Chimney Sweep in Nexton, SC

Sharbell Nexton LLC says the first two retail tenants have committed to the ground-floor retail space in Downtown Nexton. A nail salon called iNails, with nearly 30 years of beauty service expertise and 10 Lowcountry locations, and Revive Health Studio, a health and wellness spa offering sauna, lymphatic massage, tune and red-light therapeutic treatments as well as therapeutic products for purchase, are the first tenants in phase one.

“We are excited to begin the leasing process in Downtown Nexton and welcome iNails and Revive as our first tenants,” Sharbell President Thomas Troy said in a news release. “Service-oriented providers, like iNails and Revive Health Studio, and a potential barbershop with which we are currently negotiating are the types of tenants we envisioned filling portions of the retail spaces in Downtown Nexton as they serve important community and regional needs. In addition to these service-based tenants, we are currently working with a high-end spirits store with onsite consumption and a Mediterranean bar and restaurant concept.”

Downtown Nexton retail is located on the ground floor of the Lofts Downtown Nexton, a collection of luxury rental apartments. INails will occupy 1,700 square feet while Revive Health Studio will occupy 1,775 square feet in the Lofts’ first completed building, with an anticipated opening in the first quarter of 2024. Upon completion of future phases in late 2024, the Lofts Downtown Nexton will include residential amenities such as a clubhouse, resort-style pool with tanning shelves, firepit with seating areas, private cabanas, outdoor café tables and bar area and a dog park.

Situated on nearly 100 acres between Sigma Drive and Brighton Park Boulevard, Downtown Nexton will provide retail, dining, hospitality, residential, service, office and commercial options within walking distance of many of Nexton’s neighborhoods. In addition to the Lofts, previously announced plans include The Ames multifamily community, AC Hotel by Marriott, Atelier office campus and Daybreak Market and Fuel.

Bridge Commercial provides exclusive leasing and sale services at the Lofts Downtown Nexton.

Other recent commercial real estate transactions include:

Trey Lucy, Blair Belk and Tim Metzler of Belk Lucy represented the landlord in the lease of 1,721 square feet of retail space in Suite A at 145 King St. in Charleston to E. Blackhurst. Lindsey Halter of Carolina Retail Experts represented the tenant.

Trey Lucy, Tim Metzler and Blair Belk of Belk Lucy represented the landlord in the lease of 1,454 square feet of retail space in Suite B at 145 King St. in Charleston to Yves Delorme. Edward Robinson of The Beach Co. represented the tenant.

Mark Erickson and Jarred Watts of Colliers represented M2 Land LLC in the sale of a 15,000-square-foot industrial building at 3240 Industry Drive in North Charleston to Sunny Enterprises LLC for $3,200,000.

Markus Kastenholz, Remington Beatty and Alia Bostaji of Colliers represented Pearce Development in the sale of a 10,000-square-foot building at 36 N. Market St. in Charleston and 0.5 acres of land at 235 E. Bay St. in Charleston to Marriott Ownership Resorts for $16,450,000.

Hot Properties highlights recently sold or leased commercial properties in the Charleston region. Send in your transactions using our online form.

SUMMERVILLE — The first retail stores and restaurants in a new development on the edge of Nexton across from Cane Bay could be completed by this summer, and the developer is in talks with three different grocery stores that could bring competition to the growing area of Berkeley County.

Four buildings currently are under construction in the first $30 million phase of the new North Creek Market at Nexton where North Creek Drive meets U.S. Highway 176.

The 53-acre development straddles North Creek Drive. Buck Management, an affiliate of Charleston-based Jupiter Holdings, bought the property in 2018 for $12.7 million.

Real Estate

Developer Eddie Buck expects the first businesses to be operational, possibly as early as May, on the eastern side of North Creek Drive.

A Blue Water convenience store with Shell gas is rising on the corner while a Dunkin’ donuts shop and Azul Mexican Restaurant will sit in a separate building along U.S. 176.

“My goal is to have Blue Water and Dunkin’ open in May,” Buck said.

Two other buildings under construction along North Creek Drive behind the gas station will include a variety of businesses.

Tenants lined up for the structures include restaurants Buffalo Wild Wings, Jersey Mike’s Subs and Marco’s Pizza. Others include Heartland Dental and Princess Nails.

He believes Buffalo Wild Wings, Jersey Mike’s and the nail salon could be ready by June with the others following not long afterward.

“There is a little bit of space left in each building that has not been leased,” Buck said. “We will get them built out and then see who can fit in the space.”

Buck also is in talks with Raising Cane’s Chicken Fingers to build a new restaurant on a parcel between the gas station and the building that will house Buffalo Wild Wings and other tenants.

