Chimney Sweep in Goose Creek, SC

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - Homeowners in a Goose Creek neighborhood are looking for a solution to the flooding that affects their properties every time it rains.

Kristen Gilliam has lived in the Boulder Bluff Neighborhood in Goose Creek for about 15 years. She has a home around the corner from her parents and they both see their properties fill up with sitting water each time it rains. It’s not just the yards threateningly close to their homes; she says it’s also the streets.

“It doesn’t even have to be heavy rain. It does get very bad in some areas, especially down one of the roads here. Water Oak Drive and Lucy Drive itself. They do tend to flood to where people have to literally turn around and take another route. The neighborhood tends to shut down,” Gilliam says.

She says the flooding is affecting some of the homes, and she knows people who are moving out and say the water is a big reason why.

“Like on this road alone, we actually have a bunch of vacant homes right now because they’ve left. A lot of people have had damages happen in the past year. Like my next next-door neighbor, they’re gone. A couple of other owners have just left their homes,” Gilliam says.

A road over in Boulder Bluff, Leslie Powell and her family have lived in their house for three years.

“The first time that we noticed the flooding was like, maybe a month after we moved in. We were in the house hanging out and then looked out the window and our whole yard was underwater. And we talked to our neighbors and they said the flooding hadn’t been that bad since Hugo and since then three years ago, it happens throughout the summer. It happens every couple of weeks or so,” Powell says.

She says their property is a little downhill and dips down from the road so their house is built up from the ground. But, they still have issues with water getting into their crawl space and water getting into their cars.

“We have to move the cars there’s been damage under our house and water has gotten into our cars before when we’ve been out of town. And so it’s been going on for at least three years now,” Powell says.

The women say the neighbors talk amongst themselves and some have individually tried calling the city and county to get answers. But so far, they haven’t been able to get in contact with the right person, and say they feel bounced around with no answers.

“There’s clearly a bigger issue that needs to be addressed and I don’t know what that is. So I don’t know the right questions to ask,” Powell says.

Gilliam acknowledges that making sure drains are clear from trash or tree trimmings is the responsibility of the neighbors.

“I know the neighborhood has a lot of debris and trash and it is our responsibility to also clean up the neighborhood. But I believe is the county or the city, whatever you live in I feel like it’s their responsibility to make sure that our trenches or ditches are actually trenched out and they’re not being built up with a bunch of debris,” Gilliam says.

The city of Goose Creek directed concerns for this area to the Berkeley County Stormwater Department. Berkeley County Stormwater Department says they are looking into the service history and plans for the neighborhood and will provide them when available.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - Residents of Goose Creek will soon have the opportunity to enjoy concerts, events and entertainment right from their city.

The Joseph S. Daning Amphitheatre will serve as an entertainment venue right behind Goose Creek City Hall. This project has been in the works for about three years now and construction began in May 2023. The project is just under $4 million and is on track for both budget and timeline. It will officially open on Labor Day.

The amphitheater will hold a variety of different events, national shows and concerts. The city is already planning for three major shows after the grand opening in September. They are anticipating one in September, one in October and one in November and plan to make all three of these free for the public to attend.

Recreation Director for the City of Goose Creek Crystal Reed says that this is what the city needs and it will provide a great benefit to the community.

“I think the goal is to bring entertainment and opportunities to our residents, so they don’t have to travel outside of city limits to get what they need. This will give us opportunities for neighbors to get to know each other and congregate and celebrate in their city,” Reed says.

When no events are happening, the venue will serve as a park for residents to enjoy all the time with the opportunity to enjoy lunch from the food trucks. The amphitheater will be able to seat about 800 people and there will be plenty of overflow room on the nearby lawns.

This amphitheater is named after former South Carolina Representative Joe Danning, who served as a Council member for the City for over 20 years and helped secure $1.5 million of state funding for this project. The remainder of the project was funded by ARPA funding.

The majority of the project is completed. The final steps are to finish the stage, add an area for the food trucks and add the grass. The city also recently hired an arts and entertainment coordinator who has been able to help them prepare for the opening.

The location of the complex plays a major factor as it is central to the city and will provide residents with the opportunity to walk to it using nearby trails. Reed says this is a priority of the city as they are growing and expanding.

“In this complex the goal really is to make our city more walkable. So, we have the rec complex here. We’ve got our municipal center. And so, as growth comes, we want people to be able to spend less time in their cars and more time getting to things in the city of Goose Creek. So, the goal is to add more entertainment, more recreation opportunities within the city. And so that’s what this will do for us,” she says.

