Several new commercial tenants are coming to a large housing development on the edge of Summerville.

Lombardi’s Pizza Kitchen, The Co-op Frosé & Eatery, The Backyard Biergarten, Lowcountry Yoga and children’s gym KidStrong are all lined up to be a part of The Hub in Nexton.

The restaurants and fitness sites are expected to move in by late June or early July, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline.

The Hub is a collection of office and commercial buildings under development on Nexton Parkway and Brighton Park Boulevard near Home Telecom and Refuel convenience store.

Office tenants include Coastal Vascular & Vein Center, Charleston Wound Care, Palmetto Primary and Specialty Care Physicians, Derrington Dermatology and Holliday Ingram law firm.

A new pair of two-story office buildings is expected to be completed in 2024 and 2025. They will be 30,000 square feet and 20,000 square feet, respectively, and be built beside Nexton Parkway.

Nexton is a 5,000-acre, mixed-use development next to Summerville between Interstate 26 and U.S. Highway 176 in Berkeley County. With more than 2,500 homes already sold, the development is expected to have 7,500 residential units at full build-out.

It also could house as many residents as the current populations of Clemson, North Myrtle Beach or West Columbia, roughly between 16,000 and 20,000. That would make it as big as Moncks Corner and Georgetown combined.

Now open

A new pizza restaurant is now open in Mount Pleasant.

BarPizza opened May 12 at 656-G Long Point Road in the revamped former Kiki & Rye space.

It’s part of Free Reign Restaurants owned by Ryan and Kelleanne Jones. They also operate the recently opened Southbound on the Charleston peninsula and Community Table in Mount Pleasant.

Stepping in

A new retail shop that incorporates a clothing item in all of its wares is close to opening in downtown Charleston.

Respoke hopes to open by the weekend at 377 King St. in the former location of Simply J Boutique.

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The shop will offer shoes, clothing and other items that are made in part by repurposing different sections of scarves. Hours will be 10 a.m.-6 p.m. daily, but they could change after the shop opens, according to store manager Joseph Fennell.

New threads

Also, coming to downtown Charleston is a new women’s clothing store, now with a shop in Asheville.

Hazel Twenty owner Lexi DiYeso plans to open in August at 73 Wentworth St., formerly part of 269 King St. that was used as back-of-house storage for the former Gap store. The front section houses Aerie, also a clothing shop.

The 3,641-square-foot space is currently under construction behind clothing store Collared Greens and next to The Port Mercantile, part of The Restoration Hotel, according to Blair Hines Gearhart of Oswald Cooke & Associates, who represented the tenant. Charles Constant with Constant Properties represented the landlord.

Ample servings of Champagne coupled with a coastal poolside ambiance served as a fitting backdrop to a favorable economic forecast report during an April 4 Nexton luncheon attended by several local realtors at a sun-splashed Midtown Club in Summerville.

Following a brief synopsis of Nexton’s recent sales and continued growth as a “third job center” in the Charleston market, the mixed-use development’s marketing coordinator Alicia Smith introduced South Carolina Ports Authority Business Development Manager Marion Bull to the podium, as he delved into his group’s efforts of recruiting business activity to the Lowcountry.

The guest speaker sang the praises of Nexton — which is currently celebrating its 10th anniversary as a destination venue in the Summerville community — for its role in providing housing for incoming employees of national and global firms seeking to establish a presence in the Charleston region.

Moving forward, Bull anticipates Nexton continuing to offer corporations an attractive option for its staffers as a source of housing, employment and an ever-expanding array of amenities with new industry emerging in the Jedburg area of Summerville, as well as Ridgeville in the very near future.

“When they want to live somewhere with, you know, a high quality of life that’s affordable, this is a place where business leaders can feel comfortable locating their businesses here,” began the Mount Pleasant resident.

“South Carolina has done a fantastic job as a state, [and] not just as a port, in recruiting business. [We had] $10 billion in investment last year. I think the largest previous year was $3 billion or so. It’s a huge number for our economic development in the state of South Carolina and some of it has happened right here.”

Bull detailed that South Carolina Ports drives about $63 billion in economic impact statewide, with about $8 billion of it emanating from the Lowcountry. In fact, about 30,000 jobs are either directly or indirectly linked to port activity in the immediate surrounding zone — a number that he anticipates will “dramatically” increase due to investments by Volvo, Walmart, Mercedes-Benz and the like.

Luncheon attendees were also treated to a breakdown of expectations for the real estate market in 2023 by President of the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors (CTAR) Katesha Breland.

The Charleston-born real estate broker noted the Charleston region’s remarkable 25 percent population growth over the past decade, along with a 17 percent spurt of newcomers in Summerville over that same 10-year stretch.

