816 sqft.
2 bedroom, 1 bath
$109,900
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796 sqft.
2 bedroom, 1 bath
$105,000
Offered By: Carolina One

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1,224 sqft.
2 bedroom, 1 bath
$75,000
Offered by: RE/MAX PRO REALTY

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812 sqft.
2 bedroom, 1 bath
$65,000
Offered by: Keller Williams Realty

**For more information or a showing appointment contact the Park Circle expert: Thea Anderson REALTOR & RESIDENT (843) 259-8705 or Thea@PerfectlyParkCircle.com

North Charleston should build on sustainable success
By KURT TAYLOR
Saturday, December 26, 2009

We are blessed to live in the Lowcountry. Each of the cities and towns in the area is special, as are our rural areas. Collectively, we have created a quality of life of which the world is increasingly aware.

We are also working hard to maintain that quality of life through green space preservation, responsible transportation projects, economic development and environmental sensitivity. Recent economic successes in the form of Boeing’s decision to stake its future here, as well as the Clemson University Restoration Institute’s wind turbine research grant award are a tribute to the tenacity and talent of our political, educational and community leaders.

This past week alone, North Charleston received a national award from the Home Depot Foundation and was honored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency with a 2009 Environmental Justice Achievement Award. A month ago, the MetLife Foundation recognized Metanoia and the North Charleston Police Department with a national award for a successful crime reduction partnership in the Chicora-Cherokee Neighborhood.

Common denominators? The residents of North Charleston’s historic city center and The Noisette Company. Recent information has presented an incomplete picture which paints the successes of The Noisette Company in a negative light, perhaps to soften our resolve against the ill-advised idea of rail yards on the former naval base. The simple fact is that the vast majority of significant real estate developments in the area are stalled as a result of worldwide financial problems.

In contrast, here are the underreported community development and investment successes of Noisette. Noisette’s property, known as The Navy Yard, has had an investment in excess of $50 million to date, with 80-plus companies occupying almost one million square feet and employing 2,300 workers. There are currently six pending contracts for new enterprises that will add two new restaurants and several business headquarters to North Charleston. Noisette recently leased office space to People Matters, a new human resource software company that has bought two other firms in Columbia and is relocating to the Navy Yard. The Navy Yard now has significant clusters around software, security and biotechnology as well as the built environment, the arts and the non-profit sector.

Noisette-created nonprofit entities have attracted and invested in excess of $10 million in this city. More importantly they have created some of the most innovative and recognized programs in the nation with the Civic Justice Corps, HUB (Historically Underutilized Business) Academy, and The Sustainability Institute. The Institute’s energy training program alone has saved Noisette-area residents on average $800 a year in energy bills.

Noisette’s Prison Re-entry program has graduated 76 members and had only one re-arrested in the last four years. A regional Americorps Center has been established at the Noisette Foundation that now has 22 full-time Vista volunteers, leveraging thousands of other volunteers. The Vista program has provided thousands of mentors and community volunteers supporting the area’s schools.

Outside the gates of the naval base, the 3,000-acre Noisette Master Plan area now boasts the first historic overlay district in the city’s history. A vibrant business district features stalwart traditional restaurants and shops alongside trendy new restaurants and clubs. Property values nearly quadrupled from 2000 in the Park Circle area, and have held steady. Oak Terrace Preserve (OTP), The Charleston City Paper’s “Best New Development” for 2009 and recipient of national press recognition, has sold new homes continuously, even in this downturn. As a city-owned project, OTP establishes the City of North Charleston as the leader in sustainable living and redevelopment in the state.

The first LEED-certified school in South Carolina was constructed at North Charleston Elementary, as a collaborative effort among the school district, the city and the Noisette Company. East Montague is also host to the first LEED Platinum building in the state.

The point? The Noisette Company and Project, far from just a real estate deal and far from a failure, is to be celebrated by its city. It is to be championed by all of us who have benefited from it for the immeasurable good it has done, and for our unlimited future together. To that point, North Charleston pressed from Day One for the State Ports Authority to use rail for the naval base terminal, as a means of reducing the flood of trucks which will clog Interstate 26 from the day the terminal opens. We insisted in our negotiations that rail traffic access the new port from the south. The SPA agreed.

