Charleston Regional Business Journal - December 12, 2022

Roper St. Francis to build $1B health campus

By Jason Thomas Jthomas@scbiznews.com

Roper St. Francis Healthcare will build a new campus in North Charleston that will include a new hospital and office building.

The $1 billion Roper Hospital Medical Campus in North Charleston will occupy 27-acres near inter-

states 26 and 526 and be easily accessible for patients living in Berkeley, Charleston or Dorchester counties, according to a Roper release.

The project will be one of the largest, most advanced health care construction projects on the East Coast and will meet the health care needs of one of the fastest growing areas in the country.

“This new medical campus will

be a paradigm for providing healthcare, whether that’s complex surgeries in a hospital or an annual checkup in an outpatient office,” said Dr. Jeffrey DiLisi, president and chief executive officer of Roper St. Francis Healthcare, said in the release. “We made the bold decision one year ago to move Roper Hospital, and I’m grateful to our North Charleston partners for breathing life into this

dream. This new campus will ensure our ability to continue delivering the quality care that’s been the hallmark of our brand for generations.”

The new Roper Hospital Medical Campus is expected to include a full-service acute care hospital with a 24-hour Emergency Room, the release stated. The campus also will

By Krys Merryman

kmerryman@scbiznews.com and Christina Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com

When Shannon Wilbanks and Joe Erwin, managing partners of Endeavor, left their advertising firm in 2015, they collaborated on how

they could provide an office-working environment with the energy, technology and training opportunities that they could get at larger agencies but weren’t able to access being in business as a sole proprietor or small business.

It was out of this concept that they realized they were talking about coworking.

“We hadn’t planned on being in the coworking game,” said Wilbanks. “It really grew out of that (concept). Our mission is to do whatever we can to help our members succeed, and that’s coming from a very genuine place.”

Coworking is the use of a collaborative workspace that offers an alternative way to work. In cowork-

Health Care Heroes

ing spaces, people work independently or in groups to complete projects. This concept is popular, because it provides a sense of community and a conducive working atmosphere you wouldn’t be able to receive if working for a larger company.

South Carolina Christmas trees a growing sector

While North Carolina produces the second-largest number of Christmas trees in the U.S. each year, the state known more for palmetto logs than fir trees also contributes to the annual harvest of live-cut trees.

South Carolina is an agribusiness state with the forestry sector accounting for billions of dollars and tens of thousands of direct and indirect jobs across the state. In terms of employment, forestry is the No. 1 industry in South Carolina, data from the S.C. Forestry Commission show, including the more than half-a-million trees growing at any one time on the state’s 23 tree farms.

Compared to North Carolina, the Palmetto State’s contribution to the nation’s annual Christmas trees harvest is more of a potted plant than an old-growth forest, but like most agribusiness subsectors, Christmas tree growing is a highly sustainable business that contributes to habitat, prevents soil erosion, and provides many direct and indirect jobs across the state.

Even though Christmas trees on their own aren’t a huge business for South Carolina foresters, tree growing and harvesting, including the production of biomass, is a vital sector for the state’s economy, beating out sectors such as tourism, health care and manufacturing.

By Andy Owens

Christmas tree production in the Southeast 2020

Among Southeastern states, South Carolina grows the third-most Christmas trees behind the juggarnaut of North Carolina and Virginia, with 24.1 million and 4.3 million, respectively. Below are the top five producing states behind North Carolina and Virginia for live Christmas tree production on farms in each state.

Christmas trees grow for up to eight years before being tall enough to be sold. At any one time, tree farms have thousands of trees of different sizes in production.

Source: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Cultivated Christmas Trees On Operation 2020

Top states for Christmas tree sales

The following states produce the most Christmas tree sales in 2019 for the more than 11.6 million sold that year.

State Trees sold Oregon 3,844,562

North Carolina 2,019,686 Michigan 1,922,961 Wisconsin 784,617 Pennsylvania 652,891

Ever-growing Christmas tree sales in SC

In 2019, South Carolina sold more than 16,000 Christmas trees for nearly $900,000 in sales, a number that has increased each time the U.S. Department of Agriculture has surveyed the sector.

Year Annual sales in S.C. 2019 $883,342 2017 $869,000 2014 $841,274 2012 $666,000 2009 $227,194

“This is a remarkably promising initiative, and a powerful example of what we can achieve when we work in partnership with our residents and small business owners to help keep our city safe.”

— John Tecklenburg, mayor of Charleston

SC Biz News Briefs

SERVING OUR HEROES IN CHARLESTON AND THE LOWCOUNTRY

$4.2 million investment will create 42 new jobs for industry serving shed construction

Shed Windows and More Inc., a window and building materials manufacturer and distributor, will expand operations in Horry County. The company’s $4.2 million investment will create 42 new jobs over the next five years, the company said in a news release from the Commerce Department.

Founded in 2001, Shed Windows and More Inc. manufactures and distributes a variety of building materials including windows, doors, hinges, shutters, skylights, hardware and more. The company serves both do-it-yourself builders and contractors around the world.

“Our company has been around for more than 20 years and part of Horry County since 2013,” Vice President Thomas Slack said in the news release. “We value our employees, our customers and the community. Shed Windows and More Inc. is excited to expand our operations to meet the growth of our customers all over the United States. Thank you to everyone who has shared a part in our expansion, and we look forward to more great opportunities in the future.”

Located at 2342 Chestnut Road in the Horry County town of Longs, Shed Windows and More Inc.’s expansion will include the construction of a new 50,000-square-foot facility which will allow the company to manufacture double-pane vinyl windows in-house — increasing its business and workflow.

“Horry County is devoted to supporting and growing industry, and we are proud to announce the expansion of Shed Windows and More Inc.,” County Council Chairman Johnny Gardner said in the release. “The company represents success in our county and proof that we are a great place to have a business. On behalf of Horry County Council and our staff, congratulations. Thank you for being part of Team Horry.”

The expansion is expected to be complete in 2023. Individuals interested in joining company should visit SC Works.

Shed Windows and More Inc. was started by Theresa Slack in 2001 with the website being added in 2008, so do-it-yourself builders would have a website giving them access to materials to build a small building, such as a shed, playhouse, treehouse, chicken coop or deer stand and find everything in one place.

Shed Windows and More Inc. has won the Camp Hill Best of the Year award two years running as a local business in Horry County. Company products have been seen multiple times on HGTV and the Discovery Channel and as part of various DIY shows, including a show done about the Hobbit House of Montana, a unique lodging facility.

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Shed Windows and More developed a webiste to expand sales in the do-it-yourself market. (Photo/Provided)

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Charleston aquarium launches expansion after $2M gift

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By Jason Thomas jthomas@scbiznews.com

A$2 million gift from Boeing will allow the South Carolina Aquarium to expand its education programming.

The Boeing Learning Lab at the Maritime Center will be the Charleston peninsula’s first waterfront multidisciplinary learning center, according to a news release from the aquarium.

The opening of the Boeing Learning Lab in 2024 will revolutionize the way the community connects with the natural world, enabling the aquarium to expand their reach and offer thousands more students free, STEM education programming with the Charleston waterfront serving as their backdrop, the release stated.

“The place where sky meets water will become their classroom; they’ll breathe in the salty air and experience the sights and sounds of the Charleston Harbor,” Brian Thill, director of education at the aquarium, said in the release. “For some, this may be their first or only trip to the coast; For others, this will be the catalyst that leads them to becoming the next generation of conservation stewards and STEM

professionals.”

Over the years, the aquarium has worked to expand programming to better serve the community with offerings for early as well as lifelong learning, teen programming, statewide education outreach, virtual programs and student internships, the release stated. Currently, classroom space within the Aquarium limits how many students can visit; the aquarium must turn away two out of every three students that apply to the free Dominion Energy School Programs, a core standards-based education and field trip experience for students of South Carolina.

Now, bolstered by Boeing’s leadership gift, the aquarium team will have indoor and outdoor multidisciplinary classroom spaces to double the number of students served annually, the release stated.

Within the Learning Lab, the aquarium will deliver a robust slate of education programming and partner with scientists and researchers to deliver groundbreaking interactive presentations on diverse conservation and resilience topics, the release stated. The Learning Lab will serve as an experiential learning hub for current education programs — Dominion Energy School Programs, Virtual Pro-

grams, Education Outreach, High School Intern Program and more — and will act as the launchpad for new offerings to better serve students across the state in the future.

The location of the Boeing Learning Lab is uniquely positioned to unlock the waterfront for the greater Charleston area, the release stated. It will be available as a meeting space for organizations and businesses to collaborate and better serve the community.

“The Boeing Company and the South Carolina Aquarium both share similar passions for sustainability, conservation and STEM education, and the development of the Boeing Learning Lab was a natural extension of our longstanding partnership,” said Lindsay Leonard, senior director of Government Operation for Boeing, in the release. “The Lab will promote conservation through education, awareness and connection to the natural environment. Its prime Harbor location, adjacent to the International African American Museum, will allow students and adults alike to benefit from several immersive educational experiences now available along Charleston’s waterfront.” CRBJ

Reach Jason Thomas at 864-568-7570.

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The Boeing Learning Lab at the Maritime Center will be the Charleston peninsula’s first waterfront multidisciplinary learning center. (Photo/Provided)

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Broadcast TV studio planned for Broad Street

By Jenny Peterson Contributing Writer

Acrisis communications lawyer and regular guest on national news programs is planning to transform a room on the first floor of a historic building on Broad Street into a state-of-the-art TV broadcast studio.

Josh Nass purchased 61 Broad St., a four-story office building, for $1.72 million earlier this year. He’s planning to convert a conference room into a remote broadcast studio where elected officials can film live commentary and interviews on national network TV shows, a place where businesses can shoot commercials or marketing videos, a location for national TV hosts to use when they are “on location” in the Holy City and more.

“It’s going to be open and available to everybody,” Nass said.

After moving to Charleston from New York during the pandemic, Nass fell in love with the city and the history and prominence of Broad Street.

“I’ve always been a fan of Broad Street and South of Broad and when the building came on the market, I got to work quickly,” Nass said. “Broad Street is one of Charleston’s most charming, historic and architecturally favorable and appealing blocks. I want to give Broad Street the panache that it deserves.”

Nass said he came up with the idea to bring a broadcast studio downtown after filming a segment in Charleston’s nearest remote studio inside a modest home in Mt. Pleasant.

“I realized there was a void in the market,” Nass said.

He said national networks have already shown interest in the future studio.

“We’ve had talks with senior folks at some major cable networks and the reception has been overwhelmingly positive,” Nass said.

“They want there to be a remote studio they can rely on from a production quality standpoint and a place where a noteworthy

guest who may be visiting Charleston for the weekend can use.”

It will take around two years to outfit the studio at 61 Broad St. and get it up and running. The Steinberg Law firm remains as a tenant in the building.

Overseeing the development and construction plans will be Jonathan Wachtel, former senior executive producer at Fox News and former communications director for former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley when she was ambassador to the United Nations. Plans include outfitting the studio room with two spaces — one for filming and an additional room/booth for a producer.

Nass said the broadcast studio will have direct access to an outdoor patio that guests can use before or after a segment. Nass said future plans include bringing a rooftop area online and adding a small café or dessert bar.

“We’ve been talking to a series of internationally-renowned architects exploring different ideas for the first floor of the building,” Nass said. “This is not going to be just any remote studio. This is going to be a studio on par with what any of these networks and affiliate studios look like. It’s going to replicate exactly what the guests would get if they were seated inside the headquarters for CNN in Atlanta, in New York or in Los Angeles. It’s going to be a tremendous value add to the city and a place where, say, CNN can drive noteworthy guests to when they are in town — whether it’s Nicki Haley, Nancy Mace, Tim Scott or Governor (Henry) McMaster.”

Nass said he expects the studio to create a handful of local jobs in broadcasting and producing and will hopefully elevate and reinvent one of Charleston’s most historic streets.

“Broad Street used to be all law firms. It was exciting to have an office down there. Now, everybody’s headed to Morrison Avenue. I think Broad Street has an opportunity to reinvent itself in a way that preserves the architectural integrity and create new reasons for people to be drawn to it,” Nass said. “I think having a broadcast hub will put Charleston on more of a global stage.”

Kion North America investing $40 million in Summerville

By Ross Norton rnorton@scbiznews.com

Kion North America, a member of the Kion Group, will expand operations in Dorchester County with a $40 million investment the company says will create approximately 450 new jobs. Kion North America is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of industrial trucks. The company’s brands, Linde Material Handling and Baoli, serve the requirements of the North American market with a comprehensive and complementary

product portfolio that the company says includes technologies, low energy consumption and low operating costs.

Headquartered at 2450 W. Fifth St. in Summerville, Kion North America is reshoring the manufacturing of core components including forklift masts. The company is also adding assembly lines that will involve the installation of crane systems, automated weld systems, new paint facilities and more, according to a news release.

“We are proud to be investing in South Carolina, particularly in Dorchester County,” Kion North America President and

CEO Jonathan Dawley said in the release. “Both the state and county have been excellent partners in this process. The Kion Group is highly committed to expanding in the U.S., Canada and Mexico and believes customers deserve products customized for these markets. We look forward to reaching more customers with our full-scale traditional lift truck portfolio and custom solutions such as automation, telematics and fleet management.”

The expansion is expected to be complete in 2024.

“Kion North America has been a val-

ued part of Dorchester County, and we are thankful for their continued presence and new investment in our community,” Dorchester County Council Chairman Bill Hearn said in the release. “Congratulations Kion North America on your new expansion, and we wish you continued success.”

The Commerce Department’s Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits related to this project. The council also approved a $500,000 Set-Aside grant to assist with the costs of site preparation and building construction.

Oyster bar The Quinte opens in downtown hotel

The Quinte, a 40-seat oyster bar, has opened directly off the lobby of The Pinch hotel in downtown Charleston.

The spot at 36 George St., at King Street is rooted in the ceremony and traditions of a turn-of-the-century oyster house and cocktail den, according to a news release.

