The Historic Charleston Foundation has announced its plan to sell the Nathanial Russell House located at 51 Meeting St, Charleston, SC 29401. They are open to a private buyer, potentially removing all public and educational access to this critical Historic House Museum in Historic Charleston, South Carolina.
Please sign this petition to show that the community has a voice and we’d like further discussion on other potential options to keep this historic home and research facility intact.
The Charleston, SC-based land development company will work with D.R. Horton, the nation’s largest homebuilder, to convert the land Into the region’s premier live-work-play community
CHARLESTON, SC (December 11, 2023) –HIC Land, a premier land investment company and master-planned community developer in the Southeastern United States, has acquired the Morgan Tract, a 2,600-acre property along U.S. Route 278 in Hardeeville, South Carolina. HIC Land privately sourced and managed the due diligence and entitlements for the landmark purchase of $36 million, one of the largest and most desirable land acquisitions in the region.
In coordination with D.R. Horton, “America’s Builder”, the expansive piece of land is slated to become a multi-use live-work-play project featuring a diverse selection of homes, commercial spaces, first-class amenities, parks, nature trails and sidewalks. The projected 20-year development is expected to break ground in 2024. HIC Land and D.R. Horton are committed to improving the area’s infrastructure, including roads and utilities. The project is expected to also create hundreds of local jobs and significantly increase the tax base.
“This plot of land is ideally located as the last remaining large developable tract in the area, with easy access to many nearby amenities including the beautiful beaches of Hilton Head Island, the Historic City of Savannah and rapidly growing employment opportunities. There is significant demand for more housing,” said HIC Land founder and CEO Stefan Hoyer. The Morgan Tract is extremely well located to supply the increasing demand and HIC is uniquely positioned and very capable to execute and deliver this first-class community. Very few companies are able to execute and close on such large communities.
“Local and national developers have attempted to purchase this land for over 25 years with no success. HIC took on the challenge, and our team overcame the many obstacles to close on the property. Because we are a privately funded company with no outside investors, we were able to buy the land directly from the Morgan family without red tape or bureaucratic decision-making.”
“This property has been in our family for over 100 years and while we have contracted multiple times with various buyers, only Stefan Hoyer and HIC were able to perform. We are pleased to know that HIC will write the next chapter of this property which is so dear to our family,” said John and Harry Morgan.
“We are excited to once again be partnering with HIC Land, a company firmly positioned as one of the premiere land developers in the Southeastern U.S.,” said Brad Brundage, Coastal Carolina Region President for D.R. Horton. “The Hardeeville/Bluffton/Hilton Head area is difficult to penetrate with a large community, and this tract of land is in the perfect location to achieve our goal. When complete, it will be one of D.R. Horton’s flagship communities in the country.”
The desirability of this coveted location is growing exponentially due to the influx of people moving to the Southeast from other areas of the country. It is also close to the site of a future Hyundai Giga factory, which will employee 8,500 people and is slated for completion in early 2025.
“HIC Land was founded in 2013 on my kitchen table with a $2,000 loan,” said Hoyer. “By working hard and keeping our word, we have developed long standing relationships across the country. This has led to one of the strongest land development pipelines in the country.”
Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, the privately owned company has built a reputation for buying large tracts of land, installing infrastructure, and selling to some of the top publicly traded homebuilders in the United States. Its experienced team is deeply rooted in local communities and strives to be an excellent partner for land sellers and builder customers. For more information, visit hicland.com.
About HIC Land
Hoyer Investment Company Land, LLC (“HIC Land”) is a Charleston, SC-based real estate investment company and land developer that acquires, rezones and develops land throughout the Southeastern United States It specializes in land acquisition and lot development for the largest publicly traded homebuilders in the U.S. Through its competent and experienced team of land development professionals, strong balance sheet, and established partnerships with the nation’s largest homebuilders, HIC currently develops over 2,200 lots annually, and controls over 34,000 lots. For more information, visit hicland.com.
About D.R. Horton
Headquartered in Arlington, Texas, D.R. Horton has operations in 118 markets in 33 states in the North, East, Southeast, South Central, Southwest and Northwest regions of the United States. D.R. Horton has been the largest builder in the United States by volume since 2002 and has been building families beautiful homes in desirable locations for 45 years. D.R. Horton has built more than 1,000,000 homes with quality, functionality, value and style in mind. For more information about D.R. Horton, please visit www.drhorton.com. D.R. Horton is an equal housing opportunity builder.
On Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023, three large-scale animatronic dinosaurs – a Dilophosaurus, a T. rex and a Triceratops – were delivered to the College of Charleston’s Mace Brown Natural History Museum at the School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering (SSME).