“We see changes in our local culture, our restaurant scene, our retail opportunities, and of course, we feel it in our traffic as well,” she stated.

“The local economy is booming. The Nexton development offers something that Summerville residents hadn’t seen before, an intentionally-developed masterplan community that gives residents the ease and opportunity to live, work and play right in their backyards ... that’s just what Nexton does. They haven’t built a neighborhood, they’ve built a community. While local media doesn’t always like to focus on the positives of our real estate market, there’s plenty of good news I can share with you,” added Breland without referencing any specific news media outlet.

On that note, the CTAR leader communicated that closed property sales were down in 2022 by 18 percent, but compared to 2019, that total was actually up six percent.

Breland further spoke of a healthy, sustainable pace of growth, as the overall median sales price increased 14 percent, single-family home prices surged 12 percent and townhouse/condos similarly saw a 22 percent uptick.

Summerville and Moncks Corner, in particular, were two of the top areas in terms of home sales in 2022.

“We expect sales will remain at the pace we’re seeing now, which is a good, healthy pace. Prices will also increase likely at a slower pace than we’ve been seeing. But that’s good news for buyers who are challenged by the affordability of our region.”

Breland concluded her address by lauding Nexton for its development of a wide range of home options (single-family, townhouses, rentals, etc.) and a variety of price points for prospective residents.

Smith topped off the information session by filling in listeners on the imminent additions of Harris Teeter and Publix retail outposts in the Nexton area in Q1 of 2024 and Q2 of 2024 respectively.

Also mentioned were the opening of Pickle Bar, as well as a new hospital and middle school site that are both in the works.

Sharbell Nexton LLC says the first two retail tenants have committed to the ground-floor retail space in Downtown Nexton. A nail salon called iNails, with nearly 30 years of beauty service expertise and 10 Lowcountry locations, and Revive Health Studio, a health and wellness spa offering sauna, lymphatic massage, tune and red-light therapeutic treatments as well as therapeutic products for purchase, are the first tenants in phase one.

“We are excited to begin the leasing process in Downtown Nexton and welcome iNails and Revive as our first tenants,” Sharbell President Thomas Troy said in a news release. “Service-oriented providers, like iNails and Revive Health Studio, and a potential barbershop with which we are currently negotiating are the types of tenants we envisioned filling portions of the retail spaces in Downtown Nexton as they serve important community and regional needs. In addition to these service-based tenants, we are currently working with a high-end spirits store with onsite consumption and a Mediterranean bar and restaurant concept.”

Downtown Nexton retail is located on the ground floor of the Lofts Downtown Nexton, a collection of luxury rental apartments. INails will occupy 1,700 square feet while Revive Health Studio will occupy 1,775 square feet in the Lofts’ first completed building, with an anticipated opening in the first quarter of 2024. Upon completion of future phases in late 2024, the Lofts Downtown Nexton will include residential amenities such as a clubhouse, resort-style pool with tanning shelves, firepit with seating areas, private cabanas, outdoor café tables and bar area and a dog park.

Situated on nearly 100 acres between Sigma Drive and Brighton Park Boulevard, Downtown Nexton will provide retail, dining, hospitality, residential, service, office and commercial options within walking distance of many of Nexton’s neighborhoods. In addition to the Lofts, previously announced plans include The Ames multifamily community, AC Hotel by Marriott, Atelier office campus and Daybreak Market and Fuel.

Bridge Commercial provides exclusive leasing and sale services at the Lofts Downtown Nexton.

Other recent commercial real estate transactions include:

Trey Lucy, Blair Belk and Tim Metzler of Belk Lucy represented the landlord in the lease of 1,721 square feet of retail space in Suite A at 145 King St. in Charleston to E. Blackhurst. Lindsey Halter of Carolina Retail Experts represented the tenant.

Trey Lucy, Tim Metzler and Blair Belk of Belk Lucy represented the landlord in the lease of 1,454 square feet of retail space in Suite B at 145 King St. in Charleston to Yves Delorme. Edward Robinson of The Beach Co. represented the tenant.

Mark Erickson and Jarred Watts of Colliers represented M2 Land LLC in the sale of a 15,000-square-foot industrial building at 3240 Industry Drive in North Charleston to Sunny Enterprises LLC for $3,200,000.

Markus Kastenholz, Remington Beatty and Alia Bostaji of Colliers represented Pearce Development in the sale of a 10,000-square-foot building at 36 N. Market St. in Charleston and 0.5 acres of land at 235 E. Bay St. in Charleston to Marriott Ownership Resorts for $16,450,000.

Hot Properties highlights recently sold or leased commercial properties in the Charleston region. Send in your transactions using our online form.