Helmed by Executive Chef Nicolas Quintero (who previously worked at Charleston institutions the Fig and The Ordinary as sous chef), the concept features a rotating

daily menu of seafood simply prepared and expertly shucked, drawing from Southern hospitality with a taste of French influence. The oyster-focused menu explores regional coastal cuisines with seasonally rotating plates alongside an oyster and raw bar selection, according to the release. With a focus on hyper-local vendors and delicacies, guests and locals alike can expect to find the freshest seafood available — the sous chef/ head shucker selects the best product of the

day straight from Charleston’s fishing boats, offering an immersive experience that can be tasted in the raw bar only kitchen.

Seafood towers and caviar service coincide with signature items such as Stone Crab Claws, which are sourced locally and paired with a housemade dijonnaise, a shrimp roll with celery, Dukes mayo, citrus and jalapeño, the release stated. The hot dish available is cooked a la minute: the steamed local fish is served with a brown butter caper

sauce poured on tableside.

The menu is complemented by a beverage program that highlights an extensive 40-bottle wine selection with a focus on coastal Mediterranean wine regions, a selection of rare vintage champagnes, local beer and craft cocktails, according to the release.

The restaurant (pronounced Kwint) is named for the original billiards hall that opened in the same location in 1918, the release stated.

Josh Nass appears on CNN in Washington. His appearances as a subject matter expert on various television shows inspired him to create a space for that kind of studio in Charleston. (Photo/Provided)

Charleston partners with tech company to curb underage drinking

By Ross Norton rnorton@scbiznews.com

As many as 31 bars and restaurants in the King Street area of Charleston are invited to take part in a pilot program using technology to battle the challenge of underage drinking.

Charleston city officials and Intellicheck recently launched the six-month program using Intellicheck’s identity verification mobile technology application, which the company says is more than 99% accurate in authenticating IDs in less than a second using existing mobile devices or point-of-sale scanners. The partnership officially kicked off on Dec. 5.

“We’ve looked into several options to help our King Street bars and restaurants meet the fake ID challenge, and Intellicheck was clearly the winner,” Councilmember Mike Seekings said in a news release. “This is a proven-effective technology, and I’m proud that Charleston is leading the way with this pilot program to make it available to our local businesses.”

The program is being underwritten by the city of Charleston and Explore Charleston, with a $20,000 contribution from each, with Intellicheck contributing the technology at a “sharply reduced cost,” the news release said, but did not

Summerville

disclose the terms.

“As mayor, I’d like to thank Intellicheck, Explore Charleston and all the participating local businesses,” Mayor John Tecklenburg said in the release.

“This is a remarkably promising initiative, and a powerful example of what we can achieve when we work in partnership with our residents and small business owners to help keep our city safe.”

Participating area businesses will use the same tool currently being used by the Charleston Police Department and

the S.C. Law Enforcement Division, in addition to other law enforcement agencies across the country.

“Putting a stop to underage drinking is a critical component of our larger King Street safety plan,” CPD Chief Luther Reynolds said in the release. “Like SLED and many other law enforcement agencies, CPD already uses the Intellicheck system, and I look forward to working with our area businesses to put these scanners in the hands of the bar and restaurant employees who need them

most.”

Intellicheck CEO Bryan Lewis said the partnership provides a dynamic solution to the problems caused by the use of high-tech fake IDs. Lewis said fake IDs have become so sophisticated that even the most seasoned law enforcement officers often cannot distinguish them from a legitimate ID with a visual inspection.

“These high-tech fake IDs are widely available at little cost on the web and it’s a daunting problem for law enforcement agencies because a large number of these fake IDs are coming from China,” he said in the release. “It’s like whack-a-mole. As soon as they shut down a major provider, they pop back up with a slightly different name and web address. This partnership is a unifying force that provides an effective solution to the challenges driven by fake IDs.”

The goal of the program is to eliminate underage drinking in the King Street area. Twenty-four businesses have committed to participating in the program, including Roy Neal, owner of El Jefe.

“Preventing underage drinking is a shared responsibility,” Neal said in the release. “And thanks to this program, our local small business owners will soon be able to play a major role in keeping our kids, and our streets, safe.”

The partnership officially kicked off on Dec. 5. CRBJ

Explore Charleston and the city are funding the program to curb underage drinking. (Photo/File)

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions launches youth apprenticeship

Staff Report

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has launched a pilot program employing area high school students as apprentices at the Savannah River Site.

“We have a wide range of career opportunities requiring a technical school degree, and we need to fill and maintain that job pipeline,” said Dorian Newton, program manager for apprenticeship and pipeline training.

“Agreements with nearby Aiken, Denmark, Orangeburg and Augusta technical schools have been very helpful towards filling this need through our extensive adult apprenticeship program. That said, we realize the next step is to facilitate a way for local high school students to complete their high school curriculum while gaining hands-on experience working side by side with our employees as youth apprentices.”

Two South Carolina seniors, Arian Williams from Allendale High School and Drew Platts from Barnwell High School are the first participants in the apprenticeship program, according to a news release.

As apprentices, Platts and Williams will primarily perform administrative duties,

such as preparing and maintaining training records, setting up and breaking down classroom equipment and working as instructional aids.

Cynthia “Boo Boo” Roberts, deputy program manager, will mentor Williams and Platts as they work through the program.

“We want to expose them to various types of jobs available at the Savannah River Site,” Roberts said. “You never know

what might spark a strong interest in a career that had not been previously considered.”

Newton said the ultimate goal is to expand the youth apprenticeship program to offer opportunities for participating students to take courses at local technical colleges.

“This will make for an optiumum, well-rounded experience that will benefit these high school seniors and our compa-

ny as we receive highly qualified job candidates throughout the foreseeable future through this process,” he said.

Both students said the program has been enjoyable so far.

“The youth apprenticeship program at Savannah River Nuclear Solutions has been a wonderful experience,” Williams said. “They are very understanding and work with you while you’re in school. I met many people who have given me great advice and assured me that I could come to them about any safety issues or concerns. This program has been a blessing.”

Platts said his first few days onsite were fun and exciting as he traveled around the site and visited facilities.

“I am excited to work at the Savanah River Site and explore all that it has to offer,” he said.

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions, a Fluor-led company with Newport News Nuclear and Honeywell, is responsible for the management and operations of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Savannah River Site located near Aiken. CRBJ

Reach Christina Lee Knauss at 803-753-4327.

By Ross Norton rnorton@scbiznews.com

Zeltwanger LP, a Germany-headquar-

operations, investing $12.5 million in the site.

The investment will mean 24 new jobs at a new North Charleston location, according to announcements from the Commerce Department and Charleston County Economic Development.

Zeltwanger LP is a manufacturing service provider for highly complex and precise machine parts worldwide, according to the news releases. The company assembles and manufactures machine products and serves a wide portfolio of applications including plant engineering, automotive, e-mobility, medical technology, automation technology, the packaging industry and the aerospace industry.

“This expansion demonstrates our longterm commitment to our customers and our investment in the future of this company,” Zeltwanger LP President Juergen Goehner said in the release. “We are honored to provide further economic growth and new

career opportunities for citizens within the community.”

Relocating within the county to 9551 Palmetto Commerce Parkway in North Charleston, Zeltwanger LP’s new facility will accommodate additional production due to increased demand in the Charleston area.

“It is with marked excitement that we congratulate Zeltwanger LP on their announcement to expand their presence in Charleston County,” Charleston County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor said in the release. “We strive to foster a receptive, business-friendly ecosystem designed for optimal growth opportunities.”

The expansion is expected to be complete by the first half of 2023.

The company in March 2003 announced its first plans to establish operations in North Charleston off Montague Avenue. That was a $1.6 million investment that company President Ulrich Zeltwanger said at the time would create 24 jobs.

tered machine technology company will expand its Charleston County

Savannah River Nuclear Solutions recently launched a youth apprenticeship program at the Savannah River Site designed to develop future workforce. (Photo/Provided)

The expansion and new location will enable the company to increase staff. (Photo/Zeltwanger LP)

By Ross Norton rnorton@scbiznews.com

Production of the BMW XM has begun in Spartanburg County.

It is the first high-performance vehicle with an electrified drive system from the BMW M line.

BMW Manufacturing, which says the future has a place for both electric and gas vehicles, will make both of them on the same assembly line at Plant Spartanburg, where the X5, X6 and X7 roll off the line at a rate of about 1,500 a day.

“We are excited to add the first-ever BMW XM to our plant’s portfolio,” Robert Engelhorn, president and CEO of BMW Manufacturing, said in an announcement. “This modern, future-oriented design and powerful performance of the BMW XM has generated a lot of enthusiasm. As the center of competence for X models, BMW Plant Spartanburg is prepared to build this vehicle with the highest premium quality that our customers deserve.”

The BMW XM has a plug-in hybrid system with a V8 gasoline engine and a powerful electric motor, according to a news release. It will arrive at dealers worldwide in the spring, with key sales markets identified as the United States, China and the Middle East.

The M line of BMWs — meaning BMW Motorsports — was created in 1972 as a division of the company’s racing

teams.

The year after BMW Manufacturing temporarily halted production over COVID-19 concerns and the supply chain problems the pandemic caused, the company has had a year of milestones, starting with a January announcement that the plant had a record year of production despite the coronavirus.

In February the U.S. Commerce Department confirmed that Spartanburg-made automobiles led the nation in automotive exports by value for the eighth

consecutive year. The value of the 257,876 cars exported in 2021 exceeded $10.1 billion. Exports to Canada go by rail while the rest are exported through the S.C. Ports system, a company spokesman said during a recent event at the plant.

In March, Engelhorn announced that BMW would invest more than $200 million to build a 219,000-square-foot press shop at the site. Construction is underway now and production is expected to start in 2024.

In April, BMW Manufacturing donat-

ed $1.25 million to restore and preserve eight acres of urban wetlands at Unity Park in Greenville.

In September, the company celebrated the 30th anniversary of groundbreaking for the plant, the production of vehicle No. 6 million, and the opening of a $100 million logistics center. A week later, Plant Spartanburg opened a $20 million training center.

In October BMW Group made a monster announcement when it unveiled plans to invest $1 billion in Plant Spartanburg and another $700 million in a new site in Woodruff. The Spartanburg investment will prepare the plant for the production of electric vehicles. The Woodruff facility will produce high-voltage batteries for the six models of BMWs to be built eventually in the United States.

“Our theme at Plant Spartanburg is ‘Building Our Legacy, Driving Our Future,’” Engelhorn said in the release.

“The year 2022 has continued our storied legacy, and now an exciting part of our future is beginning as we start production of our BMW XM. Our commitment to South Carolina and the United States is stronger than ever.”

Over the last 30 years, the BMW Group has invested nearly $12 billion in Spartanburg County operations. Nearly 60% of the vehicles assembled by the plant’s 11,000 workers are exported to 120 markets around the world. CRBJ

Rollison)

And the popularity of collaborative work environments is skyrocketing in a postCOVID world, as the pandemic changed the very nature of how people think about the workplace, with remote work and hybrid setups becoming the norm.

“It was invigorating to see all these people just trying to work their jobs and all with the attitude of ‘I’m going to figure it out’ despite COVID challenges,” Wilbanks said.

As Wilbanks and Erwin got into the coworking industry, Wilbanks said they realized there is a broad spectrum of people who need that type of work environment. Whether someone works at a small business and needs 24/7 access to their office, to entrepreneurs and sole proprietors, to people who work remotely for another company who don’t need a private office but a single workspace, to people who love working from home but want to get out of the house one day a week, or sole business travelers.

Endeavor opened in May 2016 and is a membership-based coworking community allowing for a space for a diverse range of peers who offer varying services and experiences in addition to providing training opportunities, networking events and business consulting for business professionals.

Wilbanks said they decided on the Greenville One Center space in downtown Greenville for this coworking vision, because it is ideally located in the heart of downtown with 24/7 doorman security, LEED-certified features, and the space also has a private gym for members.

“People light up when they step off our elevator and into our space, pleasantly surprised at what we have here,” she added.

‘THE FUTURE’ OF WORKPLACES

Ramon Nieves-Lugo, president of Unicomm Media Group, founded and leads a successful Hispanic marketing agency of 12 employees, and has had a daytime membership at Endeavor almost since its inception.

For Nieves-Lugo, he said his main purpose for choosing coworking as his choice of office space versus a traditional office setting was the cost benefit.

“We originally had an office for a few members, but it has changed since COVID and everyone doesn’t work at the office anymore,” he said. “Commercial space is also expensive, especially being in downtown. The appeal of this space is high since its in a prime location, especially for sole proprietors and small businesses. The opportunity to connect with other individuals in the area is there, too.”

Even if a business has a lot of employees, said Nieves-Lugo, but doesn’t need a 30,000 square foot office space, this coworking option may suit them as well.

“It seems this type of working is the future,” he added.

Every company’s journey is different, said Wilbanks.

“The interesting thing about coworking, especially if you’re in an office, is people are increasingly putting a higher value on their time and living their lives while weighing the cost of rent for their office spaces. You

pay one monthly payment if you have an office here, that covers your office, the internet, the coffee, the cleaning, office machines, everything you need. So not only are those things you would have to otherwise pay separately, it frees you up to do the things only you can do, because we have all those other expenses covered, which takes off the administrative burden to some degree.”

Endeavor Greenville isn’t the only coworking concept in the city that sees similar inquiries with not only local entrepreneurs and sole proprietors but remote employees in industries such as web and tech, too.

AN ENTREPRENEURIAL MINDSET

Back in 2007, Atlas Local managing partner and tech entrepreneur Chris Merritt said he and his managing partners just needed office spaces at the time. They had no idea the co-op they created would lead to operating a coworking business, which still doesn’t even seem like a business to Merritt, he said. In 2016, they moved into one of the renovated loft apartment mill buildings in the West End of Greenville, West Village Lofts.

“Although we have grown, we still like to keep that co-op vibe,” said Merritt, who has a desk in the general space versus a private office. “Sure, my name is on the lease, but everyone here is an equal.”

Being surrounded by like-minded indi-

viduals who aren’t your coworkers is an ideal, best-case scenario for him and other members, Merritt said.