Reed says she is excited to see what comes of this new addition to the city. She says they want to accommodate the community through the growth of the area.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCBD) – Several Goose Creek residents say they are concerned about a powder-like substance that has appeared on vehicles and outdoor furniture over the past several days.

One neighbor who lives in the Persimmon Hill community described the substance as being sandy, gritty, and dust-like being emitted and traveling by air.

“Is it toxic, harmful to breathe for human and animals? What about our water?” the resident asked.

The white dusty emissions appear to be coming from the nearby Century Aluminum plant.

Goose Creek Mayor Greg Habib said in a message to residents that he and State Representative Brandon Cox met with leadership at the plant on Monday to get a better picture of what the dust may be, why it is leaving the plant, and when the problem should be solved.

“The white dust is Alumina dust, which is produced during the smelting process. Alumina dust is not supposed to leave the plant. In fact, the retention of Alumina is an important part of the plant’s ability to make more aluminum,” Mayor Habib explained.

Century Aluminum believes the emissions are connected to an “unusual failure” in the plant’s baghouse. Mayor Habib explained that exhaust from the manufacturing process runs through a scrubber to clean the air, and the Alumina dust is collected into the bags in the baghouse.

The dust is then taken and reintroduced into the manufacturing process to make aluminum.

But while Century Aluminum is not certain of the failure, Mayor Habib said the plant is looking at two possibilities.

First, the mayor said there was a change in suppliers for the filter being used in the baghouse. “Century knows that on three occasions a very small portion of the bags failed. They are currently investigating another batch of bags that will be replaced as a warranty issue,” he said.

The second possibility could be connected to recent “episodes of high pressure” in the baghouse. “Century believes these episodes combined with the failing bags are resulting in the emission problems over the past several months,” said Mayor Habib.

Mayor Habib said Century Aluminum reported the issues to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control and is working with the state health agency and technical experts in the field to solve the problems.

“DHEC has two toxicologists in their Charleston office who are familiar with Century Aluminum and aluminum oxide. They have employed three full-time employees in the bag house to identify problems, and they keep a contractor onsite 24 hours a day to address any further issues that may occur. They are soon going to be able to return to their original bag supplier. Finally, they have recruited technical consultants to help them identify the pressure problem,” said Mayor Habib.

Mayor Habib said Century Aluminum has assured his office that they are working diligently to address the emission issues. “I am confident that Century Aluminum has been transparent with me and DHEC. We are hopeful they will have a resolution soon, and we expect to receive an update from DHEC,” he said.

He said that during the 40 years in which the aluminum smelter has operated in the Goose Creek community, there has not been another issue related to emissions from the plant.

Mayor Habib said that he has requested a town hall event with Century Aluminum and DHEC to address the emissions issue and related health risks.

DHEC later told News 2 that its staff is investigating and has both been at the facility and in the community to gather information. “We are working closely with the facility to develop an immediate corrective action plan,” the agency said.

According to DHEC, alumina dust is not considered a hazardous substance. “The particle size of the dust being seen in the community is large and therefore too big to enter human lungs; however, it can still irritate your skin, eyes, and nose, and can be a respiratory irritant after prolonged exposure.”

The state health agency is deploying portable air sensors to measure any smaller, breathable particulate matter, called “fine particulate matter” (or PM2.5) in the area.

Community members can access the real-time data by clicking the links below. DHEC staff is in the process of setting up the sensors.

DHEC says data will represent all particulate matter (PM) in the area, not just the PM from a single source or single facility. “There can be many different sources of PM emissions within an area. The data from these sensors will help us identify any air quality trends in the community,” health officials said.

DHEC previously recommended that anyone with any type of environmental concern fill out an online form and contact the local environmental affairs office.

News 2 also reached out to Century Aluminum. We are waiting to hear back.

Work, live, shop and play — a planned Goose Creek complex could set a precedent for the city’s growth.

JJR Development LLC has unveiled plans for a 3-acre mixed use development on the vacant Super Carpets site on Highway 52.

The project will be part of the Central Creek Destination District that officials hope will provide a family-friendly, downtown-like area where residents can stay within the city for entertainment.

Phase one, which is still in refinement, will include a 4-story building with 111 rental units expected to be completed by the end of the year.

Mayor Greg Habib said the city is conscientious about large developments and how they fit into overall plans, but at the same time infrastructure needs to grow to keep the city alive.

“This project is really the first of its kind in Goose Creek,” Habib said last week. “It imitates a lot of other projects that have happened in Mount Pleasant and west of the Ashley where housing, retail, residential and office have been put in one place.”

Goose Creek has a long-term vision to create destination districts, and Habib said this project in particular “will transform what happens next” in Goose Creek.

