Charleston appears to live up to the hype... (Summerville, Ladson: appointed, for sale)

[Ziggy100]

Originally Posted by Rocky21

Tourist gawking at your mansion. Who needs that drama?

Explains why those awesome porches (...er, excuse me.."piazzas" ) never actually have anyone sitting out on them.

[Ziggy100]

Originally Posted by mrpeatie

From my experiences I think I'on is more picky than the BAR. Obviously if you buy a landmark or high profile structure you are going to magnify the level of BAR scrutiny by 10. If you end up with a newer or infill house downtown BAR will cut you much more slack than they will a more historic property.


For the OP I think the nicer part of Old Village in Mt Pleasant would be a better comparison to downtown since it does have its own history & character. I'on was really hamstrung by the town during development and there is a serious lack of restaurants/shops/civic structures (such as churches) within walking distance. To a certain degree that killed the original intent of the neighborhood.


I wouldn't bet against I'on being an equal investment to downtown in terms of retaining value. A lot of people prefer living there to downtown as witnessed by its higher end houses being on top of downtown pricing. Its also a much better school district and closer to a lot of recreation amenities and retail.


Also be warned- any old home downtown is going to be high maintenance. Sometimes the ones with differed maintenance at least do you the favor of making the necessary improvements more obvious. You would be shocked at the number of people who skip addressing structural, electrical or similar issues but find the $ for high end finishes, fancy appliances or what can best be described as exterior decorating.


And I really can't feel bad about gentrification South of Broad since its been an ebb and flow of rich folks moving in or out over the last 150 years. We are not talking about Harlem or portions of Boston where minorities or ethnic groups are being priced out of traditional cultural centers. Chances are (s)he will but a house from another rich, white, Yankee transplant. Heck- many longtime families were rich, white, Yankee transplants when they arrived. I don't even know if you can call the rise of that area over the last 40 years gentrification since its simply the upper end of the RE market moving even higher.

The gentrification comment was originally directed at the upper end of the penninsula.

[moneill]

The residents of Mt. Pleasant objected. The county had granted the change in zoning from just residential to planned development and then changed its mind after the residents started objecting. Same old thing. Scale & density. Original planned called for 1200 homes -- now it is 762

[mrpeatie]

The Ion kerfluffle was pretty much what was stated above with additional portions of not wanting anything beyond single family residential within the neighborhood. I actually think they were right to not want any more SFR wedged in with their current lot sizes and how tight those streets are- no way a fire truck makes it through there with any ease. But the original idea was to have more auxillary units (rentable garage apartments & guest houses), townhouses and smaller scale flats/condos/apartments so that it would truly be a community someone could remain in throughout their life/earning cycle. Keeping in mind it was first being planned before inner Mt Pleasant (& that neighborhood particularly) shot well past the point of all but wealthy buyers.


Ion Group (I was still Civitas back then) and DPZ had also wanted for offices, corner stores and small cafes to be spread throughout the neighborhood so once you were home you could do minimal shopping/snacking without leaving the neighborhood & ideally someone who only needed smaller office space could actually work in the community.


The final points of contention were cutting Shellmore from Mathis Ferry to 17 and having those two round abouts. Those were major controversies/fights. When it was finally approved they wanted to name it Perseverance but the city swatted that down & it became Shellmore. And as soon as the neighborhood was completed- after all the battles- the city threw about 3 roundabouts onto Rifle Range because they worked so well on Mathis Ferry. And they never really acknowledged they had been wrong about them initially.


The big irony is that type of development became the preferred higher (or mid-upper) end development across the area. Originally many of the residents swore it would ruin the area and their personal home values.

[FiveLoaves]

Mrpeatie

You seem to know the history of that area -- I'd like to ask you about the Hamlin Plantation subdivision. There seem to be some very nice homes in there.....is there a backstory to the initial development ?? Builder of good repute ??
Is that a Flood Zone ??

[moneill]

Hamlin was a builder/developer project -- John Wieland was the name of the builder/developer. Really good company but Pulte has bought them out -- not the same quality.

[LocalHero]

Hamlin Plantation is pretty much all in a flood zone and some of it is in the VE zone. The ones I've dealt with recently that were in an AE zone had flood insurance that was between $500 and $600 per year. The VE zoned properties are likely to be considerably higher. Flood ins can vary a great deal from property though and you'll need an elevation certificate to get an accurate quote from an insurance agent.

[IsNull]

Originally Posted by larsm

If we are to move to Charleston, it is because of Charleston. And, we know ourselves well enough to know that for us to experience Charleston, it means having it right outside our front door.

I find it interesting how someone who's read about and visited briefly knows what it is to "be Charleston". Bless your heart, but it does seem like an attitude adjustment might be in order to fit in here. One of the biggest complaints we see from outside folks is that Charleston didn't live up to their expectations once they moved here... Not visited. They expect people to be like back home but with "history" and a warmer climate. They become frustrated because they refuse to adapt to their new home.

You may not agree with people about their views of "Yankees coming in and ruining it". But our culture expects people to gracefully handle such comments... If you have any hope of changing their mindset behind the comment, you must handle it with uncommon grace.

As far as downtown, Charleston is a working port city. Don't do like some of those people from off that bought expensive homes then complain about cruise ships calling on the port.

[13Bulldog]

Originally Posted by larsm

Like I said, adapt or die.

Welcome to Charleston again.

[mrpeatie]

Again- I have to ask- why would a Yankee not fit in in that particular area of Charleston. It is filled with transplants. There very few people locally that make the $ to buy there and everyone I know acknowledges that it was outside $ & buyers that have driven the prices that high. Some days I feel like I deal with more people from Ohio or Jersey than actual SC residents.


I actually agree that if someone moves to Charleston for 'CHarleston' and can afford it they should move to the area that attracted them. We constantly criticize the people who are sold a bill of goods that Summerville, outer Mt P or the Bees Ferry area are the same as downtown or the beaches and now when someone finally seems to come in with that realization there is pushback. From my general experience the crowd that inhabits that pert of town is not made up of shrinking violets. If the poster hurts their Southern (or transplanted) feelings they will let them know.


Someone upthread mentioned the upper west side as being more the focus of gentrifying. Many of those areas (Wagner Terrace, Hampton Park, Riverside Dr) were actually very nice when they were built up. They went into decline and have been back on the upswing for almost 30 years now. If you look at some of the houses you can see they really were top quality for their time & that's why some of the more craftsman ones in Hampton Park in particular aged so well. Wagner Terrace is actually more interesting because it had a large Jewish Concentration at one point. I knew a lady from a very well to do, older Charleston Jewish family who grew up there and have friends who used to live in the home originally built for the Hymans (seafood) family. There was also more of a Greek presence south of Hampton Park. That ability to trace even shallower history & development is one aspect of Charleston and the surrounding towns I really enjoy. So much of the rises/declines in desirability are deeper than the simple ebb & flow in home values.