“When I want to disengage from work, I’m in an environment where I can easily do that (versus a traditional office setting),” he said. “If I’m burnt out and want to make a pot of coffee or sit and draw on the couch, there is no one there to bother me about some report that is due or something like that.”

Because Atlas Local is attached to residential units, members could cut out of work early and go to the pool or play a game of cornhole or pool after work as well as the ability to host networking events.

“I’ve always held the opinion that this is a sustainable approach to work, one that I personally want, along with the younger generations entering the workforce,” he said.

Humans need to be around other humans, but only being around each other because of your place of employment isn’t necessarily the healthiest model, said Merritt.

“Being around other people who share your passions also encourages entrepreneurial mindsets,” he added. “I wouldn’t be where I am today if I didn’t surround myself with people like that. Our community here tends to organically work with each other, not something we push, it just sort of happens and it makes sense as you’re around

other intelligent and creative people.”

Another aspect of remote work and coworking is allowing for the opportunity to hire from anywhere. Merritt said for the average job these days, people can work remotely, which in turn doesn’t allow physical proximity to limit the talent pool.

“Limiting your company to only hiring employees that are able to drive to your physical office, I think that mindset will be completely gone in the coming years,” he added. “I see less and less of it.”

Coworking spaces in Columbia run the gamut from smaller spaces in historic buildings to large buildings that have been converted from traditional offices to coworking locations.

FemmeX, a coworking space and social club dedicated mainly to woman-owned startups and entrepreneurs is located at 1501 Richland St.

SOCO offers coworking at two locations: SOCO 80808, located in 11,000 square feet of space inside a post-industrial building at 808 Lady St., and SOCO BullStreet, inside a historic building in the BullStreet District, one of the city’s hottest growing residential and business communities.

One of the largest coworking spaces in Columbia belongs to Expansive, a Chicago-based company founded in 2012 that currently offers coworking and other flexible workspace options at 48 locations nationwide. In the Carolinas, the company has offices in Charlotte and Columbia.

Expansive purchased the 12-story building at 1122 Lady St. in 2021 and currently offers a variety of work options in 159,013 square feet of space. The site includes everything from SmartSuites, high-tech office spaces for large teams, and smaller rental office spaces to a variety of options for smaller businesses and individual workers.

Jeff Barnes, Expansive’s area sales manager for the Carolinas, said customers at the Midlands office come from every age, demographic and career type.

“I have everyone from students who just can’t get their work done in their dorm to businesses whose workers are working

An Endeavor Greenville member works on her computer of the coworking enterprise in the Greenville One Tower. (Photo/Contributed by Shannon Wilbanks)

Members can work or hang out in the common area at Industious Charleston. (Photo/Industrious)

remote, to startups,” Barnes said. “We see a little bit of everything. We have insurance companies, law firms, tech companies, you name it using our spaces. If you can do business from a laptop, you can use a coworking space.”

Like most coworking spaces, Expansive offers an option where customers can pay for simple access to a table or couch in one of the building’s open lounge spaces, which includes high-speed internet and access to copiers and other office equipment.

Sharing space doesn’t seem to be a problem for too many, according to Barnes.

“Our dedicated desks are sold out right now,” he said. “It’s our most popular option because members always have access to the space. It just depends on their schedule and when they want to do business.”

Barnes believes coworking will only continue to expand as people who got used to working from home during the pandemic seek other options rather than a commute to the same office every day.

“The age of the traditional workspace is starting to go away because people are realizing the amount of money it takes to rent an entire building, outfit it and get people to come to a traditional workspace,” he said. “That’s just not what people are wanting anymore.”

In contrast to Endeavor and Atlas Local, FemmeX, and in comparison to Expansive, Industrious is a national coworking firm that is opening a location on King Street in Charleston, which is

slated to open in early December.

and regional director for the Midwest and Southeast Industrious locations, said the company wants to provide other compa-

A meeting takes place in a conference room at Endeavor in downtown Greenville, which offers a flexible menu of options, from coworking spaces to private offices at the center of town. (Photo/Provided by Endeavor)

Student-led mobile app ranks restaurants based on sensory triggers

By Jenny Peterson Contributing Writer

Many mobile apps let visitors rate restaurants, bars and tourist attractions on a five-star scale based on service, value or cleanliness, but a new app called SAFE-ROAM, created by College of Charleston students and graduates Noah Futch, Madison Gardner, Nicole Nelson and Tyler Smithhart will let users rate businesses on sensory triggers such as noise and lighting and accessibility for patrons with disabilities.

Created through the college’s Impact X Startup Accelerator Program, the lightbulb moment came when a member of the team recalled that a family member with autism struggled to find places to eat and visit due to unknown sensory level triggers which could provide a stressful environment.

The team explored the feasibility of a crowdsourced rating and review app that would rank businesses using familiar star ratings on common sensory triggers and handicapped accessibility both outside and inside the business.

“A lot of children with autism have a sensitivity to loud noises and a lot of times parents will just opt to stay in instead of going out and trying a new place because they’re not sure of the (sensory) environment,” said CEO Noah Futch. “The app will be laid out like any other platform like Yelp or OpenTable — asking ‘What was your experience with the noise level?’ ‘What time of day did you go, what day did you go?’ Someone can leave a written review as well.”

The creators pitched SAFE-ROAM to investors at the end of the semester and won second place among 12 teams competing. SAFE-ROAM additionally won first place in the audience choice award

and received $1,000 in seed money to the launch the business.

The SAFE-ROAM app is planning to launch officially in January, aiming to help parents and caregivers confidently plan where to eat, shop or visit when they are unfamiliar with a location’s interior environment.

More than 200 people have already signed up to be notified when SAFEROAM officially launches.

The four co-founders have personally been populating the site and compiling ratings, visiting more than 400 business-

es like restaurants, tourist attractions and bars in Charleston since the summer in order to build up the SAFE-ROAM database.

Some of their reviews are currently being posted on a blog and in an emailed newsletter.

“We took the summer to put our heads down and build it out and now we’re excited to bring it to the market,” Futch said. “There were a lot of things we found (in relation to sensory issues) that I was naïve to. Some places are very loud, there are strobe lights, a lot of rooftop

restaurants in Charleston don’t have elevator access. Google will show what places have handicapped ramps in the front, but once you get inside, that could be a different story.”

While the app will rate Charleston-area businesses, the future goal is to expand SAFE-ROAM to other cities and embed the SAFE-ROAM sensory trigger data into mainstream business review platforms for a complete picture of the user experience.

“We think it can be dropped into almost any city in the U.S.,” Futch said. “We want this to be free for the user and we aren’t doing any ad-driven revenue right now, but in the future, possibly license out our data to other sites. We want this to be on every app — if you go on Yelp, if you go on Tripadvisor — we want that to be the standard information that you see.”

Futch said patrons who don’t have identified disabilities can also use SAFEROAM to learn about a businesses’ indoor environment.

“This could be for people who like to go to quieter restaurants. We also found it could be used inversely, where some parents with children want to actually go to louder environments because they want their kids to feel free to roam and play.”

The co-creators are wrapping up the development of the app using the seed money and Futch said they are planning a fundraising effort in spring 2023 to maintain software development.

Futch said it’s important to keep the SAFE-ROAM branding accessible, informative and user-friendly.

“We want it to be a community,” Futch said. “We are trying to help relieve stress while helping everyone equally enjoy our beautiful cities.”

For more information, visit www.saferoam.com. CRBJ

have a Medical Office Building where a vast array of outpatient and specialty care will be provided. Roper St. Francis Healthcare has secured six premium real estate parcels off Mall Drive near North Charleston City Hall to build the campus.

In November 2021, DiLisi announced a roadmap for the next decade for the Lowcountry’s largest health care system for adults that centered on caring for more patients, expanding services and modernizing technology to better serve future generations, the release stated. One of the five key initiatives of that Roper St. Francis Healthcare 2030 plan was optimizing the health care system’s footprint in the Lowcountry, which also includes expanding Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital and providing additional health care services in highly populated and growing communities.

This new campus will be the fourth location for Roper Hospital since it opened

downtown in 1856 and will be technologically and structurally upgraded to better withstand natural disasters, such as floods, hurricanes and earthquake, the release stated.

While construction may take up to five years, Roper St. Francis Healthcare will continue to offer services on the Charleston

peninsula to remain convenient to those in need downtown, according to the release.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare has long maintained a strong presence in North Charleston, operating the Roper Hospital Diagnostics & ER – Northwoods, along with two Express Care locations and the Greer Transitions Clinic.

Roper St. Francis Healthcare hired E4H Environments for Health Architecture and Skidmore, Owings & Merrill (SOM) to design the new medical campus, the release stated. The partnership combines global design excellence with comprehensive health care planning and design expertise. These teams provide a combination of local knowledge and national thought leadership, which has facilitated innovations and transformations for clients such as New York-Presbyterian Hospital, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, Cleveland Clinic, and Egypt’s New National Cancer Institute in Giza, one of the largest facilities of its kind in the world.

“E4H is honored to be a part of this landmark project for Roper St. Francis Healthcare and the community which it will serve. As a mission-driven organization focused on 100 percent healthcare design, we are dedicated to improving outcomes for patients, families, and caregivers. E4H is deeply inspired by the synergy between RSFH’s core values and our own,” said partner Jeremy Bartz.

Plans for the redevelopment of Richland Mall by Southeastern Development include retail, a brewery or taproom, green space, apartments and a grocery store. (Rendering/Provided)

Noah Futch, Tyler Smithhart, Madison Gardner, Nicole Nelson are the cofounders of SAFE-ROAM. (Photo/ Provided)

From volunteers to doctors to first responders, our 2022 Health Care Heroes honorees exemplify what it means to be difference makers in their chosen professions.

Each has his or her own unique story that fuels their passion for working in the health care industry.

People who work in health care are, by definition, heroes, irrespective of what they do. Everyone in the organization is contributing to the ultimate goal of helping individuals in their care improve or regain health.

Our Health Care Heroes just happen to share the spotlight in our special section. You can read their profiles on the following pages.

Health care workers like our honorees cure the sick, fix the broken, offer care for the despondent and generally help us all live our lives as fully as possible. It may not be as flashy as some other professions, but it’s heroism on a grand scale.

A quick note: Health Care Heroes criteria was based upon written nominations by our Heath Care Heroes colleagues and then reviewed by a panel of judges — Andy Owens from Hana Engineering and Chappy McKay from Trident Construction.

While our Health Care Heroes honorees were chosen through a nomination process, it is our belief that all health care workers are heroes.

Thank you for keeping us healthy and safe.

Presented by:

Sponsored by:

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Brooke Kahn

PHYSICIAN’S ASSISTANT

Roper St. Francis Healthcare/ She’s the Veteran

“There has long been so much misperception that women veterans never served on the ‘front lines’ of combat,” Brooke says. “This couldn’t be further from the truth! In fact, women have served on the front lines long before it was ever recognized and signed into law.”

Brooke should know: She is a former U.S. Army combat medic who served in Operation Iraqi Freedom before becoming a neurosurgical PA and an officer in the U.S. Army Reserves. Brooke founded “She’s the Veteran,” an organization that focuses on underdiagnosis and undertreatment of PTSD in female veterans. PTSD often presents differently in women than in men.

Brooke and her work were featured on “Salute to Service,” a documentary that aired on the History Channel on Veterans Day.

COMMUNITY SERVICE Dr. Maria Dzierzko-Trojanowska

INTERNAL MEDICINE PHYSICIAN Roper St. Francis Healthcare

A Polish American who spent 30 years in that country, Maria’s heart breaks for the people of Ukraine and the atrocities Russia is visiting upon them. So does yours, I’m sure, but this board-certified internist did something about it while traveling back to her native country in the spring. Maria collected and organized the delivery of more than 100 pounds of medical supplies to a mobile Ukrainian hospital. She received official thanks from the Ukrainian government for her efforts.

“It’s the least I could do,” she says modestly.

One Roper nurse disagreed. “Angels among us,” she said.

HERO HONOREE

HONOREE

COMMUNITY SERVICE Drs. Michelle Cooke and Kathleen Domm

PSYCHOLOGIST AND PHYSICIAN

Select Health of South Carolina

A psychologist and pediatrician respectively, Drs. Cooke and Domm aid and advocate for our state’s most vulnerable children – those in foster care, particularly those with behavioral health needs.

Dr. Cooke has been overseeing the implementation of a new school-based mental health service for the state, because half of our public schools lack a mental health counselor and most have no crisis intervention services.

Dr, Domm serves as Foster Care Medical Director at Select Health, overseeing the care of 5,000 foster children covered by the company. A member of her team personally reaches out to each child and their foster care family as soon as the child enters the system, to address any immediate and ongoing needs – physical and behavioral. Foster children need so much support – and Drs. Cooke and Domm are working to provide it.

HONOREE

FIRST RESPONDER

Naomi Buytas

SENIOR PARAMEDIC Roper St. Francis Healthcare

You don’t think of bedside manner when you consider paramedics, but that’s because you haven’t met Naomi. Transporting cancer patients between the hospital and treatment facilities, she gets to know her customers.

She’s regularly recognized by patients, their families, and other health care workers for her caring nature and the attention she provides to each person she transports. She brings more than a smile and a moment of joy to them: she also crochets hats and brings them to patients so they can stay warm in transport. That’s the kind of thing that leads coleagues to call her patient-centered approach the best they’ve ever encountered.

Naomi’s patients are generally enduring dark days. But she brings a beam of light into them.

FIRST RESPONDER Ryan Roberts

CAPTAIN Charleston County EMS

Ryan works behind the scenes to do boring-sounding things like implement, promulgate and write up procedures. But consider the improvements for which he is responsible.

• He developed protocols for the addition of 5 new medications to improve emergent care to patients.

• He oversaw the selection and use of IV infusion pumps for the first time in county history.

• He directed a successful pilot project for ventilator use on ambulances.

• And for a bit of everyday EMT drama in April, he returned to his roots by resuscitating a cardiac arrest patient.

Ryan is lauded for his daily work to improve emergency health service to citizens and visitors in Charleston County and beyond.