“We are negotiating a lease with a goal to start by the end of the year,” he said.

A separate building planned near Arrogate Village Apartments on North Creek Drive is expected to become an Ace Hardware site in a second phase of construction.

Real Estate

On the western side of North Creek Drive, fast-food restaurant McDonald’s, auto parts retailer AutoZone and Time To Shine Car Wash will be built over the next year.

Buck believes McDonald’s will probably be the first of those to open. On the back left corner of that same parcel, a 500-unit, 70,000-square-foot Extra Space Storage will be built.

A third phase of construction will include a supermarket.

“We are in active discussions with three grocers,” Buck said.

No decision has been made which supermarket chain will become part of the new retail center, but it likely won’t be Publix.

Business

The Florida-based grocer operates a store across the street at the entrance to Cane Bay Plantation.

Driving retailers and restaurants to the area is the growth in housing in the Charleston-area suburbs.

The new retail project is surrounded by three mega-housing developments.

Cane Bay, Carnes Crossroads and Nexton are at different stages of development, but about 25 percent of the more than 27,000 planned housing units have either been built, sold or are under construction, based on figures from last fall supplied by representatives of each community.

The New Covenant Church of God has experienced quite a few changes since its inception in 1993 that saw a group of eight “passionate” worshipers expand and grow throughout The Lowcountry, says church administrative assistant Sheila Black.

After relocating from Hanahan, the Pentecostal house of worship moved to Ashley Phosphate Road in 2007, while maintaining a steady presence in Mount Pleasant as well.

But Pastor Marc Campbell and company recently sold the North Charleston property in October 2021, with designs on building a state-of-the-art facility at 1667 Rose Drive in the Nexton mixed-use community in Downtown Summerville.

With shovels hitting the dirt this past Sunday, the projected completion date for construction is about 18 months away in the summer of 2024.

New Covenant’s congregation is presently meeting for 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services at the old Summerville Church of God at 304 Pine Street during the Nexton construction phase. Additionally, the church also has several sub groups that meet separately on Wednesday night, including a a woman’s group, along with boys and girls clusters.

Food distribution services are also part of the mix, as New Covenant collaborates with a North Charleston ministry to donate food to the needy every Thursday.

“Our church will be constructed with future plans to include an outdoor amphitheater and athletic fields,” detailed Black. “Our main goal in the next few months is to have our church ready for worship and facilities for our children’s ministries.”

Campbell, a Hazard, Kentucky native, and his wife, Mary, served abroad as evangelists and pastors in the United Kingdom prior to starting New Covenant out of their living room.

When asked if Pastor Campbell’s sermon style is strictly by-the-book, Black described him as a preacher who will incorporate or relate to the daily lives of his congregants, but also bring his discussion back to the Bible. In short, she depicted him as a “man with a vision.”

It was also noted that Campbell is a member of the Charleston Ecclesiastic Council and heavily involved in training in parts of Europe and Asia.

Unlike lots of new churches featuring gospel bands and singing at their services, however, New Covenant goes down the more traditional music-free route.

“We are a multi-cultural, multi-generational place to worship,” concluded Black, who expounded on the collective enthusiasm provided by church members on a weekly basis.

“On any given Sunday at New Covenant, you will find smiling faces, willing hands and open hearts. There is room here for those who have felt unwanted and neglected. There is room here for those who have never walked through the doors of a church. There is room here for families that are struggling ... for the imperfect. As a matter of fact, this is what New Covenant is made of — come as you are. You’ll see suits and ties right next to shorts and flip flops. It would make our day to see you walk through the doors.”

The master-planned Nexton community will soon become a medical destination for Berkeley County.

Medical University of South Carolina has proposed a $130 million hospital within the Summerville community. The 128-patient bed facility will include four operating rooms, eight labor and delivery rooms, diagnostic testing and imaging, and emergency services, MUSC Health Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Bacik said.

“A large percentage of our current patients originate from Berkeley County, and this is going to really allow our patients to have access within our communities,” Bacik said. “It’s not a surprise to anyone that the growth has outpaced some of the infrastructure.”

MUSC has asked the state for approval to build the community hospital through a certificate of need.

The build is expected to take two and a half years.

Nexton’s Vice President of Operations Brent Gibadlo said a hospital offers a service to the surrounding areas and residents because health care options have become a growing priority for homebuyers.

“There are certain basic things that are important for everyone that don’t change,” he said. “Certainly good schools if people have children and then good health care options. So having a world-class hospital in close proximity is always a wonderful compliment to a community."

Downtown Charleston’s MUSC campus will remain the hub for the educational hospital, while the Nexton campus will book end it with satellite campuses and ambulatory services in between, Bacik said.

