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SCDNR News

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C.

Last week, the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SCDNR) was awarded $1.5 million to work with partners and volunteers in the Charleston area to restore seven acres of degraded salt marsh in a historically important area. The project will unfold over four years and use volunteers to plant salt marsh grasses and construct oyster reefs through SCDNR’s South Carolina Oyster Recycling and Enhancement (SCORE) Program.

"We’re ecstatic to receive funding for this project," said Michael Hodges, SCDNR shellfish biologist and lead on the project. "We’re excited that we will get to involve so many volunteers and partners in the project’s implementation. This will be a unique project, using novel, nature-based solutions to restore the degraded tidal marsh in this historically significant part of the Lowcountry."

Granted by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation through the National Coastal Resilience Fund, the award is one of eight funded across the country and represents a continuation of federally funded work on Old Towne Creek in West Ashley. Phase one of the project, led by the Georgia Institute of Technology (GT), involved developing engineering and design plans for coastal marshes in West Ashley. A team led by Dr. Joel E. Kostka, Professor and Associate Chair for Research in the Schools of Biological Sciences and Earth & Atmospheric Sciences at GT, will lead post-restoration monitoring and quantify habitat improvements as well as collaborate with SCDNR to train volunteers and citizen scientists. Other partners in this phase of the project will include Robinson Design Engineers and the South Carolina Aquarium.

"This project is a win-win for the Charleston area as it will restore critical wildlife habitat while strengthening the resilience of the coastline to damage from storms and erosion made worse by climate change," said Dr. Kostka. "We at Georgia Tech are excited to participate in the project, in particular to leverage science to develop metrics and improve strategies that will ensure the success of nature-based restoration activities across the U.S."

The restoration site is in what was formerly Maryville, a small town with an important role in Charleston’s history. Chartered and settled in 1886, Maryville was one of the area’s most prominent settlement communities – self-sustaining, all-Black communities that offered the region’s formerly enslaved population safer places to buy land, raise families, and pursue farming or trades in the Jim Crow-era South.

Despite later annexation by the city of Charleston and rapid development of surrounding West Ashley, the area is still known to some locals – including descendants of the town’s founders – as Maryville.

Old Towne Creek is the tidal waterway that connects this area to the nearby Ashley River. In 1670, it saw the first English settlers arrive and establish ‘Charles Towne’ on its banks. Later, the fishermen of Maryville plied its waters for crab, oysters and fish. Today, the creek is popular among kayakers and birdwatchers. But like many urban waterways, Old Towne Creek and its surrounding marshes have degraded over time, particularly after a severe drought in 2012 and another salt marsh dieback event in 2016. Researchers have found that the salt marsh within the project area has not recovered naturally like other areas with similar conditions.

The recent $1.5 million in funding will allow for the restoration and monitoring of seven acres of degraded salt marsh through community-based restoration efforts. Members of the community and the Ashleyville-Maryville Neighborhood Association, who initially noticed that the marsh vegetation was dying back, participated in the initial site assessment and will now be engaged as volunteers in the restoration.

SCDNR biologists have been constructing ‘living shorelines’ – shorelines made of natural materials – for two decades, primarily using recycled oyster shells. These shells attract young oysters, which settle on the hard materials and collectively grow into reef structures that filter waterways, provide habitat for fish and buffer shorelines from erosion.

Please click here to sign up to receive updates about marsh restoration volunteer events.

WEST ASHLEY, S.C. (WCBD) – The future of historic preservation in West Ashley is up for discussion.

The topic was addressed during the City of Charleston’s West Ashley Revitalization Commission, or WARC, meeting on Wednesday.

“There’s been a number of demolition requests in the West Ashley area. Some of which have gone before the Design Review Board for board review of the demolition, others that are not within board purview,” explained Robert Summerfield, Charleston’s Director of Planning, Preservation and Sustainability.

According to Summerfield, these recent requests sparked Wednesday’s discussion. He said buildings 50 years or older are protected in West Ashley if they are located within a commercial corridor. All others run the risk of being torn down unless they are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

“There are buildings now that have reached an age that they are considered historic buildings and they are important to the fiber and the character of our neighborhoods,” said Charlie Smith.

Smith is a member of the WARC. He told News 2 he planned to propose a temporary, city-wide moratorium on the demolition of buildings 50+ years of age during the meeting. He wants to see permanent protections in place.