TRIDENT CONSTRUCTION HEALTH CARE ENGINEER Tom Franzone

MULTI-SKILLED TECHNICIAN III Roper St. Francis Healthcare

When folks at Roper St. Francis think Tom Franzone, they think caring and dedication. Tom understands that several of the hospital systems he is responsible for maintaining can influence patient outcomes. Although some are complex (such as the HVAC system and the steam system) and others are simple (such as the ice machine), and Tom gives each his full attention and expertise.

Tom is responsible for maintaining the chemical balance in the steam boilers, which keep equipment sterile. That’s kind of important in a hospital, you know.

When the state inspector checked the boilers, he was confused. He couldn’t find any evidence whatsoever of scaling, a nearly inevitable result of daily use.

This was his report: “If I didn’t know better, I would think these boiler tubes never had water in them. Excellent job. Don’t change anything.”

HERO

HERO

HONOREE

TRIDENT CONSTRUCTION HEALTH CARE ENGINEER Robert McNeil

DIRECTOR OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT

HCA Healthcare Summerville Hospital

The recipient of the 2017 Healthy Learners Champion for Children Award, Van Hauser organizes a golf tournament annually for this Columbia-based organization that is devoted to removing children’s health barriers to learning with love and compassion. For the past 10 years, Van has offered his strategic thinking and project management expertise to the fundraising event.

In three years at Summerville Medical Center, he’s overseen more than $10M in construction projects and facility improvement projects. With 35 years of hospital facilities management experience overall, Van is a go-to guy for teammates in search of knowledge.

One co-worker says Van is forward thinking and always wants what is best for the nurses, doctors, and medical staff.

ENGINEERING TECHNICIAN III Roper St. Francis Healthcare

When Robert McNeil joined Roper St. Francis, he was a painter’s assistant. That was back in 1989. That was six presidents ago. Facebook didn’t exist because Mark Zuckerberg was in kindergarten. Computer floppy disks couldn’t store a single three-minute song.

In other words, it was a while ago. 33 years to be exact.

Over the decades, Robert has risen through the ranks to Tech III. He is one of the first in the department to roll up his sleeves when things need to get done. He covers multiple shifts and is always on call. During COVID, Robert was part of an essential team that converted regular patient rooms and areas to COVID-ready suites. He’s one of those people who are always contributing in the background to make health care work.

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL Hannah Pendergrass

PHYSICAL THERAPIST Roper St. Francis Healthcare

Just three months ago, Hannah was treating a patient in a PT session when she noticed signs of distress. Recognizing that the patient was choking, she bolted into action, performing the Heimlich maneuver, which dislodged hard candy the patient had been sucking on.

Hannah’s quick response is testament to having a mother and sister who are nurses – and to plenty of continuing education that prepared her for just such an emergency. Hannah’s had her own adversity as a teenager – tearing the ACL in her knee nine months after tearing the ACL in the other.

Co-workers weren’t surprised by Hannah’s professionalism. They say she is compassionate and eager to continue learning. They describe her as kind and thoughtful, someone who enjoys sharing her skills with teammates – and offering them to individuals in need. When she’s not working, Hannah volunteers her skills at the MUSC Cares clinic for uninsured patients.

HONOREE

TRIDENT CONSTRUCTION HEALTH CARE ENGINEER

Van Hauser

HERO

HONOREE

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL Kyle Prothro

SPORTS MEDICINE MANAGER

Roper St. Francis Healthcare

When it comes to Kyle Prothro, it’s not any one thing he does, it’s all the things he does.

With nearly a decade in sports medicine at Roper St. Francis, Kyle is universally known in the health care system as the one who’s always going to show up with a positive attitude and find a way to get it done for the community.

For example, he coordinated medical services for a concert series, leads Roper St. Francis’s participation in area events like the Kiawah Island Marathon, and runs weekly sports injury clinics each fall so that area high school football players have the chance to see an orthopaedic provider.

One physician sums up Kyle this way: “he’s a kind and wonderful man who cares about student athletes.”

HONOREE

HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL Emergency DepartmentSummerville Medical Center

Covid may feel like it’s over, but the Summerville Medical Center Emergency Department remains busy treating pediatric patients with RSV, adult patients experiencing heart attacks and strokes, the upsurge in flu cases, and so much more.

For four years, the pediatric E.D. has been certified as “Pediatric Ready” by the state, the first in the region to earn that distinction.

The department is also recognized as a Primary Stroke Center.

Says their nominator, “Time and time again, the team in our Emergency Department has risen to the challenge and fought some of the hardest battles within the four walls of our hospital to ensure all members of our community receive the best care.”

What did you do on August 18? Anna Blake saved a baby’s life. Following cardiac surgery that day, a nine-month-old came to Anna’s care in the ICU. Working with limited information, Anna assessed that something was wrong and took quick action. An ultrasound of the baby’s open fontanel showed a massive subdural hemorrhage, causing the baby’s brain to shift two centimeters.

The surgical team was able to get the child into the OR within minutes to relieve pressure on her brain and control the bleeding. Without Anna’s knowledge and professionalism, the child would have suffered cardiac arrest and serious injury, if not death. Instead, she has made an amazing recovery and seems to have suffered no longterm damage.

Anna’s ability to manage a complicated health emergency demonstrates the importance of cross-disciplinary competence that the hospital promotes and encourages.

Jenn Boolen combines expertise with an open heart to be a great RN. This became apparent recently when a pregnant patient with a heart condition delivered by emergency C-section at 25 weeks. She was transferred to Jenn’s care while the baby headed for the NICU.

While caring for the new mom, Jenn sensed her emotional discomfort. Employing active listening skills, she discovered that mom had neither held nor seen her baby. Horrified, Jenn arranged to take her patient to the NICU to bask in the awe of her newborn.

Nursing is high tech and high touch. She demonstrated it on that day.

NURSE MANAGER- RN MUSC Charleston

A 2022 South Carolina Nurses Association Palmetto Gold winner, Carrie is the servant leader and chief relationship builder on a challenging Adult Bone Marrow Transplant unit.

How’s she doing? Well, the unit has earned a 99th percentile rank for its “Willingness to Recommend” score since 2020. This means that patients are rating this unit as one of the very elite units in the entire country.

Her nominator says Carrie “values kindness, expertise, and laughter which she shines on her nursing team, the patients, and the families she serves.”

CHIEF OF BURN SURGERY MUSC

Recognized as one of the top burn surgeons in the nation, Dr. Steven Kahn runs the only burn unit in South Carolina. He’s also a pioneer in minimally invasive skin graft surgery, helping burn victims recover with a minimum of disfigurement.

Dr. Kahn was recruited to open the burn unit just as the Covid pandemic began. His small team operated with minimal resources in challenging conditions and more than three times the number of patients they expected. He worked 80-100 hours weekly to provide care that patients needed and deserved.

Since then the burn center has achieved the #1 national ranking for patient survival, and attained a level of superiority that is hard to imagine. It is estimated that the MUSC Burn Center saves six-to-eight patients every year who would have been expected to die had they received miracle life-saving care at a burn unit somewhere else.

HERO

NURSE Carrie Moore

PHYSICIAN Dr. Steven Kahn

HONOREE

NURSE Jennifer Boolen

RN MUSC Charleston

HONOREE

HERO

NURSE Anna Blake

RN MUSC Charleston

HONOREE

PHYSICIAN Dr. Matt Blue

EMERGENCY MEDICINE PHYSICIAN

Roper St. Francis Healthcare

Often, patients have fleeting and unmemorable experiences with ER docs. But not with Matt Blue. People tend to remember his tender care.

Take the family of a woman in hospice mistakenly transferred to the ER. Here is their account:

“Dr. Blue was not only compassionate, but his empathy and concern around patient care was exceptional. He was kind enough to share his own family’s experience navigating the hospice path, which was not only extremely helpful to hear, but equally comforting as I don’t know anyone who has walked this incredibly painful journey.”

Matt pairs his compassion with a strong desire to improve emergency medical services in our community, serving as primary medical control physician for Charleston County EMS. In that role, he sets the standards for patient care in the county.

HERO

SERVICE/THERAPY ANIMAL Braelynn & Viper

THERAPY DOGS

Dee Norton Child Advocacy Center

Little humans who have been psychologically broken by abuse come to Dee Norton to get put back together, and the eight-legged team of Braelynn and Viper go a long way towards helping that happen. Their no-judgement cuddling helps young abuse victims feel comfortable sharing their feelings.

Last year the pair helped 800 children, which meant 800 belly rubs. Their handlers Annalise Gunn and Lexi Mansson say it’s a great trade for their pets. The dogs love their job, love the children, and love all the treats they get.

In fact, Braelynn said this in a written statement , “I hear Health Care Heroes get a whole box of treats and a tub of peanut butter.” Braelynn, don’t trust your sources!

PHYSICIAN Dr. Stephen Stripling

PEDIATRICIAN Coastal Pediatric Associates

Imagine the diagnostic oddyssey endured by a 13-year-old boy who was sick for two years without answers. He saw a multitude of specialists at MUSC and children’s hospitals in Cincinnatti and Boston before finally getting a handle on his illness.

Dr. Steve Stripling was there every step of the way, researching, attending webinars, calling colleagues around the country and ultimately managing the boy’s treatment after diagnosis. “He always makes our family feel like we are his top priority,” says the boy’s mom. “He is truly a blessing to our community.”

Those aren’t just words: when he moved his office from Mt. Pleasant to Summerville, the family followed him, making the trek from Sullivan’s Island to see him regularly.

SERVICE/THERAPY ANIMAL Sara

THERAPY DOG MUSC

Two years ago, Sara the golden retriever therapy dog trotted into the room of a distressed pediatric patient who was refusing an IV line for needed antibiotic treatment. Sara nuzzled the girl and calmed her down. In doing so, the child noticed Sara’s shaved leg and was told that was where Sara got her own IV treatment for canine lymphoma. Sara was sick, but she continued bringing joy to humans.

With Sara on the bed, curled inside the girl’s arms, she consented to her human IV.

For 16 months, Sara battled cancer with a wag in her tail, never complaining, always giving. She went to the great doggie park in the sky on Sept. 27, 2022, and her loss has been felt throughout the hospital. Sara’s handler is Nancy Sezginalp.

HONOREE

HONOREE

HONOREE

SERVICE/THERAPY ANIMAL Mulligan

THERAPY DOG

Roper St. Francis Healthcare

Mulligan knows where his hospital friends work, and he won’t leave until every one of them has been visited. The 7-year-old golden retriever takes his job seriously during the two days a week that he volunteers at Roper St. Francis Berkeley Hospital.

Mulligan seems to have a sixth sense about people and their feelings. He knows when to jump up with joy, when to nuzzle someone feeling sad and when to lay back and let people come to him.

Mulligan even ventures outside the hospital’s walls to make the rounds at doctors’ offices in the community. When the health care system undertook the stressful transition to new electronic medical records, Mulligan made the rounds, providing stress relief via furry snuggles.

Mulligan’s handler is Dan Sullivan.

VOLUNTEER Tom Russo

VOLUNTEER Summerville Medical Center

A former first responder who was on the scene of the World Trade Center in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks, Tom knows what making a sacrifice to assist others means. Serving as an administrative volunteer, organizing the work of the 100 other volunteers at the hospital, helps keep the facility humming and staff focusing on patient care.

For the last eight years, Tom has supported the Summerville Rotary’s fundraising efforts for the hospital. His supervisor says he’s always willing and flexible to serve where needed.

Tom says the best advice he’s ever been given was the Rotary motto: Service Above Self. He sure is living it.

HERO

VOLUNTEER Bonny Luthy

VOLUNTEER

Roper St. Francis Healthcare

After 30 years in the printing business, Bonny is a jill of many trades – and a master of several too. She puts her art and design skills to use creating an activity booklet for patients and visitors that’s available on every unit. She produces holiday cards and re-designed the menus in the cafeteria.

Come to think of it, Bonny offers herself for anything that’s needed. She’s organized and updated the library, stocked supplies, answered patient call bells and phones, prepared rooms, run dietary errands and, well, whatever else they need.

At the end of her shift, Bonny thanks her manager for the opportunity to serve. She thanks them! And she gives everyone else credit, saying the staff she encounters while volunteering are the real heroes.

Ralph H. Johnson VA Health Care System

Warren has volunteered for 10 years, contributing more than 1,400 hours at the VA, in a wide variety of roles. They include parking shuttle attendant, patient escort, patient experience volunteer and more.

Since his retirement in 2007, Warren’s hobbies include golf, bowling, stamp collecting and ham radio. That’s all the hospital brass had to hear. They enlisted him for the ham radio response team, whose members are critical to the system’s emergency preparedness operations. If regular communication channels fail, as they did following Hurricane Hugo, ham radio enthusiasts provide emergency communication and coordinate with public service agencies. You could say that you need the hams if you’re in a pickle.

“We’re ready to help out,” Warren says, “but hope we’re never needed.”

HONOREE

VOLUNTEER Warren Richey

VOLUNTEER

HONOREE

In Focus

ARCHITECTURE, ENGINEERING AND CONSTRUCTION

LISTS:

Property Management Companies, Page 34-35

NEXT ISSUE’S FOCUS: Workforce/Staffing

City and private sector work together to build better in West Columbia PRODUCTIVE PARTNERSHIP

By Christina Lee Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com

Plots of land near the Congaree River in West Columbia that just a little over a decade ago were vacant patches of dirt have been transformed into vibrant new places for local residents to live, work, shop and play in the city’s growing River District, thanks to the willingness of city officials and a local real estate firm to work together.

It’s a partnership that now is resulting in additional development elsewhere in the city, including the recently announced Langley Pointe project, a $60 million mixed-use development located near Lexington Medical Center off the high-traffic U.S. Highway 378 corridor.

NAI Columbia, the real estate firm that has worked with West Columbia

on the redevelopment project from its beginning, recently closed a $3.75 million deal that will become the residential side of Langley Pointe.

The 38-acre development will feature one, two and three-bedroom apartments, some with direct access to garages. Other amenities will include a clubhouse, co-working space, resortstyle swimming pool, community pavilion, outdoor kitchen, pet spa and a pet park.

