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(Taken from West Of , the West Ashley weekly paper)
Asked about amenities for the area, Morgan said the commercial development along the Bees Ferry Road (BFR) corridor has failed to keep up with the demand for housing. "A study was done a few years ago on the level of new commercial development throughout the county," he says. "This area measured at a level far below other sections of Charleston County."
My question to residents in Charleston and surrounding counties if you know:
Where in the county has the commercial development kept up with the demand for housing ??
It certainly has not on Johns island! I want to know what everybody thinks in the entire county.
Not in Mount Pleasant.
Residential stuff sells like hotcakes but it's not uncommon to see commercial properties in prime locations sit empty for decades.
Thanks Ziggy, I'll wait for my responses. It's sure looks Mt. Pleasant has commercial development along Long Point Rd to go along with the housing. As well, you have the towne center area. I didn't realize commercial properties sit empty for long periods of time there. That's messed up.
I think a lot of the vacant commercial properties around Charleston relate more to either not fitting the needs of new tenants or landlords either sitting on property for appreciation or overpricing. Much of the older areas (meaning 50 years old not 200) have plenty of retail relative to residential development with the exception of the lower half of Rivers in North Charleston and to a much lesser degree the eastern half of James Island.
Mt Pleasant with the exception of further out 41 also has a fair degree of retail/restaurants/services that have followed development. If you look at the multiple shopping Centers along 17 alone you have adequate shopping. It is actually home to a fairly large number of restaurants and grocery stores relative to its size.
What is tricky about Bees Ferry is that it has really exploded in the last 10 years while the traditionally populated portion of outer West Ashley along 61 has not seen any real growth. Even then there are groceries on both ends of Bees Ferry and a Walmart in the Center. Its really the other types of retail and restaurants that lag.
I think we'll see some commercial in-fill and re-development happening in inner West Ashley over the next few years. Good grocery stores, restaurants, professional offices and various shops are starting to come in now. If they re-do Citadel Mall wisely it could be the shopping anchor for the area.
I'm surprised there hasn't been any other commercial development started in the West Ashley Circle area or up and down Bees Ferry Rd area. With all the apartment complexes being built and new neighborhoods, we really need some commercial development here. The Glenn McConnell is just packed with cars at almost anytime of the day now with people travelling to shop outside this area.
Thanks Ziggy, I'll wait for my responses. It's sure looks Mt. Pleasant has commercial development along Long Point Rd to go along with the housing. As well, you have the towne center area. I didn't realize commercial properties sit empty for long periods of time there. That's messed up.
But if you notice, there's that empty concrete lot on Long Point that these days doubles as a place that people park cars they're selling. Not sure what they're waiting for. There's a few along 17 as well that look like they used to be parking lots for stores that have been razed.
The development across from Town Center was supposed to a Home Depot but NIMBYs complained and now it's apartments and condos.
Further up closer to 41 commercial properties sit vacant despite being close to the large planned developments.
Thought I was the only one who has noticed this. For as big as Charleston is and for as fast as it's been growing, I think commercial has personally lacked a little as well. Someone mentioned a while back that part of it is probably Charleston's geographic shape, and I think that makes sense because Charleston has the income and even with the nimbys and anti-chainers, has the demand. Plus tourist traffic.
While Mt P has some big gets like the regions only Traders, PF Changs, Skyzone, Zoes Kitchen, etc, and as of now regions only WF, plus an incoming Costco, for the fastest growing city east of the MS, it's still lacking some big names and development.
Tanger is growing fast, but I'd expect a little faster. Still can't believe those parking lot lots haven't been sold yet after all these years. And the phase 2 talk seems to have gone quiet. Summerville is doing fine. Nexton is starting to pick up commercially. Outer WA definitely should be more on fire with the commercial than what it is.
Inner WA doesn't really have room to add, rather has to infill, which they seem to be doing a good job of. But things won't really take off until Citadel Mall is a pile of bricks. That property will be a pot of gold once redeveloped and should bring a lot of options not yet seen in Charleston.
I think that's just the nature of Charleston though. While Chas has great local and luxury options for SC and southeastern standards, Chas seems to lack a bit elsewhere, especially compared to Greenville, Columbia, and even Myrtle. Even Savannah has been able to nab a few things that Chas' 780k+ metro hasn't.
One area that has stayed consistent though is North Rivers. Even as development has moved to Tanger, Wescott, Dorchester Rd, Nexton, and Uni Blvd, the Northwoods area has stayed strong. May lose Gander Mtn and will lose Kmart, but I'm sure something will quickly snatch them up.
The one area though that I feel is definitely lacking as of now, but is poised to eventually explode: Hwy 176 and alt 17. There's a huge void there even with the boom of Cane Bay, Carnes, and Nexton right now, plus all the current GC and MC residents. Eventually that area will be it's own new city pretty much, but I expect at some point the commercial to pick up. The sooner the better because the more commercial options for that area, the less those people have to drive to Summerville and N Chas. Could help ease traffic. The Neck/Morrison is poised to. Hopefully we start seeing things sooner rather than later.
Chas is definitely on fire, but residential and hotels seems to be dominating. Hopefully commercial can catch up.
As for Johns Island, I thought yall wanted the island to stay quiet and didn't want anything? No highways, no development. "Stay rural." What if Target came knocking, you'd really embrace it, Silver Fox?
One thing that helps the Northwoods/Rivers Ave area is that it is within an hour drive of a large number of rural towns that fall outside the Charleston Metro. So it has your typical local shoppers and probably an equivalent number of folks who do not national chains and big box stores in their local communities.
I think one thing that has made Citadel mall so tricky to redevelop is that West Ashley has a very wide diversity in terms of ages, economic/income levels and even tastes/demographics. I've spoken to people in planning and retail development before and they pointed out the level/type/personality of store that got put into WA versus Mt Pleasant and North Charleston. Mt Pleasant typically has higher income shoppers and North Charleston has more volume. The two I remember specifically was that at that time Bed Bath Beyond in WA was a different store type (by merchandise) than MtP and the Best Buy was a different mix of products and quantity that NC.
There is also the problem that a number of stores that could be possible anchors or atleast well sized tenants alreadt have stand alone big boxes or strip mall locations in West Ashley. It will be interesting to see if Citadel picks up steam or more stores flow into outer West Ashley/Bees Ferry where more families are moving and they can also draw from outer Summerville, Ravenel and Johns Island.
There is also the problem that a number of stores that could be possible anchors or atleast well sized tenants already have stand alone big boxes or strip mall locations in West Ashley.
I don't think that'll be a problem. Citadel 2.0 should bring in tenants that aren't already located in Charleston.
Some exclusives I could see coming are: D&B, Firebirds, Yard House, Red Robin, Bar Louie, Tucanos, Cheesecake Factory, Cali Pizza Kitchen, Fresh Market, Golfsmith, REI, Noodles and Co, Shake Shack,
Brio, Maggianos, Melting Pot, Jared, LA Fitness, BurgerFi, Tin Lizzies, Crate and Barrel, Tupelo Honey, Cheddars, HuHot, Teds, Container Store, Off Broadway, and some other smaller retail. Among other things.
Ulta, Trader Joes, Aldi, H&M, DSW, Nordstrom Rack, Grimaldis, BWWs, Steak n Shake, and another family fun place I could also see setting up shop. A Topgolf would be neat but im not completely sure if there's room. Maybe we could see one in the Summerville area.
Hopefully they do it right and it's a great mix of residences, retail, office, open air space, and some good nightlife and some local options. And I hope it's dense.
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