Johns Island development aimed at service businesses

Johns Island architect Chris Rose and local builder Hank Hofford are teaming up to bring a new business park to the area. The duo are the developers behind St. John's Commons, a 12-acre project near the Builders Firstsource on Maybank Highway. Rose, whose offices are already on the site, said the proposed buildings will be residential in appearance and reflect the Johns Island-style of architecture "as opposed to your typical sea of parking with a big box in the back." "We describe as it a 'picket-fence-and-flower-box' development," Rose said. The park is geared toward service businesses that cater to homeowners on Johns, Kiawah, Seabrook and Wadmalaw islands, including custom builders, surveyors, engineers, landscapers and interior designers. "We're hoping to have a design-oriented center so people who are building new homes on the islands don't have to drive all over," Rose said. The site has been configured so that smaller office users will occupy the front of the property. The back of the tract can accommodate larger "flex-space" buildings, which allow image-conscious businesses to tuck their warehouses or light-manufacturing operations behind smart-looking offices or showrooms. Of the 13 lots, five are sold, Rose said. The first building will be the new home of Palmetto Interiors, an interior design firm owned by Lisa Ellison. The contractor is Mashburn Construction Co. Other businesses that plan to set up shop in the park include a glass-blowing artisan and a commercial printer, Rose said.

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