A hotel and mixed-use development slated for Maybank Highway on Johns Island has cleared a hurdle. Charleston City Council gave its first sign-off on zoning changes, a development agreement and a conceptual plan Aug. 20 that paves the way for the hospitality project that will include lodging accommodations and five restaurants.
It will undergo a second and final reading in early September. Summer travel season swell eases up but Charleston airport continues to set records The Charleston Planning Commission recently approved a rezoning request and a conceptual plan for the Jubilee project that will include a 75-unit hotel, 65 cottages, five restaurants and retail and office space, preserved wetlands, and community park and meeting spaces. Proposed by locally based New Leaf Builders, the 13-acre development will be built at 2935 Maybank Highway just west of River Road.
An architectural rendering shows the proposed hotel within the Jubilee development on Johns Island. Charleston City Councilman Jim McBride, who represents Johns Island, said that while he believes any new development in the area should be heavily scrutinized, in this case, the developer has done its homework. McBride said combining the five parcels under a development agreement gives the City Council oversight and say in how those properties are developed and reduces the zoning density.
"Rather than being five disjointed parcels of single-family and multifamily homes and business units, it will be developed into one cohesive, integrated fashion that largely serves the public," McBride told the City Council. Today's Top Headlines Story continues below 'Southern Charm' stars, Share House owners finalizing touches on new Charleston tavern Oceanside Collegiate football coach resigns 1 game into season Clemson's Dabo Swinney recalls Head Ball Coach's call after opening loss Opposition mounts against Kamala Harris 'roast' event with Proud Boys founder at USC campus Mexican restaurant in Charleston to close 1 year after opening. What happened? Darius Rucker's Riverfront Revival Festival in North Charleston releases schedule A quarry in Cayce has bought hundreds of riverfront acres.
What will they do with the land? Small Upstate town in a 'sweet spot' for growth driven by new NC casino resort Volvo offers a live look under the hood of its new SC- and Swedish-built SUVs Former Columbia mayoral candidate in jail on child sexual assault charges has history of abuse He said the parcels by themselves could range between six and 20 units per acre. The development agreement and changes in zoning would only result in 8 acres being developed. Traffic, TSA changes coming to Charleston's airport as new parking deck project gets underway "It's not just a hotel," McBride said, noting that the project will resemble Freshfields mixed-use development at the end of Betsy Kerrison Parkway on Kiawah Island.
"It will create jobs, which will help you keep people on the island." When reviewing the plans, city staff said it would be beneficial in creating connectivity to keep some local traffic off Maybank and that it would generate less traffic than a single-family neighborhood. Company owner Adam Baslow has previously stressed the need for more hotel rooms on Johns Island, where he lives.
He's also spoken to how the mixed-use development "built by islanders for islanders" can keep residents closer to home, versus having to travel across a bridge to dine out or to host visiting relatives. Hotel planned for Charleston's medical district asking to remove long-term element The Dunlin was the first full-service hotel on Johns Island, a luxury master-planned development off Betsy Kerrison Parkway which opened in August on the Kiawah River. The Auberge-operated boutique inn and resort includes 72 rooms, 19 villas, dining and a full-service spa, among other amenities.
McBride said that while the Dunlin is part of Johns Island, the New Leaf project is the first within the city's jurisdiction. Todd Richardson of Synchronicity Land + Architecture, the firm leading the project, said once the City Council approval is in hand, the firm will be ready to start the technical review process that will wrap up early next year. Charleston boutique inn unveiling new look and name after multimillion-dollar redo.
