In Charleston, Beer Gets Its Own Neighborhood – The New York Times
“Here in “The Neck,” where seven breweries have opened within a short bike ride of each other in just the last three years, serendipity is celebrated, dogs and children are welcome, and you can come as you are.
We recently set out to survey all seven new breweries, most of the food options, and a few of the entertainments in Charleston’s Brewery District, and can report that time spent here is refreshing in every sense of the word.”
Matt and Ted Lee ventured through the swiftly evolving brewing scene of Charleston’s upper peninsula landscape, and even took the opportunity to visit the new skate park, Sk8 Charleston, which flanks the beer district area, “offering sweeping marsh and Ashley River views to those who aren’t dropping into the park’s two polished-concrete bowls.”
Read more about their journey through Charleston’s beer gardens and tap rooms here.
Photo Credit: Hunter McRae, New York Times.
Plans Move Forward for Magnolia Development. Live 5 News.
Plans Move Forward for Magnolia Development
Monday, January 11, 2016, Mayoral Inauguration
Charleston came together to celebrate the swearing in of Mayor, John Tecklenburg.
HISTORIC SECESSIONVILLE
John Tecklenburg Wins Charleston Mayoral Election
Congratulations to our friend and colleague, John Tecklenburg, on his win in the City of Charleston’s Mayoral election!
John will replace Mayor Joe Riley, whom held office for 40 years and ten terms. All of us at Clement, Crawford & Thornhill, where John has practiced commercial real estate for over fourteen years are confident John will make an exceptional Mayor of the City of Charleston. We are proud to know John, and look forward to working with him in his new position to help further his vision to put our quality of life first.
“As mayor, I will work every day to make our city more livable, our government more responsive and our municipal services more professional. I will ensure that all areas of the city — West Ashley, James Island, John’s Island, Daniel Island and the Peninsula — get the respect and attention they deserve. And I will never forget that being mayor of Charleston is not about politics — it’s about serving the people who call this special city home.” – John Tecklenburg
CC&T Wins Sweetgrass Award
Clement, Crawford & Thornhill recently received a Sweetgrass Award in the 2015 Green Business Challenge. We are honored to be among so many local businesses, both large and small, taking the initiative to reduce waste, energy use, water and more, while promoting environmental sustainability. We also invite you to join us in the fifth Green Business Challenge year! For more information on this yearly challenge, visit the City of Charleston’s, Charleston Green Business Challenge web page. There you can register, as well as get tips and training to keep Charleston the beautiful, liveable and sustainable city that it is!
The Hyatt at Midtown
SC Ports announce huge container volume growth
SC Ports Announces 14% Container Volume Growth
Breakbulk tonnage exceeds plans by 6 percent; Inland Port achieves record rail moves
CHARLESTON, SC – Container volumes increased 14 percent during SC Ports Authority’s 2015 fiscal year, building upon several previous years of above-market growth with strength across all business segments.
“2015 was a memorable year for SC Ports Authority,” said SCPA president and CEO Jim Newsome. “We reached near-record levels of containerized cargo and saw strong volume and good diversification of the breakbulk sector. From an operations perspective, highlights of this year include handling the highest ever month of pier containers in May and Inland Port rail moves in June, all while delivering high reliability and logistics efficiencies for our customers.”
SCPA handled 1.9 million twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) during the fiscal year that ended June 30, a jump of 231,473 TEUs from the 2014 fiscal year. June volumes provided a strong finish to FY2015 with 169,913 TEUs moved during the month.
Pier containers, or box volume, also climbed 14 percent in FY2015 with 138,221 more boxes handled compared to FY2014. SCPA moved 96,916 boxes in June, pushing total fiscal year volume to 1.1 million containers.
“I’m extremely proud of the significant growth we achieved this fiscal year,” said Bill Stern, SCPA Board Chairman. “The SCPA’s continued success is rooted in the leadership of our strong Board, a talented CEO and senior staff, and support from a productive maritime community.”
Strong fundamentals played a key role in the above-market growth of SCPA’s containerized cargo segment. Amidst progress of the Panama Canal expansion and the Bayonne Bridge raising, big ships have transitioned to East Coast trade routes, and SCPA currently receives 11 post-Panamax vessel calls each week. Manufacturing in the Southeast remains strong, and SCPA provides the deep water required to handle ships fully-loaded with heavy exports. The booming automotive sector in the Southeast also supported both import and export volume gains.
Successful recruitment of discretionary cargo played a key role in SCPA’s above-market growth as well. A competitive, broad-based rail market with ample capacity has made SCPA the port of choice for cargo produced beyond the Southeast region, including plastics from the US Gulf and agricultural products from the Midwest. Volume gains of agricultural exports were also driven by local industries such as SC-grown soybeans, whose export volume doubled during the last fiscal year.
“Fiscal year 2015 was marked by a number of exciting economic development announcements representing future volume opportunities for SCPA, including Daimler, Kent Bicycle, Volvo, and most recently, Dollar Tree,” Newsome said. “The port’s ability to serve these companies’ supply chains played a key role in their decision to locate or expand in SC. Our strategic initiative to grow our cargo base is paying off.”
In the non-containerized cargo segment, breakbulk tonnage exceeded fiscal year planned volumes by 6 percent with 1.4 million pier tons handled during the year. Georgetown moved 548,933 tons during the period, while Charleston handled 871,974 tons. Roll-on/roll-off cargo within the breakbulk sector grew significantly, and SCPA achieved the highest finished vehicle volume ever handled at the Columbus Street Terminal. In FY2015, 253,338 vehicles moved across SCPA docks, an increase of 15 percent over the previous record of 219,900 vehicles in FY2008.