Generously donated by Kevin and Petra Branigan, Daniel Island residents who are known for creating elaborate decorations for Halloween and Christmas every year, the dinos joined the family of three raptors and one baby T. rex already installed inside the SSME atrium.
T. rex delivered to the SSMB at the College of Charleston (Photo by Mary Muldroon)
Transporting the dinos from Daniel Island did not come with a playbook, and required three flatbed trucks, a forklift, cautious driving and skillful maneuvering by Carwin Logistics, the College’s Public Safety team and a lot of patience. Cars honked as the life-sized dinos traversed I-526 and people cheered while they continued down Calhoun and finally arrived at the College.
“We hope these dinos will inspire future generations of students who visit the museum to study science in the future,” says Sebastian van Delden, dean of the SSME. “I can’t thank Kevin and Petra enough for their generosity and enthusiasm for bringing wonder to the imaginations of the children and adults in our community.”
The dinos are on display and ready for visitors in the back garden of the Mace Brown Museum of Natural History. The museum houses over 15,000 fossils from around the globe and showcases a world-class exhibit on fossil whales and their evolution.
Dinosaurs now on display in the courtyard of the School of Sciences, Mathematics, and Engineering Building (Photo by Mary Muldroon)
It also provides a unique resource for both teaching and the internationally respected research being undertaken at the College of Charleston.
Charleston, South Carolina is a city rich in history and architecture. Here are some of the oldest buildings in Charleston:
Pink House (c. 1694 – 1712) – 17 Chalmers Street, Charleston, SC 29401 – Also known as the “Sergeant Jasper House,” this small pink building on Church Street is one of the oldest buildings in Charleston. It is a private residence and not open to the public.
The Powder Magazine (c. 1713) – 79 Cumberland St, Charleston, SC 29401 – The Powder Magazine was used as a storage facility for gunpowder during the colonial period. It is now a museum that is open to the public.
St. Michael’s Episcopal Church (The cornerstone for the existing building was laid in 1752 and the building opened in 1761) – 71 Broad St, Charleston, SC 29401 – This beautiful church on Broad Street was completed in 1761 and is one of the oldest surviving churches in the city. It is still an active parish and open to the public.
Heyward-Washington House (1772) – 87 Church St, Charleston, SC 29403 – This Georgian-style mansion on Meeting Street was built in 1772 and was the residence of Thomas Heyward Jr., a signer of the Declaration of Independence. It is now a museum that is open to the public.
Nathaniel Russell House (1808) – 51 Meeting St, Charleston, SC 29401 – This Federal-style mansion on Meeting Street was built in 1808 by Nathaniel Russell, a wealthy merchant. It is now a museum that is open to the public.
Old Exchange and Provost Dungeon Building (c. 1771) – 122 E Bay St, Charleston, SC 29401 – Located on East Bay Street, this building was originally a custom house and was used as a prisoner-of-war facility during the Revolutionary War. It is now a museum that is open to the public.
Dock Street Theatre (c. 1809) – 135 Church St, Charleston, SC 29401 – This building on Church Street was originally a hotel but was converted into a theater in 1937. It is now the home of the Charleston Stage Company and is open to the public for performances and tours.
Old Charleston Jail (c. 1802) – 21 Magazine St, Charleston, SC 29401 – Commonly referred to as the “Old City Jail”, this former prison is a site of historical and architectural significance in Charleston, SC. Operational between 1802 and 1939, it held many notable figures, among them Denmark Vesey, Union officers during the Civil War, high-seas pirates, and Lavinia Fisher.
Please note that there are many other historic buildings in Charleston, and this list is not exhaustive.
We hope this list helped solidify your next itinerary!
For those of you, like myself, who knew Dusty Slay when his hair was a little shorter and he hosted comedy showcases at Big Gun Burger Shop on Calhoun Street, you remember a shy kind man with a heart of gold and an ability to light up a room with laughs.
During his time in Charleston, Dusty was voted Best Local Comedian and winning the Charleston Stand Up Comedy Competition two years in a row.
Throughout his early career in Charleston, Dusty dedicated himself to amplifying the healing power of comedy and giving a voice to a population that lacked a strong ambassador.
Dusty’s creativity, passion and desire led him to a bigger journey onto the clubs of Nashville. Now as he embarks on his first Netflix special and national tour, Deadline has written a feature about our native son, Dusty Slay.
Let’s give a warm ovation to former Charleston Southern comedy star Dusty Slay as he takes the next big step in his career.
