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RAVENEL, S.C. (WCBD) – Ravenel leaders discussed Tuesday night plans for a proposed development that has some community members upset.

The proposed development is the Preserve at Ravenel, and community members voiced their opinions on the development before town council voted on the first reading.

Ravenel neighbors gathered in front of Ravenel Town Hall prior to Tuesday’s council meeting to discuss the proposed Preserve at Ravenel development.

“It’s been a very confusing process to all of us as concerned citizens,” Ravenel resident Melissa Barfield said. “So, now we’re just trying to figure out exactly what is going to happen.”

Some residents worry that the 755-acre development that would be located on Davison Road, and include 350 dwelling units and 25 acres of commercial space, would overwhelm the town’s roads.

“It’s traffic,” Barfield said. “Its traffic is what it is, and that’s our concern. We travel this road every day, not just me, but everybody who lives off or on Davison Road travel it every day and we see the traffic we sit in every morning. And it’s just going to create more.”

For neighbors like Angela Brown who grew up in Ravenel, she fears this development could be the start of transforming her home into a place seemingly unrecognizable.

“We have a history there,” Brown said. “I want to know, ‘What’s in it for us?’ You’re coming through our village. This is our village, and you’re just wanting to force something down our throats. I’m very disappointed that this is happening.”

During the meeting, council voted on the project’s first reading, and it passed unanimously.

After residents received a letter from Ravenel Mayor Stephen Tumbleston early Tuesday stating they would not be allowed to comment on the development at the meeting, they were permitted to do so.

“I just think there’s so many little things that can be changed to make this more palatable to the community,” one Ravenel resident said. “And we would probably say, ‘Yes, okay,’ if some of those changes were implemented. Otherwise, I think it’s a terrible idea.”

Mayor Tumbleston says the town has seen steady growth through the years, and he’s confident if this development is approved, it will be a major benefit to the community.

“Dorchester County using 165 now as a beltway around has had a huge impact on the traffic in our town,” Tumbleston said. “So, why can’t we grow a little bit, too? To reap some of the benefits, where we’re not just a speed bump for everybody else traveling through.”

The second reading will be voted on at next Tuesday’s (3/28) town council meeting.

For Bluffton Today

This July marks the 17th anniversary of the opening of the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge.

The bridge, which connects downtown Charleston to Mount Pleasant, officially opened to traffic on July 16, 2005, following a week-long celebration. The bridge is named after Arthur Ravenel Jr., the former U.S. congressman and state senator who campaigned for the funding needed to construct the bridge.

Before the Ravenel Bridge spanned the Cooper River, the John P. Grace Memorial Bridge and the Silas N. Pearman Bridge connected Charleston and Mount Pleasant.

Grace Bridge opened in 1929. Eventually, the Pearman Bridge was built alongside the Grace Bridge to alleviate traffic and load limits. Pearman Bridge opened in 1966 to northbound traffic while Grace Bridge remained in use for southbound traffic.

By the late 1970s, Grace Bridge was declared structurally unsound. Additionally, the two bridges were not tall enough to allow for the passage of modern container ships. The state of South Carolina deemed it too expensive to replace the bridges, so the Grace and Pearman Bridges remained in use.

Things began to change when Grace Bridge scored a 4 out of 100 on a safety test in 1995.

In an oral history interview with the South Carolina Historical Society, Arthur Ravenel Jr. recalled, “We got a report from a consultant that the highway department had hired to do a feasibility study on the Grace Bridge. … And I’ll never forget what the gentleman said. He says, … ‘Both structurally and functionally…a perfect bridge is 100.’ He says, ‘The Grace Bridge, in both categories, is a 4!’ And everybody gasped!”

Concerned by this report, Sen. Ravenel returned to the state senate on the single-issue platform of raising funds for a new bridge. Thanks to partnerships with local, state and federal entities, and the creation of the S.C. Infrastructure Bank, Ravenel helped secure funding for the bridge by 2001. The total cost of the bridge was about $700 million.

Following four years of construction, the Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge Opening Celebration took place from July 9-16, 2005. On July 9 and 10, over 50,000 people visited the bridge for an open house event and had the opportunity to walk on the bridge for the first time. Other events included a black-tie gala fundraiser held on the bridge, an official bridge lighting ceremony, a mile-long display of fireworks across the Cooper River, and a dedication ceremony.