Monthly volumes peaked at the Inland Port in June, with 6,736 rail moves handled during the month. The terminal’s first full fiscal year of operations concluded with 58,407 rail moves, which surpasses initial annual volumes projected five years into terminal operations.
In the fiscal year ahead, SCPA expects to continue to grow above the US port market average and focus on increasing revenues to fund its capital projects, including the construction of the Navy Base container terminal by the end of the decade. FY2016 will also be a significant year for deepening the Charleston Harbor to 52 feet, with the Chief’s Report expected in September while the Preconstruction Engineering and Design phase is ongoing, followed by construction.
176 Concord Street, P.O. Box 22287, Charleston, SC 29413-2287
Contact: Erin Dhand, Public Relations Manager
Telephone: 843-577-8121 • Fax: 843-577-8127 • e-mail: EDhand@scspa.com
Digital Corridor receives approval for Flagship3 plans
The BAR gave conceptual approval to the design of Flagship3, which will be located right at the entrance to our Laurel Island property! We love seeing the growth of the tech industry in our backyard.
By Liz Segrist
lsegrist@scbiznews.com
Published Sept. 11, 2014
The Charleston Digital Corridor’s Flagship3 development is headed toward final approval following a vote Wednesday by the city’s Board of Architectural Review.
The board approved the conceptual designs of the four-story, mixed-use building planned for 999 Morrison Drive in downtown Charleston.
The newest flagship space would offer offices for startups similar to Flagship1 and Flagship2; it would also offer some longer-term space for more established, high-growth companies with up to 50 employees, according to Ernest Andrade, the corridor’s executive director.
Andrade expects the project to be fully financed by local tech entrepreneurs and tech companies. He expects construction to begin this fall.
Flagship3 will be around 45,000 square feet, more than twice the combined size of Flagships 1 and 2, along Calhoun and Alexander streets.
Rush Dixon of Rush Dixon Architect presented the design plans for the Flagship3 to the board. Dixon pointed out design changes based on the board’s prior recommendations, including a more simplified roof layout and elements more similar to Charleston’s architecture and style.
For the entryway, Dixon took inspiration from unique corner entrances on buildings around Charleston. He also worked to include designs that emulate “technology and energy in motion.”
The board debated the materials that would be used and the use of vertical windows. Several board members spoke in favor of the design changes, noting that the building needs a few more minor tweaks before final approval.
“You came a long way by simplifying concepts but keeping true to your ideas and original concept,” board member Janette Alexander said. “The look is much more palpable and cleaner now.”
Rush Dixon representatives will take the board’s comments and make further revisions before going back to the board for preliminary and final approvals. The Digital Corridor is also working on the design for the parking garage as well as financing for the project.
The Flagship3 and an adjoining parking lot will be the anchor tenant for the city of Charleston’s planned 10-acre Charleston Innovation District along Morrison Drive. The city and the corridor want to create a place for tech companies and startups to cluster in high-density, mixed-use developments.
The tech district includes 999 and 995 Morrison Drive. Charleston County owns 995 Morrison Drive and houses administrative buildings there.
Charleston City Council voted unanimously in July to allow buildings up to 85 feet in the tech overlay district. This vote increased the previous height restriction of 55 feet to accommodate the 76-foot tall Flagship3.
The city is also working on a new master plan for about 860 acres north of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge to accommodate a growing population. In addition to the tech district, plans call for a mix of housing options at different price points, mixed-use developments, office space, public transit, more bike lanes and parks.
Andrade said the city’s passage of the tech overlay district and height allowance show “a public-private partnership at its best.”
“There is a lot of work ahead, but today, the BAR affirmed that we will lead the creation of a 21st-century district of ‘modern architecture’ to complement the city’s historic core while accelerating Charleston’s high-wage, tech community,” Ernest said in an email after the meeting.
Charleston Hotel Industry Continues to Succeed
Great news for Charleston’s hotel industry! Thank you to the Charleston Visitors Bureau for sending us this report.
Impressive Year-to-Date Hotel Numbers
August has historically seen visitation drop off noticeably around the middle of the month. This decrease has generally coincided with school start dates across South Carolina and our adjacent states. This year we did not see the decrease that we’ve come to expect, which resulted in a very strong August and equally impressive year-to-date numbers. In fact, Charleston County hotels sold approximately 18,500 more roomnights in August 2014 than in August 2013!
Every submarket saw increases in room nights sold, occupancy, ADR and RevPAR. The county realized a 5.4% increase in room nights sold, which netted a 5.2% increase in occupancy of 76.4%. The average daily rate increased by 8.9% to $134.10, while RevPAR increased an impressive 14.5% to $102.48. The Charleston and North Charleston submarkets enjoyed double digit percentage growth in room nights sold, while East of the Cooper turned in a fourth consecutive month of double digit growth in ADR.
Year to date, countywide room nights sold are up 4.2%, occupancy is up 4.1% (76.9%) and the ADR is up 6.4% to $137.02. This yielded an impressive 10.8% increase in RevPAR of $106.75. Charleston County has now had year-over-year ADR increases for 44 consecutive months and RevPAR increases for 25 out of the last 26 months.