This agreement was ratified by the Legislature and the State Budget and Control Board when the naval base land transfers were approved. In reliance on this approval, seven years later we have an international award-winning Riverfront Park, home to the largest Fourth of July celebration in the region. We have development plans in place, and numerous buildings on the north end of the base have been refitted and occupied. Clemson University’s Restoration Institute finally has its first grand success in the wind turbine grant.

Who would put a rail yard on top of this — the promise of our state’s economic and energy future — particularly when better options to the south of the base have been presented and stand ready to be constructed?

With these successes, our best days lie ahead as even more grand dreams are realized. We are not interested in bartering away the hard-fought victories and quality of life we have obtained. Why should we turn our backs on such success after such hard work and community involvement?

We are receiving awards for the years of implementation we have put into our sustainability plans. The entire Lowcountry, not just select portions, has an unmatched quality of life. The world knows. North Charleston residents know. We shouldn’t pretend otherwise.

Kurt Taylor is a North Charleston city councilman.

Copyright © 1995 – 2010 Evening Post Publishing Co..

1791 sqft.
3 bedroom, 2 bath
$184,900
Offered by: Low Country Realty of Charleston

**For more information or a showing appointment for this or any Park Circle property contact me: Thea Anderson REALTOR (843) 259-8705 or Thea@PerfectlyParkCircle.com

WATCH THE VIDEO RIGHT HERE: http://vimeo.com/8022383

ATLANTA, Dec. 09 /CSRwire/ – Today, The Home Depot® Foundation awarded its first Awards of Excellence for Sustainable Community Development to Minneapolis, MN and its nonprofit partner Aeon and to North Charleston, SC and its nonprofit partner The Sustainability Institute. These awards recognize and showcase innovative projects completed by these cities and their nonprofit partner organizations exhibiting thoughtful construction of green affordable housing in a sustainable community. The winning nonprofit organizations received a total of $150,000 to further the sustainability goals of their communities.

“Many cities across the country are finding successful ways of dealing with the financial, social and environmental issues facing them through thoughtful design, land use and building, resulting in the construction of healthy, safe neighborhoods that families can afford to live in over the long term,” said Kelly Caffarelli, president of The Home Depot Foundation. “We hope that identifying, recognizing and showcasing these success stories will offer insight, inspiration and a roadmap for other cities to follow as they develop and implement sustainability plans for their communities.”

Drawn from projects submitted by cities across the country, the award recipients were selected based on a number of criteria, including comprehensive sustainability, environmental sustainability and green infrastructure, as well as how well they met the needs of the local community while maintaining affordability for the residents. An advisory committee of experts from a variety of organizations representing a diversity of interests including municipalities, affordable housing, community development, building sciences and the environment participated in the selection process. The committee included representatives of 360GREEN, Inc., Global Green USA, Enterprise Community Partners, Inc., Forest Stewardship Council-US, Housing Assistance Council, Jay Hall and Associates, Inc., Mercy Housing Lakefront, Southface, US Green Building Council, The Noisette Company, LLC, City of Atlanta Office of Sustainability, National League of Cities, and the Madison Area Community Land Trust.

Winner Descriptions

Minneapolis, MN and Aeon:

* The City of Minneapolis has titled its Comprehensive Plan as “The Minneapolis Plan for Sustainable Growth,” making it clear that sustainability will be considered with all decisions, not as an afterthought. The plan includes green policies and implementation guidelines that are incorporated when managing a particular issue, such as land use, housing or transportation.

* The city has also established 25 sustainability indicators to track its progress, each with specific targets and incentives for achieving those targets. Key elements of the sustainability plan include: reducing the carbon footprint by 12% by 2012; cleaning up 100 brownfield sites from 2004 to 2014; ending homelessness by 2016; and increasing the percentage of people who enter the city via alternative transportation (bus, light rail, bicycle, walking, carpooling) from 55% in 2003 to 67% in 2013.

* Minneapolis’ Ripley Gardens, developed by Aeon, was recognized as a best-in-class example of the successful completion of a sustainable community. Using the historic Ripley Memorial Hospital and planning to add three additional buildings, the project team created plans for a residential development focused on historic preservation, energy efficiency and sustainability. The site is accessible to transit, jobs in the downtown area and bike trails and contains one acre of greenspace that includes a playground and a community garden. The project boasts green and efficient building and maintenance practices and meets the MN Green Communities standards.

