Lower North Charleston turning around

[vicupstate]

North Charleston revitialization underway

This just goes to show the importance of dode enforcement in preventing the decline of residential areas. Once the city got on the ball, things started to improve.

[Charleston native]

Friends of mine from my old singles Sunday School class recently got married and are planning to build a house in the north area. I've already told them they need to talk to their reps about a Chas./N. Chas. merger, just to get the ball rolling... This side of the city is becoming very appealing for new home buyers singles and new couples. If my wife and I move to Chas after I graduate, I would definitely consider building a new home here, as well. Significant improvements will have to take place there, first, including crime reduction and beautification of streets and shopping centers (grocery stores, etc).

[sonofaque86]

lol! u wont rest until N. Charleston and Charleston become one!

[Charleston native]

^ Never! I will never rest!

[tablrock]

i know this is a really dumb question, but is that considered the "neck" and is this where the magnolia development is slated to occur?

[Charleston native]

No, no, this area is actually considered north of the Neck and south of Remount Road. Noisette is the name of the project involved for renovating this entire area. It will eventually meet up with the Neck to Magnolia. Magnolia is a major development occurring in the Neck area, but it is basically part of the city of Charleston. I hear that Magnolia will be called Midtown Chas and Noisette will be considered Uptown Chas, so it will be interesting to see everything that happens there.

Don't worry man, there are no dumb questions here!

[tablrock]

i really hope the magnolia development contains some sort of mixed use, new urbanism or lifestyle center componet. i know that may sound strange since magnolia is already in an urban setting, however think of something along the lines of atlantic station-atl, copley place-boston, horton plaza- san diego, etc. something that contains retail, residential, office and even throw in a 5 star hotel just for kicks (let's say a pennisula hotel property.)

[krazeeboi]

It would be nice if the development could be modeled after Atlantic Station--it's pretty cool. And I know this is thinking big, but something like Mount Vernon Place in DC would be awesome (on a much smaller scale, of course).

[Charleston native]

Wow, Mt. Vernon Place is impressive. I think Noisette is going to be the development which has more similarities to this project in DC, but on a smaller scale. There are massive renovations of neighborhoods planned, as well. I would like to see Magnolia having similar components too, but also having signature office towers which distinguish themselves from the rest of the development. It would a beautiful modern gateway into the city as you travel east on I-26.

Rumors have a Ritz-Carlton or a similar upscale hotel tower being built on or near the Ashley River for the Magnolia development. The company in charge of the project has said that towers for residents and offices will be built. It will dramatically change the cityscape of that area along with the new bridge.

[tablrock]

It would be nice if the development could be modeled after Atlantic Station--it's pretty cool. And I know this is thinking big, but something like Mount Vernon Place in DC would be awesome (on a much smaller scale, of course).

this is exactly what i was thinking. also, i don't see why it would need to be on a MUCH smaller scale. i think chas could support a development of similar size.

[wellington]

Wow, Mt. Vernon Place is impressive.

Its interesting though that a lot of these developments like Mount Vernon look impressive, but sometimes they all start to look the same -- it could be fill-in-the-blank city USA. The challenge is to have these nice developments, but still retain a certain sense of character unique to the location. That's probably why Daniel Island has been such a success, but even there the character is concocted/fake.

Now is probably the time to buy properties in the Neck Area to get the best deal before prices go through the roof. Again, I understand that developers are in the business to make money (and its nice to see blighted areas cleaned up and crime driven out), but most if not all of the new developments in DT Charleston are so high end that only a select group of people can afford these properties (the same thing will happen for the Magnolia development). Instead of having a diverse community we end up with a bunch of soccer moms driving huge Suburbans with Porter Gaud stickers on the rear window.

[Infinite1]

Its interesting though that a lot of these developments like Mount Vernon look impressive, but sometimes they all start to look the same -- it could be fill-in-the-blank city USA. The challenge is to have these nice developments, but still retain a certain sense of character unique to the location. That's probably why Daniel Island has been such a success, but even there the character is concocted/fake.

Now is probably the time to buy properties in the Neck Area to get the best deal before prices go through the roof. Again, I understand that developers are in the business to make money (and its nice to see blighted areas cleaned up and crime driven out), but most if not all of the new developments in DT Charleston are so high end that only a select group of people can afford these properties (the same thing will happen for the Magnolia development). Instead of having a diverse community we end up with a bunch of soccer moms driving huge Suburbans with Porter Gaud stickers on the rear window.

I would doubt that Magnolia would start out that way. Robert Clement, the developer, has a genuine interest in porviding housing for a cross section of people. Now, due to the location on the Ashley, once built supply and demand will take over and the prices will skyrocket.

[MikesLogic]

Something I've noticed recently about North Charleston is that crime seems to be less of a headline this past year than in years gone by. I am very interested in seeing the new numbers for crime as of 2005 for this part of Charleston. They are trying hard to turn their image around. Though they have a long way to go it does seem to be working so far.