News

Go back

New planned development to integrate green space, density


Type: Media Coverage
Date: 2005-10-31

Details of a development called Long Savannah Plantation are still being worked out, but one thing is
for sure: It’s going to be big.

The project, being developed by Long Savannah Plantation LLC, a joint venture between Charleston’s
Associated Developers and the Sintra Development Corp., a subsidiary of Florence-based SIM Group,
will be located on 3,050 acres of land off Bees Ferry Road west of Charleston.

The project will include 4,800 homes, making it the second largest development of its kind next to
Kiawah Island in the unincorporated area of Charleston County, said Jennifer Miller, county planning
director.

The homes will range from low-income units to grand estates, to two-story units that will be used for
office or retail purposes on the first floor and as a residence on the second.

The overall layout of Long Savannah Plantation includes a “village” area, which will house businesses
such as a grocery store, a doctor’s office and a dry cleaner.

The project also includes plans for a school and church—creating what the developers describe as “a
city within a city”—creating jobs and reducing the need for residents to travel beyond the confines of
the development to shop or run errands.

The area of highest residential density will be near the village. Density will slack off through the
development. At the opposite end, near Rantowles Creek, will be what developers are describing as a
“fishing village” similar to Rockville, which is near Bohicket Creek on Wadmalaw Island.

“It will be low density with no paved roads,” said Walt Martin, vice president of Associated Developers.
In addition to plans for homes, Long Savannah Plantation will also include large sections of protected
land.

More than two-thirds of the property will be conserved as buffers, protected wetlands or public green
space. About 900 acres will be a buffer from the nearby Ashley River plantation district to the north of
the development.

Long Savannah Plantation is unique because of its size and because it represents a collaborative
effort between the developers, neighboring communities and conservationists—a step Martin said is
often not taken by other developers.

“A lot of times with big projects, you show up for a public hearing and you have people against it and
people for it and nothing gets accomplished,” Martin said.

“We all live here,” he said of his partners in the joint venture. “Sometimes you have people who show
up for a public meeting and then you don’t see them again until the next public meeting because they
don’t live here.”

Because of the personal interest he and his partners in the project have in the area, Martin said, they
have engaged members of neighboring communities, including the Grand Oaks and Red Top
communities.

Members of those communities have expressed concerns over traffic and a cemetery located on the
site near Rantowles Creek, which Martin said will be accessible to the public even after the project is
complete. As for traffic concerns, those are being studied, Martin said.

Long Savannah Plantation LLC has also involved the Coastal Conservation League in the project in
hopes of staving off potential problems or concerns ahead of time.

Long Savannah Plantation will take about 20 years to complete with about 240 homes built every year.

In January, Long Savannah Plantation will go before the county council with a request to be zoned a
planned development district. Developers are also seeking a development agreement with the county
that would stipulate everything from height and density to setbacks, Martin said.

“It is a large project. The administrative staff at the county could change and certainly the elected
officials will change. We want to get the rules locked down,” Martin said.

The county has received “nothing,” no formal documentation or requests, regarding the project. The
county’s legal staff will review a development agreement, and they have likewise received nothing from
developers, Miller said.

The land is currently owned by a family in Charlotte, Martin said. Long Savannah Plantation LLC has
the property under contract and plans to close on it in July.

From the very beginning, this project has been an unusual one, Martin said, because the sellers invited
select developers to participate in an interview process 18 months ago.

After interviewing each candidate, the sellers chose which party they wanted to see the land go to. It
wasn’t until after Long Savannah Plantation LLC was selected that a sale price was discussed, Martin
said, though he declined to specify that amount.

© 2006 Copyright Setcom Media, Inc., All Rights Reserved.