Roofer in James Island, SC

JOHNS ISLAND — An undeveloped island that belonged to a Quaker colonist's family for 220 years will soon be home to 10 new households.

Hoopstick Island, a 55-acre private property between Kiawah and Johns islands, was first formally conveyed by an English royal land grant in July 1717 to Abraham Wright.

The land was part of a larger 96-acre property that Wright passed down through his female lineage until the family sold it in 1937.

More than 80 years and several owners later, an Atlanta-based investor and developer paid $7.5 million for the property that is zoned for a maximum of 10 estate lots — eight with deep-water access.

Reservations are now open for the first phase of sales.

SFG Hoopstick Island LLC, is an affiliate of developer Stonemont Financial Group of Atlanta, is the owner, according to Charleston County land records.

Sean McDonell, senior vice president with Stonemont Financial Group, said this is the company’s first venture into the Charleston market and was presented by a friend of the owner.

“Once we got our arms around it, it wasn’t necessarily that Charleston was never a target on our market list as much as it was the opportunity was so unique and that’s why we pursued it,” he said.

Charles McIntosh with The Cassina Group, which represented Stonemont in its 2022 purchase and is also handling the lots sales, said the previous owner of the property was looking for a private place to create a family compound. It bought Hoopstick, which is why the 10-unit development plan was already in place.

Stonemont saw no reason to change the plans, McDonnell said.

“One of the thoughts we had was you’ve got this undeveloped piece of property that dates back a long, long time," he said. "So we want to take our time and really think through what’s going to be developed here so that we preserve as much of the natural part of the island as possible. It would almost be a shame to move too quickly and make sort of uninformed decisions.”

During the three years of planning, McDonnell said his firm spent time with land planners, architects and builders, asking their ideas and experience in developing similar property — what worked and didn't or what they would have done differently.

The island will be sold in phases. The first four lots are listed, with one under contract. The asking price was $3.45 million for 20.11 acres — a mix of 4.61 acres of high ground and 15.5 acres of marsh.

The smallest of the four, with 4.03 acres of high ground and 8 acres of marshland, hit the market May 9 for $2.75 million. The other two are going for $3.2 million and $3 million and are between 6 and 8 acres.

Once developed, the island with over a mile of deep-water frontage along Bohicket Creek, will be gated, but McDonell said the plan is to keep the property as natural as possible.

The single existing causeway leading the island will be resurfaced with shell aggregate, not asphalt, he said. The enclave won’t have an amenity space, but will have a common green area for a potential garden.

Development plans also call for keeping as many trees as possible, McDonell said. Buyers can then design their houses and layouts based on the natural layout of the environment.

“There is a set of architectural guidelines for the property, but the vision is for the homes to be a Lowcountry style and blend with the surroundings,” McIntosh said.

Robertson Allen, founder of The Cassina Group, said he anticipates closing on all lots in the first part of 2026 given the demand for waterfront living and the lack of available property.

“We’re surrounded by water, but true deep-water opportunities are not a dime a dozen,” he said. “I feel like Hoopstick gives someone a unique opportunity to have a short-dock and an estate-sized piece of property very close to town.”

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - School is out and summer is just around the corner, which means you may have a few fun days at Folly Beach or the pool already planned, but with that, there may also be some risks.

The South Carolina Department of Public Health says toddlers and preschool-aged kids are the most at risk for both fatal and nonfatal drowning incidents.

Though the state has few reported drownings, you may still have anxieties or fears involving swimming.

On Tuesday night, to help mitigate some of those worries, the Town of James Island and the Gullah Swim Academy are having a meet and greet for the instructors and swimmers in their new partnership program.

“It’s so important because you know, there’s always the chance of drowning if a child is out playing and slips and falls or goes into the water to retrieve a ball, something like that,” Mayor Brook Lyon said.

The lessons will allow up to 60 participants throughout the summer to learn how to swim, offering four Friday sessions over the next few months. Each day will have three 45-minute lessons at James Island Recreational Center.

The dates include June 6, June 13, June 27 and July 11.

“Everyone should know how to swim. It’s a real safety issue if you don’t know how to swim, living in the Lowcountry, especially on James Island,” she said.

Several local churches will also offer free transportation to and from lessons, including True Vine Tabernacle.

“Us being surrounded by so much water, you’ll be surprised by many of the people who don’t know how to swim,” Pastor William German said.

German said he knows there’s a population on the island that can’t afford lessons either, so being able to be a part of this will save lives.

Lyon said the town was able to cover the costs of 60 participants, coming out to about $4,500, which she said is worth every penny since it has been in the works since last year.

“Not only is it going to save lives, but it could teach them a lifelong recreation, hobby or skill. It’s always fun to go swimming, especially in the summer, as hot as it gets around here in Charleston,” Lyon said.

German said the reason for Tuesday is simple.

“You don’t know me unless you interact with me. And we become familiar with people, and I think that will settle down the fears, the unknown, and when we interact with one another, they make a connection,” German added.

Below is the list of local churches included in this partnership:

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - A real estate group hopes to revitalize a former tomato packing facility on Johns Island to create a commercial and industrial complex.

Behind a rusted old fence sits the old DiMare tomato packing facility off Main Road. It’s been there sitting empty for a decade and a half, but Johns Island resident Pamela Frazier remembers it in its heyday.