“We’re full downtown, and we need to make sure that we can continue to have access to those more acute patients,” Bacik said. “It’s really about getting the patients the right level of care at the right place.”

The need for a community hospital in Berkeley County is critical, said Dr. Dave Zaas, CEO of the Charleston division of MUSC. The hospital’s co-location in Nexton will help with the area’s continued growth.

“That is a lot of our strategy not just in tri-county but around the state,” he said. “Not only delivering the highest quality ... but more convenient and ideally at a lower cost. I think that drives our ambulatory growth as well as our statewide strategy.”

Gibadlo said Nexton is just starting to explore the possibilities with MUSC and its idea of community health care, of being more proactive and going out into the community to initiate health and wellness programs. Preventative care could then decrease the need for hospital visits.

“We’ve had conversations with MUSC on how to incorporate some of those programs into Nexton,” Gibadlo said. “That’s everything from community gardens to community fitness programs to even potential opportunities for some of the coordination between MUSC and some of the companies at Nexton.”

Other suggestions include incorporating companies’ health care programs through MUSC and creating wellness programs employees can participate in.

Bacik is already excited for both caregivers and patients because she believes the best care is delivered conveniently to patients, many of whom come from across the state.

“A lot of our patients and staff travel to the peninsula today to receive care or to care for our patients ... so if they could receive care 30 minutes closer, that’s a benefit for the communities as well,” Bacik said.

Gibadlo is going on 13 years at Nexton and said there is has another 13 or 14 years left in the business plan. He still remembers those early years, though, sitting in a Welcome Center trailer praying that builders and homebuyers would think outside the box.

Convincing people to give Nexton a chance was hard a decade ago given the location.

Over time, Gibadlo has found that if he pushes the envelope to create value, the innovation is well-received.

“I think the potential for Nexton is really evolving continuously. What we used to think was possible we’ve exceeded now. Maybe we can take it another step,” he said. “A hospital was something we only dreamed about 10 years ago. Now that’s happening.”

Nexton now receives calls almost daily from groups, retailers and home builders who want to create something exciting at the community. Gibadlo said the biggest challenge is prioritizing. If he reacts to every call, he risks losing focus of the long-term vision that Nexton is systematically moving through.

“At the same time, you have to be flexible enough that if you get a call, like from MUSC, you change track a little bit because that’s a great opportunity,” he said.

A community with a master plan allowed Gibadlo and his team to be deliberate about adding a hospital. They could look at the map of the 5,000 acres to find a plot that was accessible, wouldn’t disrupt homeowners with traffic and had surrounding space for businesses the hospital could bring in. Gibadlo believes they will come.

As an educational institution, MUSC’s research and development could lead to job opportunities and potential spin-off businesses, he said.

Together, Gibadlo and his team’s vision for Nexton stem from a love for the region. He knows, however, that with any growth, there will inevitably be challenges. The objective then is to figure out how to make those obstacles positive.

“We look at it and say hey, we can create this employment center in the Charleston region, take some of the pressure off downtown, 526, everyone commuting and bring some of the great things that people love about this region from a quality of life and bring them to another location that can spread them out a little bit,” he said. “Maybe we can play a small role in helping this region continue to be a great place to live. At the heart of it, that’s what motivates us every day.”

Sep 2020

Initially, it was difficult for many people to envision. After all, the map showed only thousands of acres of timber tracts surrounding Summerville, but Dexter Rumsey saw it coming. He knew the tract which would ultimately become Cane Bay Plantation on Hwy 176 was under contract, he understood proximity to Interstate 26 offered access and visibility, and he realized there would be demand for land to develop in the years to come.

Now, everyone can see the success of the Nexton community, located between I-26 and Hwy 176. Thousands of homes, dozens of businesses, schools and medical facilities — Nexton has indeed become the “next town” its name signifies, with room for future growth. And commercial real estate leader NAI Charleston has been part of it from the beginning, active in the sale of land for neighborhoods, banks, restaurants and other amenities that serve those who live there.

“At first, people didn’t understand it. It was a timber tract with very poor access,” says Rumsey, partner at NAI Charleston, who found the land when searching for large development sites. “There were only service roads accessing the Sheep Island tract, but I knew what the Cane Bay developer was planning and thought, ‘Well if that project is in the works on Hwy 176, then this tract with interstate frontage is a no-brainer.’ The rest is history.”

The result was a $21 million deal with Crescent Resources, who worked with Berkeley County to record a Development Agreement with entitlements for “The Parks of Berkeley” on the Sheep Island tract. MeadWestvaco was the original seller but ultimately purchased the property back from Crescent and commenced with an aggressive campaign of building roads and installing utilities for what would become the Nexton community.

