Mortgage Broker in Nexton, SC

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. – Today, Nexton, the most innovative and walkable community in South Carolina, announced that The Ames multifamily community in Downtown Nexton, the urban-inspired mixed-use community serving the growing number of residents in Nexton and the surrounding region, is now leasing. Developed by Charleston-based Woodfield Development, the community is estimated to be completed next month.

“Woodfield’s history as a development company is deeply rooted in the Carolinas. As longtime Charleston residents, the Nexton community is our backyard, and we are deeply invested in its overarching vision for the Summerville community and are honored to play a part,” says Mike Schwarz, partner at Woodfield Development. “Our goal as developers is to deliver a product that brings immense value to our residents and truly enriches their lives. As a result of thoughtful design in collaboration with our local partners, the interior finishes and amenity offerings at The Ames do just that. We are excited about the role The Ames will play in the future of Downtown Nexton and thrilled to present this unparalleled living experience to our residents.”

Situated on approximately 10.5 acres, The Ames consists of 304 apartment residences offering a mix of studios and one-, two- and three-bedroom units, featuring open layouts, modern kitchens with stainless steel appliances, custom built-ins, plank flooring and private balconies and patios. The amenity-rich community will feature a resort-style pool with full lap lanes and tanning shelves, a courtyard, grill stations and a 1,500-square-foot pool cabana with bar area.

The community also will offer a two-story club building with a large fitness area, dedicated yoga and cycling room, club kitchen and dining space, rooftop patio, business center with co-working spaces and work pods and multiple outdoor green spaces, including a movie projection lawn. In addition to the club house, The Ames will include a dog park and pet washing station, two pickleball courts, an outdoor amphitheater and electric vehicle charging stations.

Situated on nearly 100 acres between Sigma Drive and Brighton Park Boulevard, Downtown Nexton will provide retail, dining, hospitality, residential, service, office and commercial options within walking distance of many of Nexton’s neighborhoods. In addition to The Ames, Downtown Nexton’s first phase includes the Lofts mixed-use community, The Radler multifamily community and Atelier office campus. Currently in year 11 of its 20-year master plan, Nexton has delivered hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial space and sold over 3,000 homes, attracting thousands of jobs and bringing over 8,000 residents to the community.

The following partners were selected as part of this project: CF Evans, Housing Studio, Seamon Whiteside, Shah Architecture and Interiors, S Wilkins Interior Design, PGIM and BMO Harris Bank.

As the Charleston area continues to grow and attract more residents, so does the need for food and the vendors who provide it.

No fewer than 12 new grocery stores are in the works across the Lowcountry, including plans to tear down and replace one store on site and relocate two others.

Around Charleston, the population boom — now expanding at an average net daily rate of 36 residents, according to the latest update — keeps fueling competition among supermarket chains that are angling to be as close as possible to the proliferating housing enclaves that keep their cash registers ringing.

That's about 13,300 new residents each year spread across Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties, with many of the newcomers settling on the fringes of the growing region, especially in large-scale developments in Goose Creek, Moncks Corner and Summerville.

The three counties saw a 20 percent population surge over the past decade to a combined 830,000 residents, according to the Charleston Regional Development Alliance.

Competing grocery chains closely analyze the numbers to decide where to set up shop.

By one measure, a general rule for a full-service supermarket of 40,000 square feet or more to be viable is to have 10,000 residents, or about 4,000 rooftops, within a 20-mile radius. If there's competition in the market, the required number of residents is higher and vice versa for an area with no rivals.

Berkeley bound

Near Summerville, North Carolina-based Harris Teeter and competitor Publix of Florida are building stores on Nexton Parkway, across the street from one another, to serve the developing 5,000-acre Nexton community, eventually home to nearly 19,000 residents.

Both are set to be completed this year in the Berkeley County development, with Harris Teeter set to open in the spring and Publix likely welcoming customers by mid-year, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline.

On the opposite side of Nexton, Lowes Foods of North Carolina plans to build a new supermarket on North Creek Drive, across the street from the Cane Bay development.

It will anchor a retail center on the corner near fast-food restaurant McDonald's. Look for an opening possibly in 2025, according to property owner and Charleston businessman Eddie Buck.

A little farther to the east, Publix also plans to anchor a corner shopping center at U.S. Highways 176 and 17A in Carnes Crossroads, a 2,300-acre mixed-use housing development that could accommodate about 11,000 residents at full buildout. Like Lowes Foods, it is expected to open in 2025, according to a Publix spokesman.

Cartload of competition

Southwest of Summerville, another Publix could begin construction in 2025, based on bidding documents last fall that show a 51,454-square-foot store slated for a 10-acre site on Beech Hill Road, across from the planned 8,000-home Summers Corner community.

The 7,200-acre mixed-use community with schools and shops has about 1,200 homes sold and another 250 under construction, according to Jason Byham, division president at Lennar, the homebuilder that bought the tract for more than $26 million in 2018.