Lead developers for the Langley Pointe project are Fickling and Co. of Macon, Ga., and Novare Group of Atlanta, with co-sponsor BCDC of Atlanta. Classic Plains is the general contractor for the project, while SGN + A is the architect. The first units are expected to be available by February 2024.

City officials and team members

from NAI Columbia say Langley Pointe is a direct result of years of collaboration that resulted in the transformation of the River District.

“Work on the River District area really dates back to the late ‘90s when the city first made a concrete decision to start acquiring property near the Gervais Street Bridge and create a gateway development to attract people to West Columbia,” said Patrick Chambers of NAI Columbia’s development team. “It’s really been a process that’s developed over the past 25 years.”

Although the project was years in the making, the core work on the River District has taken place in the past four years, building on the city’s 2018 citywide redevelopment plan which focused on making the city a destination instead of simply what officials

called a “passthrough from Columbia to Lexington.”

Chambers, along with fellow NAI staffers Ben Kelly and Jack Springs, has worked closely with the city in the redevelopment of the RIver District, representing the city both in the purchase of prime parcels of land where the district’s key projects are located and in the sale of the parcels to their current owners.

Those parcels include the four-acre Brookland Complex, a mixed-use area that officials credit with kicking off the entire area’s redevelopment.

“We saw that area as being right as a catalyst for both economic growth and development for West Columbia decades ago,” said Brian Carter, West Columbia’s city administrator. “We

West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said the city took its time and held out for the right kind of development to help the area grow in a positive way as more residents move into the town. (Photo/NAI Columbia)

knew if we could do something right there at the gateway coming across the Gervais Street bridge we could create excitement in that area and use it to grow other areas of the city. We knew that we could turn an area that was essentially a dirt parking lot into a neighborhood.”

West Columbia Mayor Tem Miles said the Brookland Complex enabled the city to add both residential and retail property that would attract new people to the area and allow them to experience already existing downtown businesses that had been local favorites for decades, such as popular Italian restaurant Al’s Upstairs and Cafe Strudel, a popular brunch and dessert spot.

“We’ve had high standards from the beginning for what we wanted in that area – we knew what kind of development we wanted and what we didn’t want,” Miles said.

The Brookland Complex, located in the area directly across from the Congaree River and Riverwalk in West Columbia, combines residential, retail, dining and entertainment opportunities for the community.

It includes the Brookland apartments, the Black Rooster, a casual French-inspired restaurant with a rooftop bar, and businesses such as the Gentlemen’s Quarter Barbershop, Select Physical Therapy and The WRKT, a pilates studio.

Once the Brookland Complex was complete, other projects quickly fol-

lowed. One of the biggest was the addition of Savage Craft Ale Works, a veteran-owned brewery at 430 Center St. The addition of Savage CRaft was the result of research by NAI’s team and the city in an effort to bring a brewery to the River District because of the positive results other cities saw when they added a brewery to their downtown business mix.

City officials were able to take advantage of one of the neighborhood’s historic buildings through what is known as an adaptive reuse preservation project, enabling the brewery to go into the loca-

tion of the city’s former city hall and fire station.

The district’s redevelopment also includes plenty of opportunity for outdoor activities, including Carraway Community Park, an all-inclusive playground that allows safe play for children with a range of physical, mental and other disabilities, and an Interactive Art Park that features a variety of interactive public art pieces created by artists from around South Carolina. The Weekly Meeting Street Artisan Market now takes place every Saturday in the Art

Park.

Other residential opportunities are drawing more people to live in the River District. The area also includes Flow, a riverfront townhome and condominium complex, and construction is currently underway on 4West, a mixed-use project developed by Estates & Companies at the corner of Meeting and State streets. When it is completed, 4West will add 52 luxury apartments and 15,000 square feet of commercial space to the area.

The collaboration between the city and NAI is resulting in more than just an increase in visitors.

“It’s amazing to me the number of people I’ve heard from who used to live in West Columbia years ago, moved away and now they’ve been led to come back to the area because of what’s happening here,” Miles said.

Carter said the success of the River District is also paying off because developers and business interests now realize the city is willing to do what has to be done to improve the area for both residents and business owners.

“The development at Langley Pointe is not in our River District but it reflects the things we’ve been doing there,” he said. “Because of the work we’ve done in that district, we now know how to work with people who want to invest in our city, and now when we see an opportunity for further growth in other parts of the city we know how to get there.”

Reach Christina lee Knauss at 803-753-4327.

Amenities at the development will include the clubhouse at Langley Pointe, on the residential side of the site. NAI Columbia has worked with developers on the project. (Image/Provided)

CHARLESTON UNDER CONSTRUCTION

Brighton Court

318 Brighton Park Blvd.

Summerville

Developer/owner: Withheld

Architects: Rush Dixon Architects, North Charleston

General contractor: Harbor Contracting, Mount Pleasant Engineers: Empire Engineering, North Charleston (civil); ADC Engineering, Hanahan (structural); Charleston Engineering, Charleston (MPE)

Estimated completion date: 2023

Estimated total cost of project: Withheld

Project description: The vision for Brighton Court, a pair of commercial buildings in the Nexton community, is to create a welcoming retail and office environment through deliberate architecture and site planning. The buildings engage the street and benefit from a central courtyard gathering area envisioned to have catenary lights and specialty trees. Architectural massing and detailing align with a modernist tendency; materials include painted brick, Nichiha siding and exposed steel.

Firefly Distillery Rickhouse

4201 Spruill Ave.

North Charleston

Developer/owner: Firefly Distillery North Charleston

Architects: KW Designs, LLC Wadmalaw Island

General contractor: Trident Construction North Charleston Engineers: Fortress Engineers, Hollywood (structural); Allied Consulting Engineers, Belmont N.C. (MEP)

Estimated completion date: Fall 2023

Project description: This project is a 5,040-square-foot Rickhouse for Firefly distillery. It is used to store barrels of spirits, in this case bourbon, for the aging process.

Old Charleston Jail

21 Magazine Street

Charleston

Developer/owner: Old City Jail LLC, Landmark Enterprises and ASHNYC

Architects: Liollio Architecture

General contractor: Charles Blanchard Construction Co. Engineer: E+M Structural (structural), Live Oak Consultants (MEP), Cline Engineering (civil), Synchronicity (land planning)

Project manager: Landmark Enterprises

Estimated completion date: April 1, 2023

Project description: Currently undergoing a $15 million historic renovation, the Old Charleston jail will be the prime office location with 6,500 square feet of office space in the heart of downtown Charleston.

Trade Park East 6880 Weber Blvd.

Ladson

Developer/owner: Trinity Capital Advisors, Charlotte Architects: DMA Architecture PLLC, Winston-Salem

General contractor: Frampton Construction, Ladson Engineers: Reveer Group LLC, Charleston, (civil), Erickson Associates, Savannah, Ga. (mechanical), Eldeco, Charleston, (electrical)

Project manager: Frampton Construction, Ladson

Estimated completion date: November 2022

Estimated total cost of project: $1.8 million

Project description: This project includes the site work and new construction of the 837,000-square-foot park featuring four Class-A industrial buildings located on Weber Boulevard in North Charleston’s rapidly growing Palmetto Commerce Park. The site offers convenient port and interstate access. The facilities feature concrete tilt-wall construction and vary in size from 145,600 square feet to 342,160 square feet.

Camp Hall 8 1125 Camp Hall Blvd.

Ridgeville

Developer/owner: Childress Klein Properties, Charlotte Architects: Fukui Architects, Pittsburgh

General contractor: Choate Construction, Mount Pleasant Engineers: Thomas + Hutton, Mount Pleasant (civil); PEA Associates, Greenville (structural); Refresco Consulting Engineers, Charlotte (mechanical); and Haas Kennedy, Charlotte (electrical)

Project manager: Mount Pleasant

Estimated completion date: Late summer 2023

Project description: The 107 developable acres is the home to three industrial build-to-suit warehouse buildings, totaling over 1,422,680 square feet located in Camp Hall Industrial Park. The Campus 8 tract consists of Building A (967,680 square feet), Building B (273,000 square feet) and Building C (182,000 square feet) built concurrently. These tilt-wall buildings provide dual road connection points, 40-foot clearance heights, and offer easy access to the global marketplace via rail, road, sea or air transportation.

North Charleston

Developer/owner: Jasmeen M. Shaw P.E., Charleston County School District

Architects: Red Iron Architects, North Charleston

General contractor: McKnight Construction Company, Augusta

Engineers: SSOE Group/S+W, Columbia (civil, structural); Owens & Associates Inc. (MP/FP); Critical Systems Engineering, Mount Pleasant (electrical); Camacho (food service); Surculus (landscape)

Project manager: Brownstone Construction Group, North Charleston

Estimated completion date: Fall 2023

Estimated total cost of project: $35,985,600

Project description: Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori School at the Ron McNair Campus is a threestory 3K through 8th grade Montessori school for up to 600 children. The five-acre site presented several challenges during design and went through many reiterations to fit the required parking spaces, landscape requirements, building footprint, security features and outdoor program. The design incorporated features and finishes inspired by nature to dovetail with the Montessori philosophy.

McQueen Distribution

450 International Circle

Summerville

Developer/owner: OMNI Partners, Mount Pleasant Architects: WGM Designs, Charlotte

General contractor: Choate Construction, Mount Pleasant Engineers: WPGM, Charlotte (structural), Refresco Consulting Engineers, Charlotte (mechanical,

Malcolm C. Hursey Montessori at the McNair Campus 3910 Verde Ave.

plumbing and fire protection); Haas + Kennedy Engineering, Charlotte (electrical)

Project manager: Mount Pleasant

Estimated completion date: Summer 2023

Project description: To meet the growing demand for industrial space, this 110,000-square-foot spec warehouse is centrally located to provide ease of access by land, air, or sea. The concrete tilt-wall structure will offer 18 dock positions, two truck ramps with drive-in doors, a 48-space parking lot with an expandable option, and a flexible design to suit the needs of future tenants. The property will also feature a unique dedicated food truck space equipped with utilities to provide convenient lunch options for tenant pers

Engineers: Hoyt + Berenyi, Ladson (civil); Britt, Peters + Associates, Greenville (structural); Teeter

Engineering Group PA, Charlotte (electrical)

Project manager: Calhoun Automotive Resources, Asheville

Estimated completion date: Summer 2023

Project description: Hudson Automotive expands its footprint by bringing a 2-story, 59,028-square-foot Hudson Nissan Dealership to Summerville. The exterior façade consists of split-faced and smooth-faced CMU masonry with ACM panels, curtainwall, and storefront, which will house administrative and office spaces, customer lounge, kids’ recreation space, sales, service reception, parts storage, locker rooms, and more. The dealership’s campus will also include an outdoor lounge and a stand-alone carwash facility and dumpster.

Hudson Summerville Nissan

370

Holiday Drive

Summerville

Developer/owner: Hudson Automotive Group, Charleston

Architects: Redline Design Group, Charlotte

General contractor: Choate Construction, Mount Pleasant

Palmetto Logistics

Palmetto Commerce Parkway

North Charleston

Developer/owner: Dalfen Industrial, Dallas

Architects: LS3P Associates, Charleston

General contractor: Choate Construction, Mount Pleasant

Engineers: Seamon Whiteside + Associates, Mount Pleasant (civil); MEHA Engineering, Norcross, Ga. (MEP); WGPM Inc., Charlotte (structural)

Project manager: Mount Pleasant

Estimated completion date: Spring 2024

Estimated total cost of project:

Project description: Dalfen Industrial partners with Choate Construction and LS3P Associates for the Design-Build delivery of the largest speculative industrial building to date in the Charleston market. Measuring a record-breaking 1.3 million square feet, the new facility will help support strategic growth at the ports by delivering much-needed warehouse and distribution space.

1

20 Patriots Point Road

Mount Pleasant

Developer/owner: Charleston Harbor Holding Co. LLC, Mount Pleasant Architects: Chris McCarthy Architecture, Mount Pleasant General contractor: SouthCon Building Group LLC, Mount Pleasant Engineers: R.K, Engineers, Charleston (structural) Constantine Engineering Associates, Charleston (MEP, fire protection)

Estimated completion date: Late March, 2023

Project description: Project consists of the addition of 2,629-square-foot special events space overlooking the Charleston harbor; including clear-span timber trusses with exposed wood ceilings, standing seam metal roof and interior finishes.

CTC Moseley Architects

997 Morrison Drive, Suite 601

Charleston

Developer/owner: CTC Holdings Office, LLC, Charleston Architects: Moseley Architects, Charleston General contractor: J. Musselman Construction, Inc., Charleston Engineers: Barrett Woodyard, Norcross, Ga. (MEP)

Estimated completion date: November 2022

Project description: This project is an interior upfit of shell space on the top floor of the Charleston Tech Center for the new Moseley Architects office. This renovation includes a new floor plan with architectural specialties for walls, flooring, lighting, and casework in the open office, kitchenette, conference rooms, reception area, etc. Spray foam insulation is included along with mechanical, electrical, and plumbing trades.

The Citadel - Byrd Hall

Jones Avenue

Charleston

Developer/owner: The Citadel, Charleston

Architects: McMillan Pazdan Smith Architecture, Spartanburg

General contractor: J Musselman Construction Inc., Charleston Engineers: DWG Consulting Engineers, Mount Pleasant (MEP); WM Building Envelope Consultants LLC, Moncks Corner (roofing consultant)

Estimated completion date: November 2022

Project description: This project is a partial renovation of four floors of Byrd Hall at The Citadel. Complete interior demolition will be followed by the construction of new classrooms, offices, labs, and breakrooms. The scope of work includes demolition of existing architectural features and installation of special teaching equipment, new walls, ceilings, paint, floors, casework, lighting, glass, data, and fire alarm system. Included are modifications to mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems plus a new roof.