North Charleston, SC and The Sustainability Institute:

* In the early 2000’s, North Charleston faced many challenges, including the closing of a major naval base. The city struggled as residents moved to the surrounding suburbs leaving vacant homes, a low home ownership rate and impoverished neighborhoods. In 2008, the city revised its Comprehensive Plan and included sustainability as a goal. The plan’s key priorities included: reducing blight and the amount of abandoned properties; reducing stormwater runoff and non-point source pollution; promoting ecological awareness; providing a safe environment for pedestrians and bicyclists; increasing the amount of active and passive park space; and providing education and training for residents to create workforce skills to support new business and industry.

* Oak Terrace Preserve is a role model for the successful completion of a sustainable community. Originally built as temporary housing for World War II shipyard workers, Oak Terrace Preserve was a vibrant community. By 2000, the homes were in major disrepair and the area was not healthy to live in. The city purchased the land, with a vision to transform it into a sustainable, attractive community. Today, it exemplifies best practices in housing, natural resources and land use and development. It includes bioswales, rain gardens, pervious paving in alleys and “flexi-pave” sidewalks. The community layout encourages community interactions and all 55 homes on the property achieved EarthCraft certification.

Full case studies and videos on each winner are available at The Home Depot Foundation’s web site. www.homedepotfoundation.org/sus_award_winners.html.

About The Home Depot Foundation
The Home Depot Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization that was established in 2002 to further the community building goals of The Home Depot by providing additional resources to assist nonprofit organizations.

The Foundation is dedicated to building affordable homes for working families that are healthy to live in and affordable to own. To make homes healthy and affordable, the Foundation encourages developers to incorporate responsible design and use durable and quality materials to ensure that homes are more energy and water efficient, have good indoor air quality, and provide a safe and healthy space to live. Since its formation, The Home Depot Foundation has granted $120 million to nonprofit organizations and supported the development of more than 65,000 affordable, healthy homes.

While focused on building affordable homes, The Home Depot Foundation is also committed to improving the overall health of our communities. Taking a long-term, comprehensive approach to building healthy, stable communities where families can thrive, the Foundation invests in the planting and restoration of trees along streets, in parks and in schoolyards; the building and refurbishment of community play spaces; and the revitalization of school facilities.

For more information, please contact:
Paula Drake The Home Depot Foundation
Phone: 770-384-3439
Catherine H. Woodling
Phone: catherine_woodling@homedepot.com

For more from this organization:
Home Depot Foundation

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Few mayors would hail a No. 22 national ranking in the category of “most dangerous” U.S. cities. But North Charleston’s Keith Summey does, and rightly so. He cites the shift from No. 10 in 2007 to No. 22 in 2008 as additional evidence of a positive trend.

North Charleston Police Chief Jon Zumalt and his department have been teaming up with community leaders on a series of coordinated initiatives, such as embedding officers in high-crime areas and improving relationships with residents to enhance public cooperation with law enforcement. Those efforts apparently are paying off.

As reported last week in The Post and Courier, Mayor Summey, while stressing that “we are not satisfied yet,” pointed with pride to the change for the better in the recently released most dangerous city rankings from Washington-based CQ Press: “I think it shows the police department is making great strides in reducing crime.”

Some law enforcement experts find fault with what our story called the “unique analysis” of FBI statistics that produced the CQ Press “most dangerous” rankings of 393 U.S. cities for 2008 (Columbia was No. 111 on the list, Charleston No. 134).

But Chief Zumalt, like Mayor Summey, welcomes the No. 22 spot as a measure of progress. Beyond that ranking for 2008, the chief said that so far this year North Charleston is on track for a 22 percent decline in violent crime. Sounds like next year’s ranking will reflect an ever safer city.

As Chief Zumalt put it: “This is just huge. There is a sense of urgency in North Charleston, and we are focused on two things: bringing down crime and gaining trust in the community. Everything we do is toward those ends.”

Every quantifiable advance in the fight against crime in North Charleston makes it a better place to live and work.

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