John’s Island Coffee Company and Warrior Surf Foundation have partnered to create a specialty Warrior Surf Blend coffee, with 50% of profits from every sale benefitting Warrior Surf Foundation. If you’re looking to support veterans and shop local this holiday season, this is the perfect stocking stuffer!
The Warrior Surf Blend is a medium-dark roast with washed coffee beans from Colombia and Ethiopia. It has an aroma of dark chocolate, toasted nuts and subtle hints of caramel that coffee lovers will go wild for. The blend is available as either whole or ground beans in six-ounce bags for $10.75 or twelve-ounce bags for $14.40. John’s Island Coffee Company also offers a subscription program that automatically delivers a (discounted!) bag of your choice on a monthly basis.
All donations will benefit Warrior Surf Foundation’s Surf Therapy program, which provides 12 weeks of free surf therapy, yoga, wellness classes and community to Veterans struggling with PTSD and other mental health challenges.
In a bittersweet statement on Facebook Tubby’s, a 25 year foundation in downtown Savannah, GA announced their closing:
Well, we were struggling with how to release this sad news, but our kind friend Jesse Blanco helped us find a way. Tubby’s River Street, lovingly named after our dear friend and partner, Stan “Tubby” Strickland, will permanently close at the end of this month. Tubby’s has been serving up wonderful food, libations and memories on Savannah’s Waterfront for 25 years and we are heartbroken we must say goodbye.
We want to genuinely thank our dedicated and talented staff, many of whom have been with us for years, if not decades. Special shout out to Fred Plantadis(Tubby 2) for your immense dedication and love of Tubby’s. These amazing humans have made Tubby’s magical – as have you, our loyal customers! We are beyond grateful to our patrons and colleagues for your incredible support. We thank you all from the bottom of our hearts!
So, with that said, let’s go out with a bang! Y’all come on down to River Street and see us for the next month.
Fresh, Wild Georgia Shrimp are on the menu and Ship Shots are flowing steadily! This weekend is the perfect time to come down and cheer on the legendary Ansley Williams as Grand Marshal of the Waterfront Lighted Christmas Parade.
In a statement on Facebook and Instagram on December 5th, River Rat Brewery in Columbia, South Carolina left this heartfelt message:
It is with a heavy heart that we announce the closing of River Rat Brewery located at 1231 Shop Road on December 30th, 2023.
We want to thank all of our wonderful customers and employees for supporting us over these past 10+ years! Memories that will always be close to our heart!
RRB grew organically over these last 10 years and what a pleasure it was to serve the great community of Columbia and beyond. Friendships were made that will last a lifetime!
We grew into a place that has welcomed tens of thousands of visitors yearly from locals to visitors in our fine city. We are extremely humbled that so many embraced River Rat Brewery!
Though it is time to end this chapter we want to thank all who visited our establishment throughout these 10 years. The experiences we shared with our customers and employees will forever be in our hearts.
We will remain open throughout December and will have 25% OFF ALL merchandise and beer this week!
Saturday, December 30th will be our last day of operation to the public.
Ever watch a movie and think, that looks familiar? Well, it is possible it was shot on location in your southern home of Charleston, SC.
Here are a list of movies you may or may not know that had portions filmed on location in Charleston. Perhaps this may cause a spike in Netflix or Amazon Prime streaming activity.
Movies / Feature Films shot on location in Charleston, SC
Dear John (2010) – Cassina Point Plantation (Edisto Island), Charleston, Charleston Air Force Base, The Citadel, College of Charleston, Folly Beach, Harleyville, Isle of Palms, James Island, Sullivan’s Island
The Notebook (2004) – Rice Hope/Black River Plantation (Georgetown County), Boone Hall Plantation (Mount Pleasant), Charleston, College of Charleston, Cypress Gardens (Moncks Corner), Edisto Island, North Charleston, Old Village (Mount Pleasant), Wadmalaw Island
The Patriot (2000) – Botany Bay Plantation (Edisto Island), Brattonsville, Charleston, Cypress Gardens (Moncks Corner), Darby Farm (Chester County), Fort Lawn, Lowrys, Mansfield Plantation (Georgetown County), Middleton Place Plantation (Dorchester County), Rock Hill
This past weekend marked the 250th Anniversary of the Charleston Tea Party. Over 300 participated in this engaging family event in Summerville, South Carolina that marked a significant event in Lowcountry history. Through the graciousness of photographer Nikki Gaskins, we are able to share some highlights from this past weekend’s festivities.
250th Anniversary of the Charleston Tea Party – PHOTO GALLERY
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