“Because if it takes another few years for those protections to be put in place then what are we going to lose between now and then?” questioned Smith.

Meanwhile, News 2 also spoke with Dr. Jay Wisner. He owns Peninsula Cosmetic & Family Dentistry on Savannah Highway, and the property adjacent to it. He’s been trying to get approval to tear down the neighboring home for years, but its age and location have protected it.

“It’s not safe, it’s been condemned by the fire marshal. It is a building that I’m afraid to walk into and I am not going to allow anybody to walk into it because I’ve been told, if there is an earthquake or any kind of seismic event, it would essentially be turned into a pile of bricks,” said Dr. Wisner.

Wisner said structural engineers told him the house was not able to be rehabbed unless it was demolished first. If given permission, he said he plans to salvage the brick and reconstruct the same building. Until then, it will remain unused.

WEST ASHLEY, S.C. (WCBD) – A West Ashley man is warning others about a scam after someone attempted to gain access to his bank account while pretending to protect the victim from a fraud attempt.

“I initially got a text message asking if I had made a change,” explained Jamey Mellis, CEO of Software Solutions and Designs.

Mellis said the message appeared to come from his bank, Wells Fargo, on Wednesday.

“I’m looking at the message and just 10, 12, 15 seconds later I get a phone call from someone who said they’re from Wells Fargo fraud alert,” he recalled.

The person on the other end asked if he was attempting to make multiple purchases.

“Wanted to know if I had made a charge at Walmart out of Atlanta- I told him no. He asked me if I was out of town, and I said no. He goes ‘OK how about a charge at a gas station in Atlanta?’ No.”

The man texted him a link to confirm he did not make the charges.

“So, when I clicked on it, up came the screen asking me to sign into Wells Fargo — and I looked at it and did not have the same address as the link did. Nor was it a Wells Fargo address,” he warned.

Mellis told the man he didn’t know if this was legit.

“He said well, look- look at the number I’m calling you from and I want you to pull out your card. Turn your card over and you’ll see it’s the same number that’s on the back of your card and sure enough it was the same telephone number,” Mellis explained.

Mellis just happened to be driving by his Wells Fargo branch in West Ashley. He went inside and talked to someone.

“She told me that they were getting inundated with these types of calls and that it was definitely fraud.”

Mellis owns Software Solutions and Designs, and he is a certified, trained computer security expert. He said caller ID info can be faked to look like a call came from a legitimate number.

“Usually when I get a call and somebody tells me they’re from wherever I usually will hang up and call him to confirm,” he said.

He went the minute that I login, they capture my username and password and then they could’ve gone straight into Wells Fargo log into my account and got access to every account I have and drained everything that I have. I think if the average person, if they would have looked at that they would’ve fallen for that.”

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Some residents of the Avondale Community are worried about how proposed safety improvements in West Ashley will cause problems for their neighborhood.

Officials with both the city of Charleston and Charleston County said the improvements will make the intersection safer, but some Avondale residents worry it will negatively impact their neighborhood.

A petition called “Stop the Avondale Avenue at Savannah Highway Realignment Project” currently has over 300 signatures and counting.

READ MORE: Petition: “Stop the Avondale Avenue at Savannah Highway Realignment Project”

The writers of the petition claim realigning Avondale Avenue and Nicholson Street on Savannah Highway will bring “profound” and “permanent” effects on the livability, culture and safety of the Avondale Neighborhood.

For some background, the Avondale Realignment is just one part of the Savannah Highway Capacity and Intersection Improvement Project, which aims to improve traffic flow and safety at several West Ashley intersections. The project’s website states the plan for the Avondale portion of the project includes realigning Avondale Avenue with Nicholson Street, which would require the demolition of the building that currently hosts DBs and Alpha Graphics.

The City of Charleston said it is currently working with property owners to secure right-of-way acquisition for the realignment,’ which essentially means the city is working to secure the property owner’s consent.

Avondale Resident Katherine Anderson said she thinks realigning Avondale Avenue with Nicholson Street will push more cars through area neighborhoods, increasing traffic. She said she is also concerned that the realignment would enable a new parking garage to be built where the DBs and Alpha Graphics building currently sits.

“I think that this project is really to get the commuters into town and out of town, and the residents that live here are not necessarily being thought of, in my opinion,” Anderson said.

