While the 2024 Masters winds up across the state line at Augusta National Golf Club, an exclusive members-only venue is moving toward a 2024 completion date in the Lowcountry.
Tyler J. Rae with Philadelphia-based Tyler Rae Design is at work on Old Sawmill Golf Club in the rural Lebanon community of Berkeley County, saying it’s expected to open in the fall of this year.
Rae has designed or reworked a number of championship golf courses, including the Detroit Golf Club, home of the PGA Tour‘s Rocket Mortgage Classic, as well as Lookout Mountain Club in Georgia. The latter was ranked by Golf Digest as the restoration project of the year for 2023.He announced on X earlier this month that his architecture firm had officially landed the Old Sawmill job.
The private club will include two layouts — an 18-hole championship-length course and a nine-hole par 3 to be called The Lumber Yard — on 465 acres of former farmland.
The names pay homage to a sawmill that operated at the site in the early 1900s, according to the club’s website, which promises “impeccable playing conditions” but contained little other information.
The investors behind the deal include Daniel Island Club CEO Greg Keating. They bought the tract off Cypress Campground Road under the name CCGC LLC for $11.5 million in early 2023. The ownership group then changed its name to Old Sawmill Golf Club LLC in November, according to public land records.
The project raised some eyebrows last year when a tight-lipped Berkeley County Council approved for the club financial incentives that originally were designed to help recruit major industrial employers. The “special source revenue credit” will refund a portion of Old Sawmill’s property tax bill, which elected officials agreed to cap at $153,000 for 20 years.
In exchange, the club has promised to invest nearly $30 million and create 69 full-time jobs. It also will allow the county to hold an annual charity event.
It’s believed to be the first time that such property tax breaks have been approved in South Carolina for a golf club, private or public.
Tri-Pointe, tricounty
A new homebuilder will be adding to the growing number of residences in Charleston.
Based out of Nevada, Tri Pointe Homes is opening a new coastal Carolinas division in Charleston. The office will boost the company’s existing regional operations in the Raleigh and Charlotte markets.
Tri Pointe, a publicly traded company that builds in 10 states, said it was drawn to the Charleston area because it’s one of the top 25 homebuilding markets in the country.
“We analyzed the dynamics of the coastal Carolinas to make sure our approach will align with local needs,” company CEO Doug Bauer said.
Ali Heavener was named division president.
Coming soon
Central Island Square is an apartment and retail development completed in 2018 on Daniel Island.
Daniel Island will welcome several new tenants to a retail center near Credit One Stadium.
Daniel Island Deli & Market, Gloss Nails and Par Paradise Golf have all inked leases in Central Island Square, the mixed-use development featuring 29,000 square feet of street front retail space and 317 luxury apartments.
The three businesses will be housed at 866 Island Park Drive along with Crescent Eye Care and iCryo Recovery and Wellness. Nearby businesses across the courtyard include VIVA Tacos & Tequila, New York Butcher Shoppe, Michael’s Bakery, Beech Juice Bar and MUSC.
Carolina Retail Experts handled the leases.
Post-grad planning
Rising home prices in the region may be pushing buyers further away from homeownership, but for post-school renters, Charleston is still the place to rent, according to a study by ApartmentAdvisor, a rental search and data platform.
The Holy City ranked No. 4 out of 98 major cities analyzed as the best places for college graduates to live.
The study compared rental prices, cost of living, entertainment value and mobility. Seattle, followed by Salt Lake City, Utah, and Washington, D.C., rounded out the top three.
Despite having one of the higher median rates at $1,985 a month for a one bedroom unit, Charleston was at an advantage with its low unemployment rate and higher median income for bachelor’s degree holders — $70,833, according to ApartmentAdvisor.
The city was also found to have the most shopping options per capita than the others and the second-highest overall entertainment options with its beaches, arts, restaurants and night life.