Palmetto Community Care New Office

5064 Rivers Avenue

North Charleston

Developer/owner: Palmetto Community Care Architects: Moseley Architects, Charleston

General contractor: J. Musselman Construction Inc., Charleston Engineers: Forsberg Engineering & Surveying, Inc., Charleston (civil), CCCS International, North Charleston (structural), EPIC Engineering Solutions, Mount Pleasant (MEP), WM Building Envelope Consultants LLC, Moncks Corner (building envelope)

Estimated completion date: February 2023

Charleston Harbor Resorts & Marina - Sun Rise Terrace

Project description: This 30,000-square-foot project is an exterior and interior renovation of a new Palmetto Community Care medical facility. Site work, landscaping, a new roof, and a new storefront are included in this exterior upfit. The interior upfit consists of new mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire sprinkler, and fire alarm systems. The new floorplan includes offices and treatment areas with casework, flooring, lighting, paint, doors, storefront, and blinds.

Hudson Automotive Group

100 Coastal Drive, Suite 400

Charleston

Developer/owner: Holder Properties, Atlanta

Architects: Gensler, Atlanta

General contractor: J. Musselman Construction Inc., Charleston

Engineers: Barrett Woodyard & Associates, Norcross, Ga.

Estimated completion date: November 2022

Estimated total cost of project:

Project description: This project is a second generation build out of a 20,000-square-foot tenant suite. The build out includes selective demo of some existing offices and conference rooms, removal of floor finishes, casework re-work, and the addition of a new training room. The new floor plan includes division of the existing space to create a multi-tenant space. The interior upfit consists of new architectural finishes, electrical work, and new egress corridors.

Pinnacle Financial Partners at Morrison Yard

850 Morrison Drive

Charleston

Developer/owner: Pinnacle Financial Partners, Nashville, Tenn.

Architects: Liollio Architecture Inc., Charleston

General contractor: J. Musselman Construction Inc., Charleston

Engineers: RMF Engineering, Charleston

Estimated completion date: February 2023

Project description: This is a first and ninth floor upfit of new shell space with 1927 square feet for banking services and 17,622 square feet for executive offices. The first floor includes office spaces and lobby with teller areas for the bank branch. The ninth floor includes conference rooms, a learning center, workroom, and open/private offices. Work includes new walls, floors, paint, casework, storefront, lighting, and plumbing fixtures. Also included are modifications to mechanical, electrical, plumbing and fire protection.

Shumaker Law Office

176 Croghan Spur Road, Suite 400

Charleston

Developer/owner: Shumaker Law Office, Charleston Architects: Moseley Architects, Charleston

General contractor: J. Musselman Construction Inc., Charleston Engineers: Epic Engineering Solutions LLC, Mt. Pleasant (mechanical, electrical); CCCS International, Charleston (structural)

Estimated completion date: January 2023

Project description: This project is an interior upfit of the fourth floor of an existing building for a law practice. The upfit consists of a new floorplan with new architectural features including casework, flooring, painting, lighting and operable partitions. New mechanical, electrical, plumbing, fire protection, and fire alarm systems are also included.

1176

Charleston

General contractor: Hill Construction Services of Charleston, Inc

Project description: New 15,000-square-foot two-story II-B Core and Shell Office Building. The structure will consist of metal studs, steel framing, masonry sheer walls, concrete slab, and steel joists. The skin of the building is EIFS siding, aluminum window systems glazing with metallic panel inserts, and single ply roof membrane system.

Developer/owner:

General

Project description: Renovations to guestrooms, lobby, and rooftop bar.

North

General contractor: Hill Construction Services of Charleston, Inc

Project description: 12,000-square-foot office building upfit. The work includes minor demolition, new interior partitions, finishes, ceilings, doors, fire alarm, fire sprinkler, plumbing, HVAC, and electrical work.

The Vendue Inn 19 Vendue Range Charleston

Vendue Range Associates

contractor: Hill Construction Services of Charleston, Inc.

Sam Rittenberg Office Building

Sam Rittenberg Blvd

Davis & Floyd

4900 O’Hear Ave Suite 100

Charleston

Architects: Goff D’Antonio Associates, Charleston

General contractor: Choate Construction, Mount Pleasant

Estimated completion date: Spring 2024

Project description: Formerly known as the King Charles Inn, the Ryder Hotel marries boho chic with stylish-vintage-flair in the heart of downtown Charleston. As its popularity soars, additional expansions make way in an effort to utilize unused space of the donut-shaped hotel to maximize its guest experience. A suspended slab at the main hotel level creates an outdoor patio and gathering space, allowing the popular indoor-outdoor-poolside venue and restaurant, Little Palm, to expand food and beverage operations.

Park Circle Redevelopment

4800 Park Circle

North Charleston

Developer/owner: City of North Charleston Architects: Red Iron Architects, North Charleston

General contractor: Robbins Construction Group, North Charleston Engineers: HLA Inc., Charleston (civil)

Estimated completion date: September 2023

Estimated total cost of project: $20 million

Project description: The new recreational/community complex is located at the center of the Park Circle neighborhood. All existing structures were demolished. The new 18,000-square-foot community center includes a large event space, catering kitchen and classrooms. The new recreational facilities include the largest-in-world 55,000-square-foot inclusive playground and baseball field, and a 7,000-square-foot open air farmer’s market. The project will provide new and improved facilities for the community CRBJ .

Company to invest $9.5M in former Walmart site

Christina Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com

Aformer Walmart at 1326 Bush River Road in Columbia has been sold to a computer wholesale company, Executive Personal Computers Inc. The company’s $9.5 million investment will create 133 new jobs.

Colliers South Carolina brokers Chuck Salley, Dave Mathews, Thomas Beard and John Peebles represented seller Bunrootis LLC in the sale of the 203,819-square-foot former retail space to Executive Personal Computers, according to a news release. Salley is also managing director of industrial services in Colliers’ Columbia offices.

The buyer, EPC, buys and sells used computer hardware and will use the property for warehousing and distribution of product. The new facility will serve as

the company’s East Coast hub.

“We’re proud to grow our relationship with Columbia and the great state of South Carolina,” said EPC president Pat Laugh-

lin. “This new facility aligns with our global growth of 20 locations across the Americans and Europe, and helps to deliver on our mission of offering a full suite of

sustainable, secure and environmentally responsible methods of IT disposal for our clients up and down the East Coast.”

Bunrootis LLC is an investor and developer that acquires, develops or redevelops and manages industrial assets primarily across the Southeast and central United States. The firm initially purchased 1326 Bush River Road in early 2022.

“The adaptive reuse of former big box retail stores is a trend occurring across the country as consumers lean into e-commerce and the need for big box bricks-and-mortar is diminished,” Salley said. “Bunrootis was a pleasure to work with and we are glad we were able to quickly sell this property for them to an industrial user, bringing new jobs to Columbia.” CRBJ

Reach Christina Lee Knauss at 803-753-4327.

Foam packing company to open in Lee County

Christina Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com

ATennessee-based company that specializes in customized foam packing material has leased a 117,865-square-foot industrial building on 20 acres in Bishopville.

EFP LLC, or Engineered Foam Packaging, recently leased the facility located at 227 Browntown Road, according to a news release from Colliers South Carolina. This will be EFP’s first location in South Carolina.

Colliers South Carolina’s Church Salley, Dave Mathews, Thomas Beard and John Peebles represented Weston Inc. in the transaction.

EFP specializes in foam molding and fabrication solutions for customers in

the consumer product, automotive, recreational vehicle, building product and agricultural markets, as well as re-sellers. The company also provides a wide range of cold chain solutions for the

pharmaceutical and food industries. In addition to the new South Carolina warehouse, EFP also has locations in Indiana, Alabama, Tennessee and Nevada.

The Bishopville property is part of Weston’s Southeast Industrial Properties portfolio. Cleveland-based Weston is a commercial real estate owner and developer with nearly six million square feet of assets I South Carolina, making it one of the state’s largest privately held industrial landlords.

“227 Browntown and Lee County is a great location for EFP,” said Eileen McConville, asset manager for Weston Inc. “We are excited they are breaking into the South Carolina market and excited to work with them as they grow their business in the state.”

Grant Butler will serve as the property manager at the Browntown Road location.

Reach Christina Lee Knauss at 803-753-4327.

Chick-fil-A to open $80M distribution center in Lexington County

Christina Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com

Chick-fil-A Supply, a wholly owned subsidiary of Chickfil-A, will invest $80 million to establish a new distribution center in Lexington County.

The new facility will be located in the Saxe Gotha Industrial Park and create 165 new jobs, according to a news release from the S.C. Department of Commerce.

“Chick-fil-A is a brand beloved by many locals, and Chick-fil-A Supply’s announcement will give people a new reason to love it even more – career

opportunities,” said Matthew Shaffer, chairman of the Central South Carolina Alliance, an economic development alliance focused on economic advancement in the region.

Once completed, the facility will supply restaurants around the region, with a special focus on addressing distribution issues such as frequent, high-volume delivery, varied delivery environments and rapidly changing needs, according to the release.

Founded in 2020, Chick-fil-A Supply supplements Chick-fil-A’s distribution network and provides greater flexibility for the company’s supply chain.

“Our new distribution center in

Lexington County provides us with a tremendous opportunity to grow our business and create jobs that will attract diverse talent from across the region,” Josh Grote, executive director of Chick-fil-A Supply. “We’re excited to expand our footprint in South Carolina with an investment in the local community that helps us serve our franchise operators, licensees and their teams. ‘

Operations are expected to begin in 2024. People interested in applying for jobs at the new facility should visit the company’s careers page. CRBJ

Reach Christina Lee Knauss at 803-753-4327.

A former Walmart at 1326 Bush River Road in Columbia has been sold to Executive Personal Computers, a Columbia-based computer wholesaler. (Photo/Provided)

EFP LLC, or Engineered Foam Packaging, recently leased property at 227 Browntown Road in Bishopville for its first facility in South Carolina. (Photo/NAI Columbia)

“Chick-fil-A is a brand developed by many locals and Chick-fil-A Supply’s announcement will give people a new reason to love it even more ...”

Matthew

Shaffer Chairman, Central South Carolina Alliance

Why this tech company sees agriculture as the future

By Krys Merryman kmerryman@scbiznews.com

Matthew Sanford grew up wondering how the food system worked. No one in his family is in the industry, so he explored his curiosity.

“I had recognized the agriculture industry has its challenges and many inefficiencies,” he said.

It was a time when farmers’ markets were starting to boom and become a major trend in the U.S.

have to deal with a business that had a lot of overhead,” said Sanford, CEO of Agulus. “So, you’re looking at these really low margins, high overhead, and looking at all the other farmers and wondering how they’re doing it.”

He said he then realized there are subsidies and tax breaks, programs and other things that prop up agriculture.

“But no one talks much about how little farmers make and if they continue making so little, they will all start to go out of business,” said Sanford. “And since, that has been the trend.”

lus makes it easy for agribusinesses to work together by providing software that doesn’t have to be overly complicated and frustrating to consumers.

“We enjoy being able to provide these tools to farmers,” said Sanford. “We spend a lot of time trying to find a path to provide our technology to those who have trouble with access to it.”

“But we are very excited to get through some projects and get our hands on additional products, such as within the dairy industry,” said Sanford. “We plan on bringing more farms directly to the program. That’s really what we are passionate about and how we want to make a big impact. How we feel we can make a big impact is by providing all farms with the same tools and resources.”

Sanford

He decided to grow a small hydroponic tomato farm and had to sell and market his tomatoes.

“I realized quickly how hard it was to be a small farmer, to deal with a farmers’ market, to deal with little sales here and there, and

Enter Agulus, a Greenville-based technology company focused on providing innovative software solutions by offering real-time risk exposure, market positioning, hedging, forward contracting and business operating technologies for large agribusinesses to empower the American agriculture industry with supply chain automation technology.

The company connects farmers, brokers, advisors and more in one platform. Agu-

Sanford said he originally classified the technology company as a startup three years ago, which wasn’t a good fit, so it changed up its model last year and went back to the basics in building the business by reaching out to agribusinesses directly, offering their services.

Related content: How technology is reshaping South Carolina’s agribusiness industry

Since the agriculture industry has been somewhat resistant to change over the years, getting into the agribusiness technology space has been difficult.

Technological advances within the industry will allow for more transparency, better food safety, higher food quality, with more sustainability as the end game, said Sanford.

“We want to make America itself more productive,” he added. “When we look forward to the future, we still have an overpopulation crisis on the entire planet to deal with. The United States is poised to provide solutions to this issue through agriculture, which is why it’s crucial to pay more attention to it.” CRBJ

Reach Krys at 864-640-4418.

Organization lays down radioactive challenge for college students

By Christina Lee Knauss cknauss@scbiznews.com

Savannah River Mission Completion has partnered with Claflin University to challenge students to improve the method for removing and replacing radioactively contaminated equipment inside the Savannah River Site’s salt waste processing facility.

The partnership is part of an ongoing effort at SRS to support historically Black colleges and universities and also aims at strengthening the school’s science, technology, engineering, and mathematics curriculum, also known as STEM, according to a news release.

SRMC is one of the main employers at the site, tasked with the safe reduction of curies,

or radioactive material, in aging waste tanks at the site.

Students will be working on ways to

improve the method for removing and replacing the radioactively contaminated device called the strip effluent coalescer

within the processing facility’s solvent recovery system. The coalescer combines small droplets of solvent to form larger droplets, enabling their separation from the high-activity salt waste, according to the release.

Any proposed improvements would both use fewer resources and reduce the potential for radiation exposure to workers during removal, transport and replacement of the equipment, the release said. The current process involves the hands-on use of a specially designed transport cart and crane.

