Ripple effect

Greenwood Development maps out 1,950 homes at chic Dorchester County neighborhood

Leroy Burnell
The Post and Courier

Historic Charleston-style colors grace the walls of this home, constructed by local builder The J.D. Smith Co. Greenwood Development is developing the gently rolling, oak- and magnolia-studded neighborhood off Central Avenue near Summerville.

Leroy Burnell
The Post and Courier

A 19th-century farmhouse and small adjacent buildings including a sales office are situated near the center of The Ponds west of Summerville. Behind the structures is a neighborhood swimming pool. Less than 40 percent of the 5,000-acre property will be developed.

It's a 5,000-acre mix of woods and clearings in Dorchester County, bordering the highest point on the Ashley River at Schultz Lake. Most recently a hunt club, the land features an 1840s-era farmhouse carved among oaks and magnolias.

Historians traced the site's roots to 1682 as a King's Grant to Arthur Percival, who, intrigued with its coastal lagoons, named the parcel The Ponds.

Up into the 21st century, the Simmons family owned the property. Then a few years back, family members sent out signals that they would be willing to sell. But they wouldn't consider a sale without conditions protecting the land's use. Enter Greenwood Development, which had built two high-end planned communities in the Charleston area at Coosaw Creek and Beresford Hall. The developer, which had its eye on Summerville, talked with the property's owners.

The two sides struck a deal, and The Ponds, to be developed as an upper-end village over the next 12-15 years, was born.

"They (the family owners) were very sensitive about what happened. They want to have good stewards," says John W. Morgan III, partner in Greenwood Development and general manager of The Ponds. Among the Greenwood Development concessions was to develop less than 40 percent of the tract, preserving large swaths as green space, such as four

neighborhood recreation centers, while designing a lakeside amphitheater and setting aside properties for a fire station, YMCA with fitness center and an elementary school.

The company also retained the old farmhouse while sprucing it up. The 170-year-old structure is set near a new swimming pool as part of an amenities center. The neighborhood eventually will have 60 miles of trails winding around the woodlands, ponds and Schultz Lake, over an old foot bridge and through former rice fields.

With the first leg of infrastructure completed, Greenwood Development is laying out the first 213 residential lots and planned townhomes. Single-family homes are being constructed by five top-flight builders. They are designing traditional, stylish houses from 1,500 to nearly 2,900 square feet and priced from $329,000 to close to $550,000. Eventually, there will be some lower- and higher-priced houses and townhomes, so the price range will be $200,000-$600,000.

"These homes are not custom but they have custom style," such as hardwood floors, stainless steel appliances, and decks and porches, says Penny Davis, who is heading up sales and marketing at The Ponds.

At the same time, the developer sold 23 lots to buyers for custom homes, which are expected to be priced up to $1 million or more. Lots, which run up to .71 acre, are selling from $99,000 to $199,000.

The community has an architectural review board, but there's no minimum home size. The neighborhood allows lot purchasers unlimited time to build, and they can raise a detached garage with guest house to live in until their main home is complete, Davis says. Other notable efforts: The developer superimposed the master plan on a map of the trails through the hunt club, preserving its character, Morgan says.

While the community will be predominantly residential, Greenwood Development set aside 20 "live/work" dwellings with small businesses on the ground floor and condos or townhomes above. They will be in an area around the amphitheater, which is next to one of two freshwater ponds.

Greenwood Development envisions the neighborhood as a place where buyers can reside, play and work.

"We positioned (The Ponds) as a destination community," Morgan says.

To reach The Ponds from downtown Charleston, take Interstate 26 west to Exit 199A (U.S. Highway 17A) at Summerville. Follow 17A, which is Main Street and then Boone Hill Road, for seven miles through town. Pass Central Avenue, and look for the tower on the right. The Ponds is on the right, about 1/4 mile before the Dorchester road intersection.

Neighborhood

The Ponds.

Location

Dorchester County.

Developers, marketing

Greenwood Development, Carolina One New Homes.

More info

Phone: 832-6100.

Hours: 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Saturday; 2-5 p.m. Sunday.

Web Site: www.discovertheponds.com.

Total homes

1,950 (213 in Phase I).

Home prices

$329,000-$549,669 (doesn't include custom homes).

Home sizes

1,500-2,877 square feet (first phase).

Lot prices

$99,000-$199,000.

Lot sizes

0.18-.71 acres.

Property taxes

$2,193 on a $425,000 home.

Typical features

--Traditional, Lowcountry designs.

--Landscaped yards.

--Upscale kitchens.

Area attractions

Downtown Summerville, Ashley River, area golf courses, Summerville Medical Center, Colonial Dorchester State Historic Site.

Distance to downtown Charleston

29 miles.

Schools

Knightsville Elementary

Grades K-5; phone, 873-4851; enrollment, 838; certified staff, 66; PACT results, 38.4 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced on English/Language Arts, 29 percent on math, 37.5 percent on science and 24 percent on social studies.

DuBose Middle

Grades 6-8; phone, 875-7012; enrollment, 853; certified staff, 60; PACT results, 26.6 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient or advanced on English/Language Arts, 21.2 percent on math, 28.2 percent on science and 18.4 percent on social studies.

Summerville High

Grades 9-12; phone, 873-6460; enrollment, 3,517; certified staff, 207; SAT results, 501 verbal and 520 math. The 1021 combined score is higher than the state average (984) and the national average (1017).

Housing Trends

Dorchester County between Bacon's Bridge Road and Four Hole Swamp:

Number of sales in the first quarter of 2008: 166 (down from 274 in the first quarter of 2007).

Average sales price: $221,200 (down from $230,100).

Median sales price: $195,000 (down from $214,500).

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com.