Seventeen years later, the bridge is one of the most recognizable features in the city and popular with locals and visitors alike. Over 80,000 cars and hundreds of walkers, runners and cyclists cross the bridge daily.

On the legacy of the bridge, Ravenel said, “And with tongue in cheek, I tell people it’s the only thing, which in my political experience, it’s the only thing that’s ever been done in the greater Charleston area that no one complains about! Everybody loves the bridge.”

This story was originally published in the Oct. 4, 2021 edition of the Charleston Regional Business Journal.

A second planned unit development has been pitched for Ravenel, the rural town of 2,700 residents, showing signs that progress is now pushing outward from West Ashley.

Residents are concerned the movement could fundamentally change the rural nature of the area they call home.

Plans for the Tea Farm Tract, a proposed 400-unit planned development in Ravenel, and the related annexation of over 3,100 acres of land in Ravenel, were blessed Sept. 16 by the town’s planning and zoning commission, with a recommendation to limit density on over 2,000 acres of land outside the development.

The Tea Farm Tract would sit on 395 acres of land.

Rebecca Baird, who lives adjacent to the property and whose husband runs a grass-fed beef farm on their property, also opposed the annexation and development.

“I’m begging you to not annex this property; it will be devastating for this community, it will change the traffic flow, it will change how we have grown to live in this rural area,” she said.

A public hearing was scheduled be held by the full council and possible vote on Sept. 28.

Earlier this summer, the council approved and filed annexation plans for the Golden Grove Planned Development District, with 381 single-family homes and a commercial area to be built on 597 acres between Highway 17 and Old Jacksonboro Highway.

Similarly, the Tea Farm proposed development would sit along Old Jacksonboro Road and Highway 17, next to E.B. Ellington Elementary School, about 11 minutes from the intersection of Bees Ferry Road and Glenn McConnell in West Ashley.

The site is currently owned by the McLeod Lumber Company.

“We have owned this property for nearly a century…times change, things move on,” said William McLeod Rhodes, president of McLeod Lumber, at the commission meeting. “We would look for a developer who would do it well, and of course all regulations would be done well.”

Representatives from Thomas & Hutton, the land planning firm for the site, said they have been working on the land use plan for the site for a year-and-a-half.

Land planners stated at the meeting that the development may impact wetlands, including a half-acre of “isolated wetlands” on Landover Road.

Nearly two dozen neighbors and community stakeholders — including the Preservation Society of Charleston and The Coastal Conservation League — spoke out against the development at the Sept. 16 commission meeting, which lasted two-and-a-half-hours.

One resident said he would move away from Ravenel if the Tea Farm development was approved.

Others questions why 3,000 acres needed to be annexed for a project a fraction of that size and expressed concern that the town was setting itself up for a larger buildout on the site.

Opponents cited disruption to the site’s wildlife and wetlands, potentially impacting the nearby Charleston County Parks’ Caw Caw Interpretive Center, as well as increased traffic and strains on the area’s sewer system, which could potentially lead to future flooding issues.

“That’s just an incredible amount of land that can be developed like this,” said Tim Blackwell, who spoke at the meeting. “This could start a program where it will cascade (with) partnerships and LLCs adding another 1,000 acres. Once you start this, you’re going to ruin what you’ve got and what Mount Pleasant wishes what they had. We’re going to have Highway 17 South look like Highway 17 North.”

Thomas & Hutton presented a complete plan with renderings of sidewalks, streets and bike lanes. Plans include single-family homes and townhomes, parks and open space, a community center and 16 acre-commercial area that could support a grocery store.

The Tea Farm plan calls for slightly more than two single family homes per acre, and, when combined with townhomes, comes out to six units per acre overall. The density of Golden Grove is three homes per acre.

The board’s conditional recommendation was to limit density to one home per 25 acres in the 2,700 or so acres not expressly in the Tea Farm development, as outlined in the Charleston County’s comprehensive plan for Ravenel,

Rhodes did not return an email from CRBJ, asking if he was agreeable to the density amendment by the commission.

At the meeting, however, he shared that the McLeod family has additional tracts totaling 1,350 acres, but they are not seeking that to be annexed at this time.

In his opening statement, town administrator Mike Hemmer tried to quell some concerns about the development, including that the town does have the capacity to run sewer to the planned development and that existing sewer line limits mean the remaining 2,000 acres could not be built out in full.