“That’s my very first job I ever had in my life,” she said.

At just 16 years old, she was excited to get to work.

“I worked on the boxes, put the boxes together for the tomatoes to be packaged,” Frazier said.

The Charleston County Finance Committee’s meeting agenda shows Obelisk Real Estate Partners is looking to change that by investing $21 million dollars into the property.

Over the next two years, the plan would be to maintain the existing footprint of the property as well as make upgrades to the structures. They want to retrofit spaces for warehousing, storage, distribution, and light manufacturing use.

However, Frazier is concerned more about how it may affect the already-busy Main Road.

“It’s not going to be a good thing because the traffic on Main Road is awful,” Frazier said. “All my life, I’ve lived here and I’ve never seen so much cars, the road is damaged, you have a hard time getting to, and people are late for work and other things. It’s not needed.”

She and others who have lived on the island for decades said back when the tomato packaging facility was still operating, the road was not nearly as busy as it is now.

Frazier prefers the site stay empty.

“I would hope they continue with what they do. That’s where the firefighters go for their training so I figured they would keep it for that,” Frazier said.

Thursday’s agenda refers to the potential project as an opportunity to bring economic development and jobs to the neighborhood.

The property has not officially been sold yet. Charleston County’s Finance Committee meets on Thursday to discuss the Economic Development Abandoned Building Special Tax Assessment.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Lowcountry swept the South Carolina High School League 5A baseball state championships on Saturday. James Island won the Class 5A - Division 1 State Championship and the Berkeley Stags claimed the Class 5A - Division 2 State Title.

Baseball

State finals

5A - Division 1: Game 3

James Island 6, Lexington 5 - The James Island Trojans won the Class 5A - Division 1 State Championship with a walk-off win against Lexington. The Trojans Jake Amman hit a walk-off RBI-single in the bottom of the 8th inning to lead them to a 6-5 win. It’s the James Island baseball team’s second straight state title and fourth overall. The Trojans moved up from Class 4A to 5A - Division 1 this season. It marks their first state championship in the state’s largest class.

5A - Division 2: Game 2

Berkeley 9, Catawba Ridge 4 - The Berkeley Stags claimed their second state championship since 2022 with a 9-4 win at Catawba Ridge. The Stags completed the sweep of the copperheads in two straight games.

2A: Game 3

Batesburg-Leesville 8, Philip Simmons 5 - The Iron Horses fell in a series-deciding Game 3 against the Batesburg-Leesville Panthers. It’s the panthers first state championship since 1949.

Softball

5A - Division 1: Game 3

Byrnes 5, Summerville 4 - The Byrnes Rebels snapped the Summerville Green Wave’s state title streak with a 5-4 win in nine innings. The Green Wave had won the previous two state championships. The Rebels Addy Waters hit a walk-off 2-RBI single to take the 2025 State Championship. Heading into Game 2 of the series, the Green Wave had also won 83 straight games. Byrnes snapped the win streak in Game 2 of the Best-of-3 series with a 9-8 win.

Summerville finishes the season with an overall record of 33-2.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD) – Kiawah Island developers are proposing a plan to expand a new community on Johns Island.

Orange Hill Tract is about 933 acres of land between Bohicket Road and River Road. Charleston County previously approved development plans there in 2004, but since, it has been sold to South Street Partners. They are requesting approval from the County to build a new residential community and 18-hole golf course, part of the Kiawah Island Club. The group and county are also working on a development agreement, which officials said makes this deal more attractive.

“Our community development was able to secure a significant amount of funding for affordable workforce housing for Johns Island, nearly a million dollars. I think there was another $500,000 for Sea Island Habitat for Humanity. Additionally, St. John’s Fire Department is getting half the cost of a fire engine from the developer and our Charleston County EMS is basically getting half the cost of an ambulance covered,” Joe Boykin, county councilmember for District 8, said.

Also, Developers tell News 2, around 60% of their employees live on Johns Island and Wadmalaw Island. They said this gives their employees another opportunity to make their commute closer to home and be present in the community with their contributions.

The revised plan coming from the South Street Partners includes a greater focus on preservation, by keeping over 80% of live oaks on the property, improving stormwater management, and reducing the numbers of homes originally proposed.

“That was done as a result of site analysis that suggested lower density and more modest home sites rather than big home sites and big homes. More modest home sites appropriate for the setting. More aligned with the character of Johns Island in terms of the nature of homes there,” said Mark Permar, Kiawah Island master planner and architect.

Additionally, by reducing the amount of homes, there will also be less impacts from previously planned roads on the property. The group has also decided to put the community’s entrance on the less congested roadway.

“The access point was instead of Bohicket Road, we felt the more after we did an assessment we felt the more appropriate access point would be off of River Road,” Permar said. “Part of that was a reaction to the ever increasing traffic count on Bohicket Road that we’re all familiar with.”

The Kiawah Partners own and manage the Beach Club and Cassique Club, and Permar said they continue to be a community involved group. When asked about possible resident concerns, Boykin added that this is a better option than allowing for an outside developer to come in and sell.

“The developer’s been pretty sensitive to our concerns as Johns Islanders and wanting to keep our sense of place. So, again the concessions they made in reduction to how many units and the rearrangement of how they’re putting in this development I think were sensitive to our concerns,” said Boykin.