In Mount Pleasant, three new grocery stores are in the works.

The Fresh Market of North Carolina plans to take over the 26,000-square-foot site discount grocer Lidl abandoned before moving in at Bowman Place Shopping Center at Bowman Road and Johnnie Dodds Boulevard.

While Charleston's population is booming with new transplants, the Summerville and Goose Creek areas are developing just as quickly to accommodate the area's growth.

Summerville is located roughly 45 minutes from Downtown Charleston, serving as the ideal location for folks who want to move close to the city without being directly in the middle of the excitement.

Goose Creek is only 35 minutes from Downtown Charleston and is seeing a demographic of young families who hope to live near the city while finding affordable housing and nearby employment.

In recent years, both Summerville and Goose Creek have expanded with the development of several master-planned communities that offer housing, lifestyle, retail, dining, outdoor recreation and so much more. These areas have also developed several new businesses, restaurants, workspaces and corporate offices.

As Goose Creek's economy grows and thrives, many new projects and ventures are on the horizon in this Charleston community, specifically in Carnes Crossroads.

According to Post & Courier writer Barry Waldman's piece about new development in Carnes Crossroads, Carnes is now co-owned by Lennar Builders and Boston-based Freehold Communities, with approval to build about 4,500 homes.

This community is technically only a quarter built, with new projects on the way, such as the concept of "agrihood," a working farm and community gardens. Professional farmers will grow and supply produce, herbs and flowers to the community.

In September 2022, the city of Goose Creek announced a plan for growth in the community, including a walkable space for restaurants, offices and a green lawn for town events. Soon, this multi-planned community that is currently primarily residential with some outdoor amenities will expand to be more similar to larger communities like Cane Bay and Nexton.

While there are currently a few dining options available, like East Bay Deli, Steel City Pizza Co., and Mi Fiesta, plenty more options will be coming soon as well.

As for business development in Summerville's large Nexton community, according to Warren L. Wise for the Post & Courier, Atelier Downtown Nexton is a new project coming soon to Nexton, planned by an affiliate of New Jersey-based Sharbell Development on 7.5 acres on Brighton Park Boulevard off of U.S. Highway 17A.

Located in the Nexton community, the project will include multiple two-story buildings up to 18,000 square feet. Office, service and commercial space will be for sale or lease.

In addition, The Hub in Nexton is expanding. This project is a collection of office and commercial buildings under development on Nexton Parkway and Brighton Park Boulevard, and new expansions will include commercial tenants Lombardi's Pizza Kitchen, The Co-op Frosé & Eatery, The Backyard Biergarten, Lowcountry Yoga and children's gym KidStrong.

Big things are also happening over at Cane Bay Plantation in Summerville. Buck Investments, led by Eddie Buck, recently paid $13 million for nearly 45 acres on the northwest corner of the future Fair Winds Boulevard intersection at U.S. Highway 176. The buildout of this section will happen over the next four years.

Cane Bay has also been selling multiple large parcels of land for new housing developments as it expands, and the community is now roughly the size of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

More growth and business developments are coming quickly for these three large, multi-planned communities that are shaping up to be more like cities in their own right.

The master-planned Nexton community will soon become a medical destination for Berkeley County.

Medical University of South Carolina has proposed a $130 million hospital within the Summerville community. The 128-patient bed facility will include four operating rooms, eight labor and delivery rooms, diagnostic testing and imaging, and emergency services, MUSC Health Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Bacik said.

“A large percentage of our current patients originate from Berkeley County, and this is going to really allow our patients to have access within our communities,” Bacik said. “It’s not a surprise to anyone that the growth has outpaced some of the infrastructure.”

MUSC has asked the state for approval to build the community hospital through a certificate of need.

The build is expected to take two and a half years.

Nexton’s Vice President of Operations Brent Gibadlo said a hospital offers a service to the surrounding areas and residents because health care options have become a growing priority for homebuyers.

“There are certain basic things that are important for everyone that don’t change,” he said. “Certainly good schools if people have children and then good health care options. So having a world-class hospital in close proximity is always a wonderful compliment to a community."

Downtown Charleston’s MUSC campus will remain the hub for the educational hospital, while the Nexton campus will book end it with satellite campuses and ambulatory services in between, Bacik said.

“We’re full downtown, and we need to make sure that we can continue to have access to those more acute patients,” Bacik said. “It’s really about getting the patients the right level of care at the right place.”

The need for a community hospital in Berkeley County is critical, said Dr. Dave Zaas, CEO of the Charleston division of MUSC. The hospital’s co-location in Nexton will help with the area’s continued growth.

“That is a lot of our strategy not just in tri-county but around the state,” he said. “Not only delivering the highest quality … but more convenient and ideally at a lower cost. I think that drives our ambulatory growth as well as our statewide strategy.”

