AT WORK Ellsworth Burch, Hussey Gay Bell.
PAGE 30 VOLUME 27 NUMBER 16 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
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Renovating a cultural legacy along U.S. Highway 17 By Teri Errico Griffis
Building balance
Lowcountry women are working to bridge the gender gap in construction. Page 10
Rising to the top
Dee Norton welcomes executive director, who started with organization 30 years ago. Page 5
Owner anxieties
Business leaders weigh in on their biggest worries, and No. 1 might surprise you. Page 2
M
tgriffis@scbiznews.com
ount Pleasant native Corey Alston didn’t grow up a generational basket weaver. His high school girlfriend introduced him to the art as a teenager. Twenty years later the couple is happily married, and the owner of Corey Alston
Gullah Sweetgrass Baskets has since risen to become leader of the sweetgrass craft community. He takes his role, and preservation of the art, very seriously, and in July he began helming revitalization efforts of the rundown basket stands, which he said sit at the “epicenter of the sweetgrass basket industry” along U.S. Highway 17 North in Mount Pleasant. The project is part of Alston’s role as a
SALTWATER AS A RESOURCE
World’s first indoor saltwater farm combats rising sea levels through thriving sustainable agriculture business. Now they’re ready to grow. Page 8
Industrial space
Commercial distribution and warehouse space growing across South Carolina. Page 3
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Best Advice........................... 4 In Focus: Architecture, Engineering and Construction.................11 List: Architecture Firms.......23 Bonus List: Hotels...............26 At Work...............................29 Viewpoint............................ 31 Sea beans grow inside an indoor saltwater farm in Charleston. (Photo/Alexandria Ng)
member of the Culture, Arts and Pride Commission of Mount Pleasant. The group is responsible for beautifying the town. Recognizable projects include the wraps around traffic boxes, murals around town and oyster paintings. Alston chose to spruce up the dilapidating stands that have stood since the since the See SWEETGRASS, Page 6
Tennis deal changes name of tournament By Alexandria Ng
C
ang@scbiznews.com
redit One Bank has committed to a multi-year title sponsorship with Charleston Tennis LLC. The financial services company based in Las Vegas will serve as the new title sponsor of the Women’s Tennis Association 500 tennis tournament hosted in Charleston, as well as the stadium located at the LTP Daniel Island tennis center. “We’ve got millions of fans of us and card members here in this region, so being a part of this region was really critical to us as an organization,” said John Coombe, senior vice president of marketing at Credit One. “We’re thrilled that the conversations kept going forward, and we had the opportunity to have the naming rights for the stadium.” Formerly known as the Volvo Car Open, the WTA 500 event serves as the largest women’s-only tennis tournament in North America. On a yearly basis, this tournament brings in about 90,000 spectators and generates about $30 million for the Charleston region. See TENNIS, Page 10
CHARLESTON UNDER CONSTRUCTION Who is building what in the Charleston area? Projects, companies, prices, projected timelines, photos and stories. Page 11