“One of our goals is for the students to consider all possibilities for making our processes safer and better inside the salt waste processing facility,” said Dave Olson, SRMC’s president and program manager. “We want to motivate students to solve real-world technical issues.” CRBJ

Engineering students from Claflin University will work to develop an improved method for removing media from the strip effluent coalescer at the Savannah River Site’s salt waste processing facility. (Photo/Provided)

Photography by Keith Isaacs

House of Raeford | Wallace, NC

Commercial Property Management Companies

Ranked by No. of Property Managers in the Charleston Area

Company

Island Realty 1304 Palm Blvd. Isle of Palms, SC 29451

Holder Properties 75 Port City Landing, Suite 100 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Lee & Associates Charleston

960 Morrison Drive, Suite 400 Charleston, SC 29403

Durlach Associates 1127 Queensborough Blvd., Suite 105 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Southeastern Management Group Inc. 151 King St. Charleston, SC 29401

Re/Max Pro Realty 9209 University Blvd. North Charleston, SC 29406

Ravenel Associates 960 Morrison Drive, Suite 100 Charleston, SC 29403

CBRE Inc. 200 Meeting St., Suite 202 Charleston, SC 29401

Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic 3506 W. Montague Ave., Suite 200 North Charleston, SC 29418

Lane Properties of Charleston LLC 746 St. Andrews Blvd., Suite B Charleston, SC 29407

Adams Property Group 2298 Mount Pleasant St. Charleston, SC 29403

Caldwell Commercial 4476 W. Leeds Place Charleston, SC 29405

Carr Properties LLC 5806 Campbell St. Hanahan, SC 29410

Phone / Website / Email

843-886-8144 www.islandrealty.com rentalsinfo@islandrealty.com

843-409-0888 www.holderproperties.com fgray@holderproperties.com

843-747-1200 www.lee-charleston.com leecharlestonhelp@lee-associates.com

843-723-2801 www.durlach.com

843-577-8595 www.semgsc.com semg@semgsc.com

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843-768-9480 www.ravenelassociates.com info@ravenelassociates.com

843-577-0702 www.cbre.com/offices/corporate/south-carolina cynthia.new@cbre.com

843-744-9877 www.cbcatlantic.com info@cbcatlantic.com

843-769-9919 www.laneproperties.com administrator@laneprops.com

843-941-4001 www.adamspropgroup.com

843-367-7000 www.caldwellcommercial.com bob@caldwellcommercial.com

843-744-2863 www.carr-properties.com walter@carr-properties.com

Kennerty Ratner & Tezza LLC 1035 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., Suite B11 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 843-388-9818 mark@krtrealestate.com

WRS Inc. Real Estate Investments 550 Long Point Road Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Ziff Real Estate Partners 210 Wingo Way, Suite 400 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Alliance Commercial Property Management 141 Williman St. Charleston, SC 29403

Avison Young - South Carolina Inc. 1315 Ashley River Road Charleston, SC 29407

Belk Lucy 636 King St. Charleston, SC 29403

Bridge Commercial 25 Calhoun St., Suite 220 Charleston, SC 29401

Dunes Commercial Properties LLC 835 Coleman Blvd. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Howell

843-654-7888 www.wrsrealestate.com tmassey@wrsrealty.com

843-724-3500 www.ziffcre.com ajones@zpi.net

336-383-5901 www.alliancecommercialpropertymanagement.com jimmy@alliancecompanies.com

843-725-7200 www.avisonyoung.com chris.fraser@avisonyoung.com

843-856-4600 www.belklucy.com trey.lucy@belklucy.com

843-535-8600 www.bridge-commercial.com info@bridge-commercial.com

843-881-5600 www.dunesproperties.com realestate@dunesproperties.com

Top Official(s) / Year Founded

Alexander D. Stone 1977

Property Managers Properties Managed / Sq. Ft. Managed Types of Properties Managed

11 520Flex, income-producing, multifamily

Billy Cooke Friend Gray 1980 10 9 830,000 Office, retail

M. Wade Allen 1999 9 73 3,220,000 Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

John R.N. Durlach 1979 7 5 351,000 Office

Chad Yonce 1997

7 129 736,738

Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Velvaleen Thurber-Everett 2006 6 450 2,100,000 Agricultural, flex, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, sports, entertainment, warehouse

Jules Deas 1985

5 105 99,999,999 Flex, income-producing, industrial, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Stephen B. Smith 1992 4 33 5,500,000 Flex, income-producing, industrial, office, retail, warehouse

Brent A. Case 1986 4 120 980,000 Agricultural, flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Mark C. Lane 1967 4 34 449,632 Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Franklin Adams, Casey Lower y 2008 3 7 341,281 Flex, income-producing, office, retail

Robert Caldwell 2000 3 26 153,827

Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, land, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Walter D. Carr 1999 3 18 260,000 Flex, industrial, land, office, warehouse

Mark J. Tezza 1989 3 16 276,129

Flex, income-producing, industrial, office, retail, warehouse

T. Scott Smith, Art Kepes, Kevin Rogers 2001 3 23 886,485 Income-producing, industrial, land, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Tim Walter, Curt Schade, Christian Chamblee 1991 3 29 2,017,543 Flex, income-producing, industrial, land, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

James A. Black 2007 2 20 1,200,000 Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Charlene Massey, Christopher B. Fraser 1978 2 65 800,000

Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Blair Belk, Trey Lucy 2013 2 31 1,322,641 Flex, health care, income-producing, land, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Peter S. Fennelly 2017 2 20 1,278,281

Agricultural, flex, health care, hotel, motel, incomeproducing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, sports, entertainment, warehouse

Luiz T Yamashita 2015 2 50 50,000 Industrial, land, office, retail, warehouse

Shawn Howell 1972 2 35 50,000

Agricultural, flex, health care, hotel, motel, incomeproducing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, sports, entertainment, warehouse

Researched by Paige Wills

The

Twin Rivers Capital LLC 656 Ellis Oak Ave., Suite 201 Charleston, SC 29412

Colliers International 4289 Spruill Ave. North Charleston, SC 29405

Commercial Investment Group LLC

1910 Capri Drive Charleston, SC 29407

Joe Griffith Inc.

946 Johnnie Dodds Blvd. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

Laurel Properties of Charleston LLC 742 Lakenheath Drive Charleston, SC 29464

Maybank Properties LLC

176 Croghan Spur Road, Suite 204 Charleston, SC 29407

NAI Charleston LLC 141 Williman St. Charleston, SC 29403

Raven Cliff Co. LLC

706 Meeting St. Charleston, SC 29403

RealtyLink LLC 4921 Centre Pointe Drive, Suite 300 Charleston, SC 29418

Shoreline International Real Estate II LLC 739 Pitt St. Mount Pleasant, SC 29464

843-722-4450 www.primesouthgroup.com clprice@primesouthgroup.com

843-722-9925 www.twinriverscap.com jj@twinriverscap.com

843-723-1202 www.colliers.com/en liz.mccar y@colliers.com

843-406-7979 www.cominvestgroup.com pjd@cominvestgroup.com

843-577-2230 www.joegriffithinc.com

843-224-1342 gerr ymccord@gmail.com

843-740-9202 www.maybankproperties.com mmcfall@maybankproperties.com

843-720-4944 www.naicharleston.com info@naicharleston.com

843-371-4564 diane@ravencliffco.com

843-769-6065 www.realtylinkdev.com fitzhenr ycm@gmail.com

843-437-7373 www.shorelineinternational.com

Strategic Asset Management 353 N. Shelmore Blvd., Suite 200 Mount Pleasant, SC 29464 843-416-1062 hmyers@samcharleston.com

Wm. Iselin Co. LLC 198 E. Bay St., Suite 101 Charleston, SC 29401

The Commonwealth Co. Inc. 171 Church St., Suite 300 Charleston, SC 29401

843-729-7782 www.webcharleston.com wiselin@aol.com

843-577-8877 www.thecommonwealthcompany.com commonwealthjimm@prodigy.net

Jeffrey J. Lamberson 2002

2 10 60,000 Flex, income-producing, industrial, land, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

Jim Garrett 1906 1 26 3,039,212

P. John DeStefano 2006

Louis Griffith 1957

Gerr y McCord 1975

David Maybank Michael G. McFall 1997

Agricultural, flex, health care, hotel, motel, incomeproducing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail, warehouse

1 2 60,000 Flex, income-producing, industrial, land, multifamily office, retail, warehouse

1 7 100,000 Income-producing, land, office, retail

1 5 3,000 Multifamily, office

1 22 1,500,000 Income-producing, industrial, land, office, warehouse

Thomas Scarborough, Thomas M. Boulware 2017 1 25 1,000,000 Flex, health care, income-producing, industrial, office, retail

Michael Wooddy 2006

1 2 250,000 Office, restaurant

2012 1 9 255,000 Restaurant, retail, sports, entertainment

Debbie R. Stocker 2001

1 1 13,670

Harris Myers 2004 1 17 623,700

Agricultural, flex, health care, hotel, motel, incomeproducing, industrial, land, multifamily, office, restaurant, retail

Flex, income-producing, industrial, office, retail, warehouse

William J. Iselin 1987 1 3000 1,000 Land

James R. Moring 1997-Hotel, motel, income-producing, land, restaurant

Because of space constraints, sometimes only the top-ranked companies are published in the print edition. Although ever y effort is made to ensure accuracy, errors sometimes occur. Email additions or corrections to research@scbiznews.com.

Christopher L. Price 1996

Researched by Paige Wills

At Work

Professor to co-chair international trade group

Staff Report

Rene Dentiste Mueller, professor of international marketing at the College of Charleston School of Business, has been named co-chair of the S.C. International Trade Coalition.

The coalition is an organization made up of government agencies, trade associations, educational institutions, and other organizations providing export services to companies across South Carolina. The coalition also contributes training and educational outreach programs to companies in the state.

“It is a privilege to co-chair the South Carolina International Trade Coalition,” Mueller said in a news release from the college. “Ninety-five percent of the world’s consumers live outside the U.S. To be successful in today’s market, firms need to seek internation -

People in the News

BUSINESS SERVICES

Mark McGrew has become the first project manager on the client services team at The Winkler Group. McGrew, a Summerville native with project management and communications experience, has been tapped for the position.

Prior to joining the Winkler Group, McGrew worked in journalism as a writer and reporter for CBS Sports Digital. He also has experience as an independent living skills instructor, working with adults with intellectual disabilities.

A longtime volunteer with local food banks, pantries, and social programs, McGrew has been a coach with the Special Olympics of South Carolina. He holds a bachelor of arts in English and emphasis in writing and publication studies from Clemson University.

The new co-chair for the South Carolina International Trade Coalition is Rene Dentiste Mueller, professor of international marketing at the College of Charleston School of Business.

At the college, Mueller serves as the director of the international business program and the Global Business Resource Center. The center, housed within the business school, supports the development of international education opportunities that enable students to gain the

international business skills needed to compete in today’s globalized economy. It also serves the global trade community by hosting and supporting several training and education programs, such as the Nasbite Certified Global Business Professional training course.

EDUCATION

The South Carolina Independent School Association has presented its Dr. Charles S. Aimar Educational Leadership Award to Daniel Seiden, EdD, head of school at Pinewood Preparatory School. This is the association’s highest honor, given to an individual whose dedication and commitment to independent education have made a positive impact on a school and young people.

Seiden is in his fifth year serving as Pinewood’s head of school. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Emory University, a master’s in business administration from the Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a doctorate in educational leadership from the Peabody College of Education at Vanderbilt University.

FINANCIAL SERVICES

Jarrard, Nowell & Russell has added Kevin Guyette, Lesa Spillers, and Naomi Nussbaum to its staff Guyette is a senior staff accountant.

He graduated from Binghamton Univer-

sity, State University of New York, with a bachelor of arts in economics and with accounting coursework. Guyette assists with tax preparation, accounting, and various other services for individuals and businesses.

Spillers is a staff accountant. She has a bachelor of arts from the College of Charleston. Her focus is preparing monthly, quarterly, and yearly bookkeeping for clients. She has a board position as treasurer for Stand for Haiti, also known as KanpeHaiti.

Nussbaum, a bookkeeper, is pursuing an accounting degree at Trident Technical College.

HEALTH CARE

al opportunities. For over 15 years, the members of S.C. International Trade Coalition have worked hard at assisting S.C. firms, big and small, to find new overseas markets for their products and services.”

At the College of Charleston, Mueller serves as the director of the international business program and the Global Business Resource Center. The center, housed within the School of Business, supports the development of international education opportunities so students may gain the necessary international business skills needed to compete effectively in today’s globalized economy, the news release said. It also serves the global trade community by hosting and supporting several training and education programs, such as the NASBITE Certified Global Business Professional training course. CRBJ

Davis has focused her career on using 3D printing and other technology to create prosthetic eyes, ears, noses, and other parts of the head and neck that patients have lost due to cancer.

Davis was a presenter at the inaugural Head and Neck Oncology Symposium in November 2022 at Wild Dunes Resort on Isle of Palms. Nearly 50 physicians from the Southeast attended the event.

A graduate of the Medical University of South Carolina College of Dental Medicine, Davis did her residency at the University of Iowa and a fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center.

LAW

The Leadership Council on Legal Diversity has named Baker Donelson a Compass Award winner. The award recognizes law firms and corporations that show a strong commitment to building more diverse organizations and a more inclusive legal profession.

The American Academy of Maxillofacial Prosthetics has given its highest award, the Andrew J. Ackerman Memorial Award, to Trident Medical Center oncologic dentist

Betsy Davis, DMD, MS, who practices with Head and Neck Specialists. The lifetime achievement award recognizes her significant contributions to the advancement of facial prosthetics.

Baker Donelson has been a council member since the organization’s inception in 2009 and has participated in both the Fellows and Pathfinders programs since their launch.

Last year, the council’s board of directors announced a requirement for each member to create a public pledge detailing actions they will take to advance diverse talent. Baker Donelson is among those organizations that created a pledge.

Catherine Ava Leatherwood of Rogers Townsend was elected to the Defense Research Institute (DRI) board of directors as a national director during the its 2022 annual meeting.

Mueller will co-chair the S.C. International Trade Coalition. (Photo/Provided)

Mcgrew

Guyette

Spillers Nussbaum

Davis

New commercial real estate firm opens doors in Charleston

Three Charleston commercial real estate veterans have come together to form Harbor Commercial Partners, a full-service brokerage firm.

Todd Garrett, Tradd Varner, and Vitré Stephens, the principals in the new company, have a combined 40-year track record in the commercial real estate industry. All three partners had been with Avison Young–South Carolina, where they focused on brokerage-related activities.

In addition, Tracy Watson, the firm’s director of property management, brings 15 years of experience in property management. Garrett is broker-in-charge. Harbor Commercial Partners focuses on sales, leasing, and property management of all commercial property types in the Charleston region.