The City of Charleston said a private property owner has expressed interest in building a garage once the intersection improvement is done, but that it is not a part of the county or city’s plan.

“The city appreciates the county’s efforts to make this part of Avondale safer, particularly in light of last week’s tragic collision, and is working with area property owners to help secure the needed right-of-ways,” The City of Charleston said in a statement.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

South Carolina home sales dipped to their lowest level in five years in January while prices went in the opposite direction.

Residential transactions dropped nearly 32 percent last month compared to the same month a year ago, according to preliminary data from the S.C. Realtors Association.

In January, 5,152 homes changed hands statewide, the lowest number since January 2019.

Sales have now been down for 14 consecutive months across the Palmetto State. The median price, however, continued to climb, rising 7.7 percent to $307,500. That’s about $22,000 more than January last year and $105,000 higher than in January 2019.

Rob Woodul, president of S.C. Realtors and an agent with Carolina One Real Estate in Charleston, said the lower sales reflect a normalization of the market to 2019 numbers “from the craziness of the past couple of years” brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

He also pointed out the December-February period is usually the slower time of year for home sales and looked to an uptick in the warmer spring-selling season, based on recent market activity of pending contracts.

For the year, Woodul predicted residential transactions will be “flat or a little above” 2019′s numbers. The higher cost of borrowing, persistent inflation and lack of available homes continue to hinder the market.

All 16 housing submarkets in the state reported double-digit sales declines, with some of the bigger metropolitan markets tumbling more than 30 percent from a year ago, just before the Federal Reserve began raising interest rates to try to tame inflation.

Charleston, the state’s largest market by volume, posted a 36 percent drop in closings. Myrtle Beach, the second-largest market in terms of sales, slipped 29 percent. Columbia saw a decline of 30 percent while Greenville was down 31 percent.

Hilton Head slid 39 percent while Rock Hill dipped nearly 32 percent.

Pricewise, every metropolitan area in South Carolina posted increases from more than 4 percent to nearly 9 percent. Myrtle Beach saw a 16 percent surge over the same month a year ago. While sales were down in January, the median price came in higher at every submarket except the Anderson-based, three-county region in the state’s northwest corner.

As for rising prices, which continue to put homes out of reach for many would-be buyers, Woodul pointed out a simple axiom of economics.

“It’s supply and demand,” he said.

Housing inventory hasn’t kept up with those wanting to buy a home during the past decade because homebuilders are reluctant to overbuild after being burned during the deep recession of 2008, Woodul noted.

Across the state, Hilton Head Island continued to post the highest median price at $500,000. Charleston ranked second at $380,000 while Rock Hill, in the growing suburbs of Charlotte, came in third at $374,500.

Beaufort wasn’t far behind at $366,000, with Myrtle Beach showing $313,000 and Greenville at $300,000.

Several areas reported median prices between $250,000 and $300,000, including Aiken, Columbia, North Augusta and Spartanburg. Those between $200,000 and $250,000 were regional offices in Anderson, Gaffney, Greenwood and Sumter. Those below $200,000 included Florence and Orangeburg.

Along with elevated home prices is the higher cost of borrowing.

Home loan financier Freddie Mac reported Feb. 23 the average rate on a 30-year, fixed-rate mortgage edged up to 6.50 percent. The average rate on a 15-year note rose slightly to 5.76 percent. Both rates were between 3 percent and 4 percent at this time last year.

“The economy continues to show strength, and interest rates are repricing to account for the stronger than expected growth, tight labor market and the threat of sticky inflation,” said Sam Khater, Freddie Mac’s chief economist.

Mount Pleasant condominium owner Jay Smith recently saw his monthly regime fee rise 10 percent to nearly $400 a month.

The price hike came after the company that provides hazard insurance for the eight-building, 64-unit complex off Shem Creek where the retiree lives hiked its premium by $27,000 this year, or 52 percent, to renew the policy.

Other condo owners along the South Carolina coast soon could see similar spikes for the monthly fee they pay in association dues to cover expenses such as landscaping, roof repairs, painting, amenities and insurance when their policies come up for renewal.

