Mortgage Broker in Mount Pleasant, SC

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCIV) — A family is grieving after they lost their Mount Pleasant home to a fire three days after Christmas.

Two adult family members are still in the burn unit at a local area hospital, and two kids are recovering at home. The fire started around 8:02 a.m., and officials responded shortly after.

The family said they are thankful everyone is safe but are incredibly sad to lose a home filled with generations of memories.

"When that child called me yesterday and said, 'Nana, the house is on fire,' all I could do was scream," Victoria Gregg Manigault said.

Mount Pleasant family mourns loss of generational home days after Christmas (WCIV)

Read more: "2 adults, 2 children hospitalized after Mount Pleasant house fire."

The words written on the Manigault home now lost in a house fire are 100 years strong.

"Everything's gone in the house, all of our memories. Everything girl -- everything gone," she said.

She remembers growing up at the end of Venning Road.

"I used to walk by myself down that road to Sunday school -- 7 years old," Manigault said.

Read more: "Reported structure fire closes Fairmont Road in Mount Pleasant: MPPD."

More than nine kids were raised in the same home.

"A lot of my friends from school used to come down on Sundays because mom cooked the best collard greens," Manigault's daughter, Betty Gregg, said.

Three days before the fire, the entire family gathered at the home one last time to celebrate Christmas.

"Just have a big cookout in the yard and get lots of crab and shrimp," Manigault said.

Read more: "1 person transported to hospital after house fire in Mount Pleasant: AMFD."

Relatives walked us through the house, pointing at the spots where they used to sleep as a child.

To them, it's still their forever home.

"It means a lot to us because we call it home. No matter where we go, we always know we could go home," Gregg said.

The family is working to set up a way to receive funds to replace everything they have lost.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation.

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Three area hospitals have been sold in a $2.4 billion deal to North Carolina-based Novant Health by the previous owner, Tenet Healthcare of Dallas, Texas.

The sale of East Cooper Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, Hilton Head Hospital in Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina Hospital in Hardeeville includes the associated physician clinics and other operations, according to a news release from Novant Health.

“We are beyond thrilled to welcome our new team members and grow our presence in South Carolina,” said Carl S. Armato, president and CEO, Novant Health, which is headquartered in Winston-Salem. “Novant Health’s long-term vision is to transform the health and wellness of these communities through expanded specialty services and clinical expertise. We are energized and united behind our cause to create a healthier future together by building connections with patients and clinicians in coastal South Carolina.”

The East Cooper Medical Center includes 15 physician clinics. Hilton Head Hospital includes the Bluffton Okatie Outpatient Center and 12 physician clinics. Coastal Carolina Hospital in Jasper County includes the Tidewatch Free-Standing Emergency Department in Bluffton, according to the news release.

Novant Health said continuity of care is a priority and appointments and procedures will continue as scheduled during the transition period. “We are working closely with our new Novant Health team members to ensure a seamless transition for patients and team members,” Joel Taylor, market CEO of Hilton Head Regional Healthcare, said in the release. “We are eager to move forward together in support of our teams and know decisions will be made with our community’s needs at the forefront.”

“There’s a lot to be excited about when planning for our future,” Tyler Sherrill, CEO of East Cooper Medical Center, said in the release. “Novant Health is known for elevating clinician leadership to provide patients with a trusted health care experience through world-class technology, personal connections and convenient access to care.”

Tenet Health also owns a cluster of imaging centers and urgent care clinics in York, Rock Hill and Fort Mill, but those South Carolina properties were not part of the deal for the coastal hospitals.

“We understand that taking care of our patients starts with taking care of our people, so I’m delighted to join a leadership team that strives to not only be a healthc are provider of choice but also an employer of choice,” Ryan Lee, CEO of Coastal Carolina Hospital, said in the release. “I look forward to expanding the resources available to our team.”

Novant Health supports health and wellness programs in the community, including health education/screenings, community health workers and mobile cruisers. Each year, Novant Health provides hundreds of programs that serve patients, neighbors and some of their communities’ most vulnerable citizens, the company said in the release.

The Novant Health network consists of more than 1,900 physicians and more than 38,000 team members who provide care at more than 800 locations, the release said.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - Mount Pleasant’s Carolina Park is expected to see more growth in the coming years after town council approved the final reading of the proposed attainable housing district.

The housing development will sit on a 12.64-acre parcel located off of Park Avenue Boulevard and contain up to 100 attainable houses. Prosperity Builders will develop the houses. They previously built another attainable housing development called Gregorie Ferry Towns in Mount Pleasant.

Seacoast Church previously owned the land but decided to sell it to developers for this housing district. The community can expect to see the new townhomes in the next two to three years.

“You talk about listening to our community, 10,000 people go to Seacoast and Seacoast made the decision to sell this for this purpose, because it’s best for our community,” Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie said at the town council meeting.

One of the concerns council members said they had heard from citizens was the impact traffic would have in the area. Haynie said at the meeting that even though traffic would increase, it would be far less traffic than if other businesses were built on that land.

“This is the least intense use of that property,” Haynie said.

Mount Pleasant Council member Guang Ming Whitley said this project is privately funded through Seacoast Church and Prosperity Builders, so there are no tax dollars going towards this project.

“I think this is an exciting opportunity for people who work in Mt Pleasant, but can’t necessarily afford to live in Mt Pleasant, to have an opportunity to move and live where they work,” Whitley said.