The New Covenant Church of God has experienced quite a few changes since its inception in 1993 that saw a group of eight “passionate” worshipers expand and grow throughout The Lowcountry, says church administrative assistant Sheila Black.

After relocating from Hanahan, the Pentecostal house of worship moved to Ashley Phosphate Road in 2007, while maintaining a steady presence in Mount Pleasant as well.

But Pastor Marc Campbell and company recently sold the North Charleston property in October 2021, with designs on building a state-of-the-art facility at 1667 Rose Drive in the Nexton mixed-use community in Downtown Summerville.

With shovels hitting the dirt this past Sunday, the projected completion date for construction is about 18 months away in the summer of 2024.

New Covenant’s congregation is presently meeting for 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services at the old Summerville Church of God at 304 Pine Street during the Nexton construction phase. Additionally, the church also has several sub groups that meet separately on Wednesday night, including a a woman’s group, along with boys and girls clusters.

Food distribution services are also part of the mix, as New Covenant collaborates with a North Charleston ministry to donate food to the needy every Thursday.

“Our church will be constructed with future plans to include an outdoor amphitheater and athletic fields,” detailed Black. “Our main goal in the next few months is to have our church ready for worship and facilities for our children’s ministries.”

Campbell, a Hazard, Kentucky native, and his wife, Mary, served abroad as evangelists and pastors in the United Kingdom prior to starting New Covenant out of their living room.

When asked if Pastor Campbell’s sermon style is strictly by-the-book, Black described him as a preacher who will incorporate or relate to the daily lives of his congregants, but also bring his discussion back to the Bible. In short, she depicted him as a “man with a vision.”

It was also noted that Campbell is a member of the Charleston Ecclesiastic Council and heavily involved in training in parts of Europe and Asia.

Unlike lots of new churches featuring gospel bands and singing at their services, however, New Covenant goes down the more traditional music-free route.

“We are a multi-cultural, multi-generational place to worship,” concluded Black, who expounded on the collective enthusiasm provided by church members on a weekly basis.

“On any given Sunday at New Covenant, you will find smiling faces, willing hands and open hearts. There is room here for those who have felt unwanted and neglected. There is room here for those who have never walked through the doors of a church. There is room here for families that are struggling ... for the imperfect. As a matter of fact, this is what New Covenant is made of — come as you are. You’ll see suits and ties right next to shorts and flip flops. It would make our day to see you walk through the doors.”

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – Lowes Foods, a North Carolina-based supermarket, has plans to add a fifth Lowcountry location, Brookfield Properties recently announced. The supermarket chain will open its second Berkeley County store in Nexton’s North Creek Marketplace in Summerville.

An anticipated opening date has yet to be announced. Currently, the only Lowes Foods in Berkeley County is in Hanahan. Other nearby locations include West Ashley (Charleston County), Mount Pleasant (Charleston County) and Summerville (Dorchester County).

The Nexton grocery store will anchor a new retail center that will also include Domino’s Pizza and Cava, a fast-casual Mediterranean concept. Fifth and Third Bank and a Roper Urgent Care facility will also call North Creek Market home.

SEE ALSO:

Founded in 1954, Lowes Foods employs nearly 9,000 people and operates more than 80 full-servicesupermarkets in the Carolinas.

Locally owned and operated, Lowes Foods prides itself as a “homegrown company” committed to bringing community back to the table, by providing customers with the freshest and most innovative local products from local suppliers.

To learn more, visit lowesfoods.com.

BERKELEY COUNTY, S.C. – A national provider of upscale co-working and flexible office spaces recently celebrated the grand opening of its newest location in Berkeley County. Serendipity Labs with the help of the Berkeley Chamber of Commerce cut the ribbon Friday to its new Summerville facility in Nexton Square.

“Come by for a tour to check out this newly constructed 2-level workspace, which features retail, dining, hotels and a variety of fitness options at your doorstep. Conveniently located only 25 minutes from Charleston, and only 5 minutes from Downtown Summerville,” Serendipity Labs recently posted to its official Facebook page.

The standalone Nexton location offers 28,000 square feet of thoughtfully designed workspaces, including private offices, team rooms, co-working spaces and dedicated rooms for business meetings and events, according to a news release.

It also features outdoor patio space and a Lab Café, offering unlimited coffee, tea and fruit-infused water as well as ergonomic desks, chairs, sofas and fast-speed, encrypted internet.

This is Serendipity Labs’ second commercial location in the Charleston area.

Headquartered in Rye, NY and established in 2011, Serendipity Labs Inc., is an American flexible office space company that opens, manages and markets its upscale coworking brand as a service to office asset owners.