During public comments, only one citizen spoke in favor of the Tea Farm development at the meeting: resident Todd Johnson, who said he’s lived in the area for 20 years. He said the development will bring younger people to the area.

“I think it’s a great idea for the young people coming up; they need a place to live and work,” he said. “Everything is growing out this way anyway. I think it’s a wonderful idea and I’m glad for the town to continue to grow. We need to grow.”

RAVENEL, S.C. (WCIV) — A new development could be breaking ground in the Town of Ravenel.

On Thursday, a public meeting was held for developers to share their plans with the community. But for some, Ravenel is home.

Read more: West Ashley Publix to be relocated, 280-unit apartment complex to take its spot: Proposal

“I grew up here as a child and live right down this dirt road, my father still lives there and I’m with him, and he’s soon to be 80 years old and I remember this area being quaint, being cool, being pristine, I used to play in the woods," said Angela Brown who has grown up in Ravenel her entire life.

For Brown and many others, there may be change coming soon to the area.

"We've had a request of annexation and a planned development of roughly 350 new homes or residential units," Ravenel Mayor Stephen Tumbleston said. "Single family homes with a few town houses as well and it's got a commercial element to it as well."

But for residents like Angela Brown, this means more room for trouble.

A new development could be breaking ground in the Town of Ravenel. (WCIV)

"I'm thinking about the traffic, the increase in traffic," Brown said. "Right now, I can barely get out to check the mail, go across the street and check the mail. It's a two lane road. If you tear up everything, if you uproot everything that God put here, eventually we’ll have no trees, beautiful birds flying, animals, deer. We'll have none of that."

Officials hope residents know their concerns are being heard as they continue to move forward in the process.

"We're going to take the recommendation from council and consider those next Tuesday night, our first reading," Tumbleston said. "We'll have a public hearing before that meeting as well, so we can hear any additionally comments or concerns. We'll continue to try to do what’s best for our area while considering the future impacts of everything around us."

Read more: Large development on Calhoun Street has 4th meeting with BAR for approval

Whether these plans get approved or denied, people like Brown will continue fighting for the town that they love.

"This is not the place, I'm not saying this isn't the time, but this is not the place," Brown said. "As long as I have the breath in my body, I'm going to fight for the community that I love."

The next public hearing will be on Tuesday, Feb. 28.

RAVENEL — A new housing development planned on the edge of this small town southwest of Charleston is one vote away from being approved, but it will come with restrictions.

Town Council voted unanimously March 21 to allow no more than 350 homes on the front section of the planned Preserve project and one house per 10 acres in back of the 755-acre property. The move comes ahead of the town annexing the land along Davison and County Line roads.

Members of council also voted to restrict the types of commercial development on 25 acres within the proposed neighborhood. The move prohibits storage units, dry-stack storage, gas stations and stores with more than 50,000 square feet of space. A 100-foot wooded buffer also will be required along the residential portion of the development next to the roads.

Augusta-based developer Southeastern plans to build the community across from its Poplar Grove neighborhood.

The development is slated for nearly 300 acres closest to the two-lane roads that lead to Savannah Highway on the east and S.C. Highway 165 on the west. Roughly half of that acreage is set aside for parks, trails and open space around the residences. Homes are not currently proposed on the back part of the tract.

About 130 acres, or 17 percent of the larger tract, is undevelopable wetlands.

During previous public hearings, residents expressed concerns over the housing density, the amount of land set aside for commercial uses and increased traffic.

Mayor Steve Tumbleston said the town will press state highway officials to consider adding a turn lane and full signal light for both directions of traffic on Savannah Highway at Davison Road, where cars back up during peak travel times.

“If this passes, we will make a concerted effort for a petition ... to improve that intersection,” Tumbleston said of the proposed development.

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Northbound traffic on Savannah Highway currently does not stop at the juncture, and motorists turning left from Davison Road often have to wait in an access lane before merging with Charleston-bound traffic.

“It has become a safety issue,” Tumbleston said.

Part of the problem with increased traffic from Davison Road results from commuters coming from new subdivisions in lower Dorchester County who use County Line Road, which becomes Davison Road, as a shortcut to Charleston, the mayor said.

“I didn’t think I would ever see that, but it’s happening,” Tumbleston said. “That intersection is going to be a hot topic no matter what because of all the growth in southwestern Dorchester County.”

