is currently used as parking.

Schwebler said Charleston is trying to recapture the density it had in the early 20th century.

“It will be important to look for ways that we can increase density and increase livability in our community without necessarily having to create massive apartment buildings like this,” Schwebler said, “but if we’re going to live with large-scale apartment buildings and mixed-use facilities like this, I think this has been a successful project.”

Sottile said they will take the rest of the year to go through two more reviews from the city.

They hope to break ground sometime next year, but a final construction cost has not been announced.

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