NAI Charleston’s land brokerage continued beyond the original sale to Crescent, later representing WestRock (formerly MeadWestvaco) in parcel sales totaling over $47 million in closed deals at Nexton, with more still in the works. “The land was originally affordable, and you had the infrastructure in place,” says Thomas Boulware, Partner and Broker-in-Charge at NAI Charleston. “Being right off I-26, with 17-A and highways 176 and 78, you had a lot of access. The foresight of Berkeley County to adopt a Development Agreement allowing the necessary infrastructure and zoning expedited the entire process. We were able to create a place and a community for people looking to move into our market.” NAI Charleston facilitated the land sale for Nexton Square on 17-A and for the future Nexton Town Center between Brighton Park Blvd. and Sigma Drive. Today, the Nexton development continues to grow under the ownership of Newland Communities with plans for years to come.

Residential and retail

With the Atlantic Ocean to the east and protected lands to the north and south, such as the Francis Marion National Forest and ACE Basin, the growth of the Charleston area has always been limited. With Mount Pleasant approaching capacity and outer West Ashley’s drainage issues, growth has been funneled in one direction — up the I-26 corridor, toward Summerville and beyond.

“It’s the most logical direction for growth,” continues Rumsey. “In a pure development model, you follow the transportation route, and we only have a semicircle. We have developers asking us all about land for homes and industrial uses from Ridgeville to St. George and I-95, including areas I never thought would have received that attention.”

That growth, fueled by industrial linchpins like Volvo in Ridgeville and DHL in St. George, has helped make Nexton more centralized. With new residents comes a demand for more supporting businesses — like Carolina Ale House, Rainbow Child Care, CPM Federal Credit Union, Cambria Hotel, a self-storage facility, and other businesses that NAI Charleston has helped introduce to the community.

“As residential starts filling in, retail is going to follow,” says Will Sherrod, a veteran broker at NAI Charleston. “You've got large developers that are looking at parcels close to the interstate — not only the Harris Teeter site that has been public knowledge, but there's also another proposed grocery group looking in the same area. There are multiple convenience store groups that are interested in parcels along Nexton Parkway on both sides of the interstate.” NAI Charleston currently represents the owner of approximately ±100-acres planned for mixed-use development along Nexton Parkway/North Maple, south of I-26.

Although much of Nexton’s commercial development has clustered around U.S. 17, Nexton Parkway offers the potential for further expansion. “It's probably going to be smarter and not as congested as North Main Street,” Sherrod says. “I think it will be a welcome shift. You'll see some of these larger retailers potentially explore the Nexton Parkway side. Post-COVID-19, we’ll have to see what big boxes are looking at in terms of expansion, but I think you’ll see continued growth of retail along that side of the interstate.”

Access is key. The Nexton interchange on I-26, which opened in 2018, was in Crescent’s plans from the start. “They worked hand-in-hand with Berkeley County to adopt a development plan that laid out a long-term set of guidelines for commercial, multifamily, and medical hubs within those 4,500 acres,” Rumsey says. The Nexton Parkway interchange on I-26 was on the master plan back in 2006. Ultimately, it came to fruition 12 years later, reducing congestion on Hwy 17-A and providing direct access to entitled land with utilities.

Accessibility and affordability

The owners of Carolina Ale House saw the potential as well. When they decided to expand to Nexton, they wanted a site with parking that could accommodate 150 cars. “They said, ‘This is going to be the hottest restaurant we have in our portfolio of restaurants throughout the Carolinas,’” Rumsey recalls. NAI Charleston brokered the land for $2.1 million and later sold the Starbucks next door and an adjacent ±1-acre parcel to the same owner. This parcel is currently offered for ground lease as a future bank site.

It was a similar situation for First Citizens Bank, which had searched for two years to find the right spot in the area. When they found Nexton, they bought not just the land for their branch, but an entire 12-acre parcel which sits across the street from a proposed Harris Teeter. “We've had a tremendous amount of interest in it,” says David Grubbs, partner at NAI Charleston. “They've been very methodical about the development of the rest of the 12 acres because they want complementary and compatible uses.”

Jim Rozier, late former Berkeley County supervisor, had a vision to create a commercial base to reduce taxes on homeowners, and he was deeply involved in multiple development agreements for the area. The collaboration of the county, the accessibility of the land, and the opportunities yielded from potential land entitlements allowed Nexton to become a reality. The development has come a long way from that initial $21 million land deal, resulting in a vibrant mixed-use community at the center of the Lowcountry.

Contact NAI Charleston at (843) 720-4944 about any of their available properties at Nexton, or visit their website at NAICharleston.com for further information.