PURE Theatre and King BBQ hosted sandwich bar for closing night of Clyde’s

King BBQ, a new concept restaurant, is set to open in spring 2023. Proprietors are Shuai and Corrie Wang of Jackrabbit Filly, who already operate a pop-up at Edmund’s Oast Brewing Company on Tuesdays from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. or until sell out.

Pink Cactus now features weekly lunch special and online ordering

Pink Cactus Mexican restaurant unveiled a new weekly lunch special along with a new online ordering system. From 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Tuesdays through Fridays, customers can have a rice bowl filled with beans, salsa, guacamole, and choice of protein, or a quesadilla (carnitas, tinga chicken, chorizo, coliflor y papanteca, poblano rajas, or carne asada are available), paired with a Hibiscus Agua Fresca for $10. In addition, custom-

involved with Charleston County Public Library through volunteer work and financial donations that support programming across the system’s 18 branches. With the support of its members and the community, Charleston Friends has helped the library maintain its status in the Charleston community as a repository for current resources and a bridge to future opportunities.

Coastal

holds party for its babies

More than 100 families joined Coastal Fertility Specialists at its Baby Reunion Party at Alhambra Hall in Mount Pleasant on November 20. The children who attended the party have one thing in common: they were conceived with the help of fertility treatments at Coastal Fertility Specialists.

The Baby Reunion Party gives these families a chance to celebrate and reunite with the medical team at Coastal Fertility while meeting other couples who understand the journey of infertility.

Coastal Fertility Specialists has five reproductive endocrinologists (John Schnorr, Michael Slowey, Heather Cook, Jessica McLaughlin, and Carrie Riestenberg) and claims a record of high success rates. Its offices are in Mount Pleasant, Summerville, Columbia, Savannah, and Myrtle Beach.

Hot Properties

PURE Theatre celebrated the final performance of Clyde’s on Nov. 19 with a preshow build-your-own-sandwich bar from

Matt

of 47,113 square feet of office space at 174 Meeting St. in Charleston to Highland Ventures for $16,750,000. Insite Properties advised the buyer.

Hannah Troyer of Coldwell Banker Commercial Atlantic represented the tenant, Kate Laflin (Catnip & Coffee Cat Cafe), in the lease of 1,090 square feet of retail space at 3414 Rivers Ave. in North Charleston. Gerry Schauer of Avison Young represented landlord.

Jenna Philipp of Palmetto Commercial Properties represented the landlord, James Island Business Park LLC, in the lease of 2,455 square feet of industrial space at 1750 Signal Point Road to Diversified Woods Custom Interiors LLC.

King BBQ.

In the play, creating the perfect sandwich is the shared quest of the formerly incarcerated kitchen staff of Clyde’s, a truckstop cafe. In real life, audience members built their own perfect sandwich before the show, choosing from pork or veggie for the base and red onion, hot mustard, pickles, and dale sauce as toppings. Each sandwich came with potato chips.

ers can place their lunch or dinner orders through Pink Cactus’s new online ordering system and schedule pickup until 6 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays.

Charleston Friends of the Library celebrates 40 years

For 40 years, Charleston Friends of the Library has given community members the opportunity to become more

This past year, Charleston County Public Library produced 1,016 programs, virtually and in person, throughout its 18 branches. Donors have contributed more than $1.2 million that has helped fund such programs as the Summer Reading Program, Take and Make, Free and Fresh Community Fridge Program, Books on Buses, and other regular programming at local branches.

Each year, the group raise the donation bar: this year, the goal is to raise $5,000.

To mark its 40th birthday, Charleston Friends of the Library is suggesting a contribution of $40 or more to help ensure 40 more years. Thanks to a donor’s challenge, the goal of $5,000 in total donations, once reached, will be matched by an additional $5,000. People wishing to donate can do so online or send a check to Charleston

Friends of the Library, 68 Calhoun St., Charleston, SC 29401.

PBN Backlinks integrates GPT-3 content for SEO

PBN Backlinks now integrates with top GPT-3 AI content generators such as Jasper, ArticleForge, and WordAI to cre-

Kevin

Mathis Ferry in Mount Pleasant. Alex Deseta of DeSeta Realty Group LLC represented the buyer.

Robert Pratt of Re/Max Pro Realty represented the seller, Rosalina Property Group LLC, in the sale of 28,200 square feet of warehouse space at 200 Varnfield Drive in Summerville to WRS 200 Varnfield LLC for $2,750,000. McKenzie Deutsch of Bridge Commercial represented the buyer.

Keith Mayfield of Twin Rivers Capital represented the tenant, Big Kick Coffee LLC, in the lease of 1550 square feet of commercial space at 476 Meeting St., Charleston, from LL Nassau Development LLC. Brunson Miller of CC&T RE Services represented the landlord.

Harbor Commercial Partners said that Todd Garrett, Tradd Varner and Crawford Riddle represented the landlord, 7281 Cross Park Road LLC, in the lease extension of 8,000 square feet of industrial space at 7281 Cross Park Drive, Building 200, in North Charles-

ton, to the board of trustees of the Charleston Electrical Training Alliance.

Keith Mayfield and Phil Rose of Twin Rivers Capital represented the seller, Sam Gilchrist Jr., in the sale of 2,451 square feet, 0.21 acres, of office/residential space at 26 Bee St. in Charleston to 26 Bee St LLC. Tift Mitchell of Tift Properties represented the buyer.

Keith Mayfield and Phil Rose of Twin Rivers Capital represented the seller, ALFA LLC, in the sale of a gas station and auto shop space at 1805 Savannah Highway, Charleston, to Sam Gilchrist Jr. Keith Mayfield and Phil Rose of Twin Rivers Capital, TRC represented both sides of the transaction.

Reid Davis, Pete Harper and Cameron Yost of Lee & Associates represented the landlord in the lease of two office spaces at 22 WestEdge in Charleston. Novotech Clinical Research leased 4,206 square feet and Punchlist USA leased 4,494 square feet. CRBJ

Shields of Belk Lucy represented the seller, Gil Shuler Graphic Design, in the sale of 2,063 square feet of office space at 250

Fertility Specialists

Smith, Patrick Gildea, Grayson Hawkins, Robert Hardaway, Charles Carmody and Ryan Carmody of CBRE represented the seller, Cobalt Property Group, in the sale

ate on-demand, contextual content inside private blog networks to reap the benefits of search engine optimization.

The reason is the scale and affordability of machine-generated content versus content created by humans. Though GPT-3 content reads well, it is often not indexed by search engines such as Google, Bing, Duckduckgo, and Yahoo. Machine algorithms owned by search companies are used to detect other machine algorithms to devalue or ignore mass-produced content.

PBN Backlinks has combined machine-generated information with the customer’s own personal, unique information to create content that is 100% unique and indistinguishable from human-curated content.

By intertwining basic generated text and the customer’s website, name, address, and social media, the post becomes hyper relevant and passes all human and AI-generated tests. The result is content that remains indexed and improves rankings, but lowers the costs associated with private blog networks.

Island Brands USA and Water Warrior Alliance partnership

Island Brands USA, a beverage industry disruptor with a growing portfolio of innovative products, has formed a new charitable partnership with Florida’s Water Warrior Alliance to turbocharge recovery and restoration efforts in the wake of Hurricane Ian.

Through May 1, 2023, Island Brands is donating 1% of its Florida sales revenue to Water Warrior Alliance for initiatives to help both human victims and environmental habitats that suffered from Hurricane Ian. The alliance, which is active in communities from Tampa Bay to the Florida Keys, is currently providing canned goods and other food to residents in need as well as conducting debris removal from storm-damaged waterways and testing water quality for safety.

Headquartered in Charleston, Island Brands USA is a lifestyle company that uses only all-natural ingredients to produce super-premium beer, flavored malt beverages, craft spirits, and ready-todrink cocktails.

By donating 1% of its sales for the six months, Island Brands is ensuring that its entire Florida network—from wholesale partners to consumers—can pitch in for a good cause.

Giving back is not a new concept for Island Brands, which recently earned a spot on the Inc. 5000 list. As part of its mission to give back in meaningful ways, Island Brands joined the organization 1% for the Planet, pledging to donate at least 1% of its annual sales directly to approved environmental nonprofits worldwide.

TravelBoom case study shows power of metasearch

TravelBoom, a data-driven digital marketing agency for hotels, resorts, and

vacation rental companies, has developed a highly effective new strategy using platforms based on artificial intelligence.

TravelBoom has released a new case study on metasearch after successful campaigns with InTown Suites and Brittain Resorts & Hotels. With a presence on such platforms as Google Hotel Ads, TripAdvisor, and Kayak, hotels can drive more direct bookings through metasearch and challenge the position of online travel agencies.

Hotel metasearch engines such as Google Hotel Ads, Microsoft Hotel Ads, Kayak, and TripAdvisor are fundamental tools for finding new guests and driving direct bookings.

In the case study, TravelBoom shows that hotels can dominate the search engine results page through an AI-driven metasearch campaign combined with a well-run pay-per-click campaign. Furthermore, the metasearch campaign can generate more than 200% higher returns on ad spend.

Each client in the study had previous metasearch campaigns that were limited by high management costs, poor bidding strategies, and inefficient management tools, all of which led to increased online travel agency bookings and poor direct-booking performance. TravelBoom’s paid media specialists developed a strategy using AI-based platforms to drive direct bookings for clients through metasearch. Over the campaign’s first several months, all clients saw record performance and reduced reliance on online travel agencies.

TravelBoom has partnered with metasearch engines to offer a rate strategy and incentives that encourage direct bookings. The agency integrated an AI-based bidding component to improve performance and allow new participation opportunities. TravelBoom then utilized a new bidding strategy to create individually optimized client campaigns.

The campaigns include smarter bidding strategies targeting customers in the shopping process; AI-based campaign management to find hidden opportunities; transparent and fair pricing to reduce management costs; improved reporting for more insight to ensure data-based marketing decisions; fluid budget allocation to maximize return on advertising spend with metasearch; and reduced management costs based on automated strategies.

InTown Suites generated a 246% increase in its Google Hotel Ads campaign within two months of implementing TravelBoom’s strategy. TravelBoom produced a 3,657% return on the overall metasearch advertising spend. Brittain Resorts & Hotels generated a 2,024% average return on advertising spend in Google Hotel Ads and a 1,439% return in Microsoft Hotel Ads.

In addition, guests who booked through Google Hotel Ads had a lower cancellation rate, which helped to improve close-in occupancy and increase the revenue per available room.

Make sure you know about the latest in changing Google ad landscape

Navigating and understanding marketing, much less Google Ads, can be overwhelming, especially for a small business owner whose attention is focused on running the day-to-day operations of their business. Without a good understanding of the various Google Ads options available, however, it becomes easy to miss a return on investment (ROI)based opportunity that might suit your business needs and marketing goals. With that in mind, let’s dive into a high-level view of Google Ads.

Google Ads is Google’s online advertising platform, also known as pay-perclick (PPC) advertising. At its most basic level, Google Ads allows you to market your product or service on the Google Search Engine and its affiliate sites. Google Ads target the 92.01% of internet users that use Google on a daily basis by showing them your ad on the keywords you choose.

They’re fast, convenient, and a great digital alternative to traditional billboard advertising. Like traditional

advertising, though, they come in a variety of styles, including Search Ads, Local Service Ads, Display Ads, and Performance Max Campaigns.

Search Ads are Google’s most wellknown Ad product. They display as text that shows up at the top or bottom of a search page with a marked indicator stating “AD.” Most of us are familiar with Search Ads and we’re comfortable clicking through them to get to the answers we need. Search Ads operate on keywords and allow you to prioritize the exact words that connect to your business and your user.

When someone searches for plumbing services, for instance, the first few options that appear are ads for various plumbing companies or home advisor companies who want to help you find a plumber near you. The user finds information that is helpful quickly and efficiently and the business running the ad gets a new lead from showing up first on the search query.

Local Service Ads are more involved to set up since the company running them must be screened and guaranteed by Google. In other words, Google is vouching for your business to users, and they want to make sure that your company meets all of the standards they would expect from a service provider. These ads are set up to run in your spec-

ified area and you only pay if a customer calls or messages you directly through the ad.

Display Ad campaigns serve visually engaging ads on the Google Display Network. The Display Network helps you reach people as they browse millions of websites, apps, and Google-owned properties (such as YouTube and Gmail). Display Ads are excellent at building brand awareness. Unlike Search Ads, which are tied to specific keywords, Display Ads allow you to advertise to audience characteristics or general search areas such as topics a user has previously searched for or a geographic location. A new restaurant, for instance, could place a general Display Ad for their geographic location.

A subset of Display Ads, Retargeting Ads, are used to advertise to people who have interacted with your website within a certain time frame. Like Search Ads, you’ve most likely encountered a retargeting ad. For example, let’s say you were shopping for a new office printer. You add the new printer to your shopping cart and, at the very last minute, decide to wait on making a purchase. Suddenly every site you visit has that printer  showing up in the ads window inviting you to “pick up where you left off ”and complete your transaction.

Google’s Performance Max Cam-

paigns, which are replacing Shopping Ads, are another option for businesses looking for conversions. These ads are targeted at people who are searching for a physical product with the intention of making a purchase online. The ad allows users to purchase your product through the ad and is the easiest of all the ads to see direct ROI on ad spend. Performance Max Campaigns allow your ads to appear across all of Google’s channels like YouTube, Display, Search, Discover, Gmail, and Maps

Overall, Google Ads are a great tool to round out any marketing campaign. Running even one type of ad can greatly benefit your brand’s visibility to customers and your overall conversions. To be effective, however, you’ll need to monitor each campaign closely or work with a trusted partner to see results.

Chris Manley co-founded Engenius in 2008 and is the company’s team leader and strategist. His experience driving sales through web design and digital marketing dates back to 2000. CRBJ

Write: Ross Norton, Editor

SC Biz News

35B Cessna Court Greenville, S.C. 29607

Email: rnorton@scbiznews.com

CHRIS MANLEY

Moore & Van Allen has been a proud member of our vibrant community for over two decades, building upon a commitment to growth and entrepreneurial spirit. We provide a broad spectrum of advice, counsel, and local insight to businesses and individuals who call the Charleston region home.

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