“I think once people see this project be successful, it will lead to other redevelopment projects where density makes sense,” Habib said.

The building itself is contemporary, designed to introduce “new architectural context” to the city, according to Jeffrey Roberts, managing member of JJR Development.

“We think this site at the old carpet store site is such an important piece of land that makes a statement that Goose Creek is growing up now,” Roberts said.

Convenient addition

A new convenience store is coming to the Nexton community near Summerville.

Encore Development paid nearly $3.3 million for the 3.2-acre site at Nexton Parkway and Scholar Way for the development of a 7-Eleven, car wash and other retail uses, according to the commercial real estate firm NAI Charleston.

The property is within a couple of blocks of two supermarkets being built by Harris Teeter and Publix. First Citizens Bank & Trust Co., which has a branch next door, was the seller.

Next act

The first phase of redevelopment plans for the darkened Cinebarre movie theater property in Mount Pleasant have been laid out.

Charlotte-based Collett Capital‘s preliminary proposal calls for two 100,000-square-foot street-side office structures to be built on the Houston Northcutt Boulevard property. The designs, presented before a town review board for commercial real estate projects, are still being finalized.

If approved, the first phase would include a single building with 90,000 square feet of office space and 10,000 square feet of retail along the streetside of the property. Plans also include an adjacent greenspace with walkable paths, seating and a pavilion for live events.

Phase two would include a second building of equal size and a 500-space garage in the back where the vacant Cinebarre building currently stands. The rest of the property will be used for parking.

Regal Cinemas closed the full-service theater, where moviegoers could order food and drinks while they took in a show, in late 2021. It then sold the property to Collett and another investor for $14.25 million.

Summer sublease

Blackbaud Inc. is getting a new corporate tenant this summer when Charleston Regional Development Alliance moves into part of its Daniel Island headquarters.

The group has subleased nearly 7,000 square feet of space within the software company’s 172,000-square-foot home office at 65 Fairchild St.

The rental suite will serve as the new base for the economic development organization’s 14 employees when the 10-year lease on its Belle Oaks Drive location in North Charleston expires in May.

The decision to move to Daniel Island, which is in the city of Charleston and Berkeley County, was less about the geographic area and more about the building itself, said Karen Kuchenbecker, vice president of operations for the alliance.

“The way that the building was developed and all the bells and whistles and amenities, etcetera — you just don’t find that type of building for lease every day,” Kuchenbecker said.

CRDA’s plan is to be fully operational in its new space on June 1.

Blackbaud completed its newly built headquarters about five years ago. Its need for office space greatly diminished when the technology company switched to a remote workplace model during the pandemic in late 2021.

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GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - One Goose Creek barber college is making an impact on both hair and history.

Even at 82 years old, Howard Boyd is built for barbering. You could say it’s in his blood. Boyd’s father, a barber, was his first teacher.

“He used to cut hair on the porch—front porch and he was telling me how to cut his hair,” Boyd said. “So, I ended up cutting his hair and he turned the clippers over to me and said, ‘Hey, you need to—you can take it from here. You can have it.’”

Beyond that feeling of a fresh fade, it’s Boyd’s legacy that will live on. He’s the founder of the first Black-owned barber college in the state of South Carolina.

“It was just a three-bedroom building which we stayed. My family lived here. That was the kitchen. And right downstairs here, which is the garage carport, we were able to start the garage barbershop,” Boyd said.

Since its founding in 1986, Goose Creek Barber & Styling College, which is now Howard’s Barber & Styling College, has trained about one thousand students, according to Boyd.

“Just the work I’ve done speaks for me,” he said.

Former students like Jessie Washington, Kenyatta Grimmage and Jermaine Scott have all gone through the college and have made barbering an integral part of their own lives.

“In 1996, I was able to open the first female, African-American barbershop in Goose Creek, South Carolina,” Jessie Washington said. “I’d just like to thank Mr. Howard for having the vision to help others.”

“We give free haircuts at the College of Charleston, where you know, I’m the Associate Director of Admissions down there,” Grimmage said, who also happens to be Boyd’s son-in-law. “We do a program called Cuts and Conversations where we have conversations with young men.”

“It was like how can I step up my game and be like this guy whose name just rings bells throughout the whole community?” Scott said.

Washington, Grimmage and Scott are now instructors at Howard’s Barber & Styling College, working alongside Boyd to teach the next generation of hair artists and entrepreneurs.

“It’s work. Work. You have to continue to work. You have to have a passion for it. You know it’s nonstop, when it’s good or when it’s bad,” Boyd laughed. “But you still work. You keep the faith and it works out. Trust me.”

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.