The Preserve tract abuts Ravenel’s incorporated limits after the town annexed the nearly 3,000-acre Tea Farm tract off Old Jacksonboro Road in 2021. About 400 homes are planned for 397 acres closest to Old Jacksonboro Road within the Tea Farm parcel.

The town, which stretches along Savannah Highway and has a population of about 2,700, annexed another 600-acre tract, also in 2021, near Old Jacksonboro and New roads where 381 homes are planned in the Golden Grove development.

Another 20 acres on New Road on the town’s western side is being considered for annexation. It will be combined with an adjacent 24-acre parcel that’s already in the town for a planned 52-house development called The Stables.

Homebuilder D.R. Horton plans to build on 19 acres of the total tract. The rest will be set aside for commercial space, a water feature, green space and undevelopable wetlands.

The town’s planning board will consider the New Road annexation request March 23. A final vote on The Preserve’s development agreement and the land’s annexation into the town is set for March 28.

The Charleston-area industrial real estate market proved resilient in the first quarter despite rising interest rates and a cooling economy, with tenants absorbing 2.2 million square feet, according to a new report.

All told, according to Colliers, 3.7 million square feet of new space came online in the first three months of the year. Vacancy rates ticked up as well, but they remained near historic lows at 3.74 percent despite all the new construction.

“Since the beginning of 2021, the market has absorbed an average of 1.6 million square feet per quarter,” the commercial real estate firm said in its analysis. “This was largely driven by warehousing to support the advanced manufacturing sector, particularly internal combustion and electric vehicle manufacturing, and expansion of third-party logistics activity.”

Over the coming months, those business sectors will continue to drive demand for additional real estate, according to the report. About 11.8 million square feet of industrial space is under construction in the three-county region.

The Port of Charleston is still the main driver, even though cargo levels have fallen in recent months as post-pandemic consumers spend more money on services and experiences than on imported goods. Inflation has also tamed what had been a frenetic spending spree last year on items like furniture and electronics.

A plan by ZEB Metals to build an aluminum recycling plant on 32 acres along U.S. Highway 52 in the Goose Creek area was the largest industrial announcement dollar-wise during the quarter, Colliers said. The $80 million project is expected to create 28 jobs.

Second to that project was a $49.9 million cold-storage warehouse that Charleston-based FlexCold plans to build along Patriot Boulevard in Dorchester County. The 151,600-square-foot building on roughly 51 acres is expected to create 59 jobs.

A separate report by Avison Young shows average annual base rents for Charleston-area industrial properties hit $8.89 per square foot in the first quarter and are expected to continue rising on the back of strong demand.

“As larger tenants relocate to the Charleston market, demand has increased for industrial space,” the firm’s local office said. “The projected average building size for deliveries in 2023 is 346,000 square feet. Based on construction activity, this number is expected to rise to 540,000 square feet in 2024.”

The Palmetto Commerce Park area in North Charleston and the Summerville region along Interstate 26 continue to be the hottest spots for industrial construction, with a combined 42.7 million square feet of space — nearly two-thirds of the market’s total.

Up a notch

An economic development trade publication reports South Carolina is the nation’s seventh-best state for attracting industrial investment.

The ranking is included in Site Selection’s annual Prosperity Cup list, which measures the effectiveness of each state’s economic development efforts.

The Palmetto State moved up one spot in the magazine’s 2023 rankings. Neighboring states Georgia and North Carolina placed first and second, respectively.

A focus on electric vehicles and the batteries that power them helped the S.C. Department of Commerce recruit 120 businesses and expansions representing investments topping $10.27 billion in 2022 — a record year for economic development in South Carolina and an 80 percent increase over the previous mark set in 2021.

The new deals promise to create 14,083 jobs over time, with most of the activity centered around plants in the Charleston region and the Upstate.

Bottled up

South Atlantic Canners is spending $28.7 million on a multiyear expansion at its Lee County site that will create 15 jobs over the next five years.

The company is managed by Coca-Cola Consolidated Inc., the largest independent Coca-Cola bottler in the United States with production of more than 300 beverage brands and distribution to 14 states and Washington, D.C.

South Atlantic Canners plans to renovate its existing Bishopville facility and add new, state-of-the-art equipment. The expansion is expected to be completed by the end of 2027.