Whitley also said that they had a representative from Charleston County Schools come to one of their meetings due to concerns about schools becoming overpopulated in the area.

They said that with the expansion of the elementary school that is happening this fall, there will be no issues with overcrowding.

The townhomes will be for sale at around $300,000 to $400,000.

Bill Hoffman, one of the owners of Rooted Bottle Shop, a Carolina Park business off Park Avenue Boulevard shared his thoughts on what the new development might do for the area.

“The fact that they are doing something that’s a little bit different, to help people who can’t afford housing, which is skyrocketing in Mount Pleasant as everyone knows, I think it’s a good thing,” one of the owners of Rooted Bottle Shop, Bill Hoffman says.

Hoffman added that he thinks growth will be good.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Tell me about your professional background and how you feel it makes you a good fit to be a council member.

I've been teaching in Charleston County since 2016. This is my 24th year teaching. The local aspect of teaching, most of my career has been in teaching elementary school, but still the local aspect of working in the community where I live has always been something that I really like. Now I'm in North Charleston, so it's the greater community where I live. I think this is a theme of why I've chosen to run for Town Council because I would like to see Mount Pleasant make its own decisions on a local level and be responsible for them and with citizens participating in the process. I lived in France for seven years and I have a Bachelor of Science in French and psychology and a master's degree in educational technology. I've just always been part of the local community and have worked well with others.

What do you feel is the biggest issue facing the town today, and what plans do you have to address this?

I have a daughter, a six-year-old, and we went to James Island yesterday to go rock climbing in James Island County Park. I would like to see the green spaces improved in Mount Pleasant to make it something where travelers don't have to go across town to go to the (County) Park. I know that there’s a bike path in … Laurel Hill County Park and just a dirt road going in a half-mile circle and there are things that we can put back there that would be places you can take your kids and take your family.

The other thing is I think that health all across the United States is a problem. We pay more for healthcare. We have more healthcare issues related to obesity and diet. I would like to be somebody who spreads the message of healthy eating and healthy lifestyles lead to better lives. We have a great little local market there at Boone Hall...we have the Farmers Market on Tuesday and Boone Hall is open the rest of the week.

The results of the Public Input Matters survey found that throughout all seven districts in town, respondents feel that traffic in Mount Pleasant needs to be improved. What are some concrete solutions that you feel can address this?

The traffic in Mount Pleasant and housing in Mount Pleasant — I don’t know if ‘victims of our own success’ is the right word for it. We have a very unique geography here. We are a virtual island in that there's no shortcuts. There's one way in and one way out. You may come across I-526 or I-26 or you go north towards McClellanville and Georgetown up (Highway) 41. There just isn't room.

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I know that the Town Council has a plan and they've already hired a company to look into certain traffic solutions. As a new council member, I'm not sure if I would be able to offer anything different to what they have already decided on.

Another area Public Input Matters survey takers responded to was housing availability. Forty-one percent of respondents felt that affordable housing options should be increased. How do you feel this can be accomplished?

I think it speaks well to the people in Mount Pleasant that we want things for people like affordable housing, but whether or not there is a feasible solution to providing that affordable housing — where are we going to put affordable housing? It makes sense that people want affordable housing but do they want the affordable housing in their backyard?

I want to live locally, I want to buy locally, want to shop locally, but we can't escape the fact that a lot of our local decisions are made on a state and national and global level. How does Mount Pleasant make affordable housing when the interest rates are 7.75 percent? There are things happening on a national level that we just can't control that can make our job of creating affordable housing next to impossible.

Is there anyone who has served as a role model to you, either from politics, past experiences or family members, that you look to and consider while you run for office?

One thing my dad always taught us was sometimes doing the right thing is the hardest thing to do, but you can take solace in the fact that it's the right thing to do. I am a part owner of a restaurant in Washington, D.C. with my brother Eric and when Washington D.C. decided to impose the vaccine mandate on restaurants … we were the only restaurant in Washington, D.C. to actively say no, we're not going to check people's health papers. It was very hard on my brother to do that, and he's such a big part of the local community. What I just really admired was his courage and even though it financially wasn't the best decision. Financially, it wasn't a great decision, but it was the right decision to make and his principles are something that I truly admire and I try to follow that example in my own life.

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - Residents of Mount Pleasant can still provide input on a road improvement project on the Rifle Range Trail and Long Point Trail.

The Charleston Moves organization wants Mount Pleasant residents to weigh in on these designs before it’s too late.

The Town of Mount Pleasant hosted an in-person meeting to collect community input on the proposed Rifle Range Trail and Long Point Trail segments as part of the Mount Pleasant Way project.

For those who could not attend the meeting, online surveys are set for residents to vote on.

The goal of the project is to provide safe and efficient infrastructure for everyone to get around the town.

Questions that are featured on the survey ask if the concept is supported and what amenities residents would like to see included in the projects like benches, swings, water fountains and workout stations.

The Long Point Trail would provide continued access between the river crossing and neighborhoods.

The Rifle Range Trail is a proposed multi-use path project that is proposed to run along the west side of Rifle Range Road from the roundabout at Venning Road to Bragg Drive.

Friday is the last day to share your input and click to complete the survey for the Rifle Range Trail and Long Point Trail segments.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.