Gibadlo said Nexton is just starting to explore the possibilities with MUSC and its idea of community health care, of being more proactive and going out into the community to initiate health and wellness programs. Preventative care could then decrease the need for hospital visits.

“We’ve had conversations with MUSC on how to incorporate some of those programs into Nexton,” Gibadlo said. “That’s everything from community gardens to community fitness programs to even potential opportunities for some of the coordination between MUSC and some of the companies at Nexton.”

Other suggestions include incorporating companies’ health care programs through MUSC and creating wellness programs employees can participate in.

Bacik is already excited for both caregivers and patients because she believes the best care is delivered conveniently to patients, many of whom come from across the state.

“A lot of our patients and staff travel to the peninsula today to receive care or to care for our patients … so if they could receive care 30 minutes closer, that’s a benefit for the communities as well,” Bacik said.

Gibadlo is going on 13 years at Nexton and said there is has another 13 or 14 years left in the business plan. He still remembers those early years, though, sitting in a Welcome Center trailer praying that builders and homebuyers would think outside the box.

Convincing people to give Nexton a chance was hard a decade ago given the location.

Over time, Gibadlo has found that if he pushes the envelope to create value, the innovation is well-received.

“I think the potential for Nexton is really evolving continuously. What we used to think was possible we’ve exceeded now. Maybe we can take it another step,” he said. “A hospital was something we only dreamed about 10 years ago. Now that’s happening.”

Nexton now receives calls almost daily from groups, retailers and home builders who want to create something exciting at the community. Gibadlo said the biggest challenge is prioritizing. If he reacts to every call, he risks losing focus of the long-term vision that Nexton is systematically moving through.

“At the same time, you have to be flexible enough that if you get a call, like from MUSC, you change track a little bit because that’s a great opportunity,” he said.

A community with a master plan allowed Gibadlo and his team to be deliberate about adding a hospital. They could look at the map of the 5,000 acres to find a plot that was accessible, wouldn’t disrupt homeowners with traffic and had surrounding space for businesses the hospital could bring in. Gibadlo believes they will come.

As an educational institution, MUSC’s research and development could lead to job opportunities and potential spin-off businesses, he said.

Together, Gibadlo and his team’s vision for Nexton stem from a love for the region. He knows, however, that with any growth, there will inevitably be challenges. The objective then is to figure out how to make those obstacles positive.

“We look at it and say hey, we can create this employment center in the Charleston region, take some of the pressure off downtown, 526, everyone commuting and bring some of the great things that people love about this region from a quality of life and bring them to another location that can spread them out a little bit,” he said. “Maybe we can play a small role in helping this region continue to be a great place to live. At the heart of it, that’s what motivates us every day.”

By Teri Errico Griffis

Brookfield Residential has agreed to acquire Newland, the developers of Nexton, an award-winning master-planned community in Summerville.

Along with the acquisition of the management company on June 1, Brookfield Residential is also acquiring the 5% general partner’s equity interest in 15 of the 20 master-planned communities that Newland is currently developing. Brookfield is headquartered with corporate offices in Calgary, Canada.

Brookfield Residential’s Managing Partner, Real Estate and President, Development Adrian Foley said the investment allows the company to expand as a “large-scale provider of lofts to third-party builders” and potentially expand the Brookfield Residential homebuilding brand.

“The acquisition of Newland adds phenomenal master-planned communities to our portfolio in exciting new markets that are experiencing tremendous growth and a lack of supply of new homes,” Foley said. “It will round out our existing development capabilities making us one of the few companies that has the breadth of resources, capital and operational talent to successfully scale in this area of the market.”

The company said the acquisition broadens’ Brookfield Residential’s footprint across the country and leverages Brookfield Properties’ development capabilities into new markets, including Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Atlanta, Tampa, Seattle-Tacoma, Portland, Raleigh-Durham and Wilmington, in addition to Summerville.

Newland is U.S. real estate land development company with 50 years’ experience in real estate developments.

“We are extremely pleased to be able to team up with Brookfield Properties’ development group,” Newland Executive Chairman Bob McLeod said. “This acquisition will provide more opportunities for the continued development of additional mixed-use masterplans well into the future as well as give us significant additional vertical development opportunities. We are looking forward to becoming part of the Brookfield team.”

A spokesperson for Nexton said the acquisition won’t affect any of the current developments, including the $300 million groundbreaking of downtown Nexton.

The urban-inspired mixed-use development will be situated on nearly 100 acres between Sigma Drive and Brighton Park Boulevard, a Nexton release said. Plans include retail, dining, hospitality, residential, service, office and commercial options within walking distance of Nexton’s residential neighborhoods.

In total, 110,000 square feet of office space will be available for lease.

Construction on Downtown Nexton will occur in phases throughout the next few years with the first stage including multifamily units and a mixed-use building that has ground-level retail beneath loft apartments.

The project is developed by New Jersey-based Sharbell Development Corp., a mixed-use developer with more than 37 years experience in the industry.