Village to offer shops, offices, 600 homes
Coming soon to Johns Island, a densely built development of shops, offices
and up to 600 multi- family homes at Maybank Highway and Bohicket Road that
just received final approval from Charleston City Council.
Angel Oak Village has been on the drawing boards since 2005, when nonprofit
Sea Island Comprehensive Health Care sold the 42 acres of undeveloped land
for $3.5 million in order to extricate itself from bankruptcy. An endowment
fund supporting the nonprofit also will receive funding from the development
profits, under an agreement with the developers.
Originally approved as a mixed-use development with fewer than 300 homes,
with a commercial area anchored by a large grocery store, Angel Oak Village
later dropped plans for the grocery store and more than doubled the housing
units.
Christopher Morgan, director of the city's Planning Division, said the
development fits with the Johns Island Plan adopted by Charleston last year,
which envisions three village-like areas on Maybank Highway.
"There's a better site plan than before, creating more of a village
atmosphere," he said, comparing the plan approved Tuesday with the original
one. "There's also a substantial component of affordable housing, which was
not there before."
At Angel Oak Village, there would be apartments, condominiums and town
homes, and up to 15 percent of the homes for sale would meet city guidelines
for middle-class affordability, which means a one-bedroom condo could sell
for a price in the mid-$100,000s. There also would be 80,000 square feet of
retail and commercial space.
The land sits at a key Johns Island intersection and surrounds Angel Oak
Park on three sides. The city long ago identified the intersection as a
"gathering place" where dense development would be desirable but has worked
closely with the developers to protect the integrity of Angel Oak Park.
At one point, in the fall of 2005, the city threatened to buy the land if
developers did not agree to significant, undeveloped buffer areas around the
park and along Angel Oak Road. The resulting agreement included a nearly
8-acre conservation easement around the park, and a 150-foot buffer of
undisturbed land along the dirt road leading to the park.
Robert DeMoura of Clement, Crawford & Thornhill, a managing partner in the
Angel Oak Village Development LLC, said the project will seek certification
from the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design program. It could become the first LEED-certified
development on Johns Island, indicating the development meets high standards
for environmentally friendly design.
Charleston Councilwoman Kathleen Wilson cast the only vote against the
revised Angel Oak Village plan Tuesday.
"I don't like that kind of density and that kind of size so close to the
urban growth boundary," she said.
The development is right at the edge of the boundary line that the city has
set as the point where dense development should end. Wilson said she's
concerned that one big development will lead to another.
DeMoura said Angel Oak Village will provide needed housing for people who
work in places like Kiawah and Seabrook islands. He said people who live in
Angel Oak Village will be able to walk to stores, schools and parks, the
Johns Island branch of the Charleston County Library and other facilities.
|
My
Scribe