Insurance brokers who help condo associations try to find competitive rates from carriers blame the surging costs on the rash of natural disasters such as hurricanes, wildfires and other calamities across the U.S. during the past few years. Recent storms, to name a few, include Harvey in 2017, Michael in 2018, Dorian in 2019, Laura in 2020, Ida in 2021 and Ian in 2022.

Last year was the eighth consecutive year when 10 or more billion-dollar weather and climate disaster events affected the U.S., according to the National Centers for Environmental Information, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. During the previous three decades, the government logged five similar years.

That’s led to fewer companies serving the coastal condo market because they can no longer afford to cover all of the potential losses from structural damage.

“We are down to four or five providers that can be competitive when three years ago we had 12 or so,” said Isaac Matthews, a broker with Brown & Brown Insurance in North Charleston which helps condominium management companies try to find the best rates when it’s time for their association clients to renew coverage each year.

“The past five years in a row of catastrophic losses have affected their underwriting profits, so they are going to pull away from that sector of business or move out of the territory altogether,” he said.

Paying a premium

Matthews and other brokers are sounding the alarm that some condo owners could be in for sticker shock when their policies come up for renewal this year. To offset the higher premiums, governing boards have few alternatives other than cutting services, raising dues or imposing special assessments.

“The best-case scenario is a 30-35 percent increase in premiums,” Matthews said. “We are facing one of the most challenging years in the last decade.”

He pointed to a 36-unit condo complex on Daniel Island as a recent example. The annual premium for hazard insurance to cover damage from fire, wind, hail, earthquakes and hurricanes more than tripled to $223,000 from $71,000.

“The previous provider is no longer writing (hazard coverage) that close to the coast,” Matthews said.

He cited another example, saying rates for a 153-unit complex in North Charleston more than doubled to $181,000 a year.

The rising insurance rates are not confined to the Lowcountry.

“It’s a problem along the entire coast,” Matthews said.

In the Myrtle Beach area, some condo associations could see rates balloon by 300 percent, said Mike Almond, a broker with Acentria Insurance on Pawleys Island.

Some of the main carriers for areas within three to five miles of the coast have exited the market because of the hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters affecting the U.S. last year.

“Hurricane Matthew (in 2016) and Hurricane Michael (in 2018) started the strain on carriers, and Hurricane Ian (in 2022) put the nail in the coffin,” Almond said.

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Underwriters are now being picky.

“They want to insure a building that can withstand a Category 4 or Cat 5 hurricane,” he said.

He noted that “most of the construction on the coast” dates back to mid-1980s, “and a lot of the carriers don’t want to touch it.”

‘No end in sight’

Matthews of Brown & Brown said some of the factors pushing rates higher include the increased demand for coverage, the rising costs of rebuilding homes and higher appraised values of older structures. That’s in addition to other standard considerations, such as the distance to the shoreline, the year a property was built and claims history.

“The few insurance companies that are still willing to place coverage are being very selective on risk quality,” Matthews said.

Like Matthews, Almond called the current premium increases the largest he’s seen in quite a few years.

“If our hurricane season this year is bad, you will definitely feel (the financial impact) even more at the end of the year,” Almond said.

Another pricing wrinkle for the industry is the so-called reinsurance market, which provides policies that carriers buy to cover some of their risks. It’s tapped out.

Matthews said the reinsurance money supply is down $50 billion while demand last year was up about $30 billion.

“This means there is currently an $80 billion gap between insurance companies’ capacity and insurable property values,” he said.

Owners of single-family homes along the coast aren’t feeling as much of a price sting because that market isn’t short on carriers, making it easier to obtain coverage.

“There are only so many companies willing to insure a 200-unit property valued at $50 million, for instance, rather than a house for $500,000,” Matthews said.

He also pointed out hazard insurance does not include flood protection, which is another policy altogether. It also does not cover problems with structural integrity, which is a maintenance issue.

Jason Besse, a broker with Correll Insurance Group of Summerville, said the market for hazard insurance is cyclical, with rates typically rising after major disasters. He doesn’t see costs coming down anytime soon.

“There is no end in sight this go round,” Besse said. “It’s a bad deal. We don’t have the capacity to fill the risk, and there are fewer players in the carrier and reinsurance markets.”

For condo owners such as Smith in Mount Pleasant, who retired and moved to the Lowcountry from West Virginia several years ago, the trend is troublesome.

“If the rates keep going up, it’s going to become unaffordable for some people,” he said.