Carolina Park Development

[Charleston native 0]

Construction is slated to begin on the Carolina Park development, which is going to be built in the outer part of Mt. Pleasant. The new Wando High School has already been completed and opened in 2004, which is the only part of the project actually completed. The link for the story in CRBJ is below. This year, several parts are scheduled to begin construction, including:

[krazeeboi 163]

This development sounds better than some of the other mega-projects in the region, but gosh, it's mind-boggling how many are proposed/under construction down that way.

[lsgchas 1]

IMO, it's pretty dubious to call this a smart growth project. Even Mt. Pleasant thought this subdivision was too far outside of town, so the developers went to the county and managed to play the city and county off of each other. It was probably the first example of a big developer getting his project approved even though the closest city thought it was a bad idea. Will Watson Hill be next?

[krazeeboi 163]

That's one thing I meant to ask. Exactly how is this a "smart growth" project? For one thing, its relative isolation works against that concept.

[monsoon 1]

I have to agree. I've never heard of a "smart growth" project where 1700 single family houses are going to be sprawled over 1700 acres. It sounds like really bad sprawl to me regardless of packaging it with a hospital and a child care facility. You will find these in these places anyway. This is kind of like putting perfume on a pig.

[Charleston native 0]

I agree, I think it is ridiculous for them to build this massive development in an area with limited access and virtually several miles away from other urban development. There was some controversy surrounding the project, but the developers won...I think they compromised on the amount of housing which was slated to be 3,000 homes, but don't quote me on that.

This is just a case of developers trying to make a quick buck instead of actually investing in infill property, and believe me, Mt. P has plenty of it. Carolina Park is just the easiest way to build the property and make the most money. You would think if they still insisted on the same location, efforts would be made to have more interconnectivity with the rest of the town, such as a connector road to other major thoroughfares. I'm afraid this will further burden US 17 since many residents will need to use the Towne Center for most of their shopping needs.

[Infinite1 1]

have to agree. I've never heard of a "smart growth" project where 1700 single family houses are going to be sprawled over 1700 acres. It sounds like really bad sprawl to me regardless of packaging it with a hospital and a child care facility. You will find these in these places anyway. This is kind of like putting perfume on a pig.

That's one thing I meant to ask. Exactly how is this a "smart growth" project? For one thing, its relative isolation works against that concept.

While still dubious, its is being billed as "smart growth" because the projet involves single family residential, multi-family res, commercial, and "economic development (read light industrial) zones all within the parcel. If I'm not mistaken, there is close to 1 Milllion sq feet of commercial space planned. The entire development willbe connected with walking/cycling paths. There are also plans for varying price points in the housing stock. So theoretically, you could live, work and shop there. As your housing needs changed, you could relocate wtihin the same community. That is in theory. I think the truth lies somewhere in the middle.

IMO, it's pretty dubious to call this a smart growth project. Even Mt. Pleasant thought this subdivision was too far outside of town, so the developers went to the county and managed to play the city and county off of each other. It was probably the first example of a big developer getting his project approved even though the closest city thought it was a bad idea. Will Watson Hill be next?

To be fair to the developer, he sat on this land for 16 years and waited for the "city" to come to him. People act as if Charleston National isn't right across the street. And he took his plan to Moutn Pleasant FIRST, even though his property hadn't been annexed yet. He spent over a year in negotiations with them. But when they dug their heels in, then he took it to Charleston County, basically forcing Mt Pleasant back to the table.

[krazeeboi 163]

So this development will be similar to Baxter Village in Fort Mill or Birkdale in Huntersville--something of an isolated new urbanist community. It is my opinion that these developments work best within an existing urban context, not all alone by themselves.

[monsoon 1]

If you are referring to Birkdale Village, it only contains apartments located above retail. There are no single family homes in there and its only 45 acres in size. While there are a lot of issues with BV that you mention it does manage to have a net density of 7.2 residences/acre, 350,000 sq/ft of retail, and 225,000 sq/ft of office space. There are also about 1000 homes within walking distance of BV outside of of BV.

If the same densities were applied to Carolina Park, it should cover about 250 acres, not 1700

[krazeeboi 163]

I was mainly referring to location. Both Baxter and Birkdale exist relatively isolated from an existing, traditional urbanity.

[Infinite1 1]

If you are referring to Birkdale Village, it only contains apartments located above retail. There are no single family homes in there and its only 45 acres in size. While there are a lot of issues with BV that you mention it does manage to have a net density of 7.2 residences/acre, 350,000 sq/ft of retail, and 225,000 sq/ft of office space. There are also about 1000 homes within walking distance of BV outside of of BV.

If the same densities were applied to Carolina Park, it should cover about 250 acres, not 1700

but alas this is the lowcountry...you have to consider wetlands and unbuildable space. There is also a decent amount of greenspace associated with the project.

[Jerseyman4 0]

Last time i passed through Wando H.S. on Mathis Ferry Road, there were a ton of a temporary trailors for classrooms. i guess that changed?

The US 17/Mathis Ferry Road intersection by I-526 was improved about a year or two ago so i believe even after this massive development is finished, it should be able to handle the extra volume of traffic going to the Mt P town center or the beach at Isle of Palms.

[Infinite1 1]

Last time i passed through Wando H.S. on Mathis Ferry Road, there were a ton of a temporary trailors for classrooms. i guess that changed?

The US 17/Mathis Ferry Road intersection by I-526 was improved about a year or two ago so i believe even after this massive development is finished, it should be able to handle the extra volume of traffic going to the Mt P town center or the beach at Isle of Palms.

Thats the old Wando HS. The new Wando HS is out 17N across from Charleston National and next the to Darrell Creek area

[Spartan 1407]

How will this development fit into the surrounding area? If it is going to have numerous connecitons to the outside and not exist as a massive subdivision, then it could be considered smart growth. I'd like to see a master plan before I make too many judgement calls, but I think its safe to say that with only SFR, its not going to be much better than standard issue sprawl, even if its well done sprawl.