Chimney Sweep in Mount Pleasant, SC

MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - Resiliency is the Town of Mount Pleasant’s main focus when it comes to its long-term goals.

The town has released a draft of its Five-Year Comprehensive Plan and is asking for public feedback.

In 2020, the Long Range Plan was adopted, looking ahead to 2030. However, with a new requirement made by the state and the changes over the last five years, Mount Pleasant had to make some revisions.

SC Code §6-29-510 (D)(10) requires that a resiliency element be added to the list of planning elements, so that’s exactly what Town of Mount Pleasant Division Chief for Neighborhood Livability Liz Boyles said was their priority.

“Maybe it’s a pandemic, maybe it’s a storm, maybe it’s changing in the economy. How can we best be prepared to weather whatever that change is? That’s what the resilience element is about,” Boyles says.

As these additional revisions impact the community, one resident, Cathy Perry Nickles, says she started coming to Charleston in 1988, which was a different sight in comparison to today.

“Driving through Mount Pleasant was like driving through a barren town. There was hardly anything here. Now, it is just bursting at the seams, and it’s a great thing, but yes, I mean the town will have to accommodate that growth,” she says.

Boyles says the language is nearly the exact same as their 2020 adopted plan, but you may see some additional information, including a Hazard Mitigation Plan, a Hazard Vulnerability Analysis and a Community Forest Master Plan.

“Basically, bring it up to speed with the things that we have done since the plan was adopted five years ago,” Boyles said.

For example, they have now collected data from their “Public Input Matters” open houses in 2022 and 2023. With the surveys and the changes they’ve observed within the last five years, they made small edits throughout.

“That’s why it’s so important to bring in the whole conversation about the business community. If you’re talking about resilience, you know, sea level rise is one thing, but you know, having a healthy economy is a whole different thing,” Boyles says.

Boyles says that because this adopted long-range plan looks ahead to 2030, it can be a challenge with how often things could change in the Lowcountry. She says that’s why it is important to have input from those in the community.

For Nickles, she loves being part of that community and knows the town has to stay up to date with the constant changes.

“As anything in life happens, the bigger you get, the more revisions you have to make to accommodate that growth,” she says.

Below are the dates for the public meetings:

Boyles says the town’s planning commission will review the drafted plan on June 18.

For more details on the drafted plan, follow this link.

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Frank & Jack’s Restaurant on Ira will open at 1434 Ira Road in Mount Pleasant late this summer. The property is on just under two acres which its owners intend to utilize for a spacious outdoor area, restaurant and soft-serve ice cream shack.

As the project’s partners fleshed out the identity of the restaurant, project leader Stephanie Samuels said it dawned on her that the lot off U.S. Highway 17 North in Mount Pleasant was of such a magnitude that it might be able to fill a gap in the community — a spot that can handle large groups for birthday or graduation parties.

“I feel like we are such a big market that caters towards tourists and weddings and everything else,” she said. “There’s really not a lot for those small celebrations to happen outside of your home.”

With Frank & Jack’s, Samuels and partner Hunter Floyd Williams say they hope to offer a place for the kids to hang out as well. The restaurant is the first for hospitality group High Tide Provisions. Other partners include Alice Lewis and chef Jonathan Rohland.

Williams, who is helping with Frank & Jack’s design, branding and creative direction, said that its size of the lot adjacent to Abide A While garden boutique, gave them the ability to develop a “chameleon space” as long as the infrastructure was in place. The interior will feature an open floor plan with nostalgic accents in a contemporary space. Along the walls, visitors may find geometric patterns with wood paneling and polished brass.

Nostalgia has also inspired the menu, crafted by Rohland, who met Samuels while working at Nordstrom. The two were part of the opening team for its Canadian restaurant market, which influenced Frank & Jack’s menu.

“The poutine came about as a throwback to Jonathan and I working together in Canada [which is] how we met. We had poutine every night. We fell in love with it,” Samuels said. “So we just took that and made our spin on it and our twist with short ribs.”

A gathering space

Samuels and the rest of the High Tide Provisions team were looking for a gathering place with enough space for kids to run around — that could also satisfy folks looking for a child-free night out.

Leaning on restaurant real estate trends showing a desire for outdoor space and need to carve out a distinct identity, the team found what they needed in the two acre property off of Highway 17.

The team wanted to make sure there was ample parking for guests. The diverse space totals 88 parking spots with the hope of partnering with nearby businesses for additional parking after 5 p.m. The partners also plan to install a restroom attached to the standalone ice cream shack.

“We had this opportunity with this lot next to Abide A While,” said Samuels. “It’s a little under two acres and that’s kind of what Mount Pleasant needed.”

Samuels and Williams explained that there was some apprehension to building a little further from the peninsula.

The team loves the lot, understanding that a location further outside of downtown would allow for the space to hone in their vision, but they also recognized Frank & Jack’s would need to be eclectic.

Overall, guests can expect an enterprise that utilizes its space to envelope the community — and meet the needs of Charleston’s ever-growing suburban population.