Charleston Realtor Debbie Donovan has been chosen as the 2008-2009 Sertoman of the Year for the Olde Charlestowne Sertoma Club. The Sertoman of the Year is selected by the awards committee and is based on the member’s contributions to Sertoma and the community, club activities, leadership, personal involvement in community activities and other noteworthy activities involving family and business activities. Previous President Kim Sexton said Debbie was unanimously chosen as this year’s recipient for her commitment to her community and support for Charleston area non-profits.

In 2007, Debbie incorporated a philosophy of giving into her real estate business she calls Debbie Donovan Donates. Each month Debbie supports a different Charleston area non-profit by offering $200 per new listing and $100 per closed transaction. In addition, she volunteers with these organizations as time allows and shares with others each of their individual missions and role in the community. The organizations were chosen based on the common threads of working to end the cycles of abuse and neglect, to educate and empower, and to provide opportunities for general health and well-being.

Sertoma (SERvice TO MAnkind) was established in 1912 as a civic-organization with the primary mission of assisting people with hearing health issues. Debbie first became involved with Sertoma when she worked as a ropes course facilitator at Camp Sertoma (Clemson, SC) in the summer of 1993. Camp Sertoma is the December recipient of Debbie Donovan Donates representing National Sign Up for Summer Camp Month.

Debbie specializes in residential sales and marketing with Exit Realty Charelston Group in Mt. Pleasant.

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Debbie Donovan – Charleston Real Estate Resource:

As a community minded and dynamic residential Realtor, my intention and commitment is to be an invaluable resource for buyers and sellers in the Charleston SC real estate market, specifically the East Cooper communities of Mt. Pleasant, Isle of Palms, and Daniel Island. I am results driven and work to provide top notch service to all my clientele. Email or call me (843-327-6099) so we can discuss how I can help you with your next real estate transaction.

Charleston SC Real Estate
A full service Charleston Area Real Estate Brokerage with 4 offices located in the Goose Creek, Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, and West Ashley Areas of Charleston SC. Services include residential sales and property management including long term and vacation rentals, and commercial sales and leasing.
1-800-886-3406

Mount Pleasant SC Development Should As Town Considers Cutting Impact Fees in Half to Spark Development

The town of Mount Pleasant SC is proposing a temporary cut in impact fees to help stimulate new development. The fees are used to pay for infrastructure and services in the town. The loss revenue in fees will be replaced by increases in sale taxes and property taxes. New developments in the area will aid in the recovery of the Mount Pleasant Real Estate Market.

Mount Pleasant town officials are considering cutting impact fees in half for 12 months to stimulate development.

Town administrator Mac Burdette suggested the idea today at a meeting of the Economic Development Committee. Members of the committee asked for more information before endorsing or rejecting the idea.

The fees, charged to new development to help pay for infrastructure and services, have generated revenues in the millions of dollars in recent years, Burdette said. This fiscal year they might bring in $400,000.

“That shows the state of the development industry,” Burdette said.

Burdette said the next fiscal year, which begins in July, will probably continue to be slow in terms of development activity. The roughly $200,000 the town would lose by cutting impact fees in half would not be a significant loss to the town, but the move could boost other revenues such as sales tax and property tax if it were to stimulate building activity, he said.

It might also prevent other revenue sources from declining, Burdette said, pointing to business license revenues as a particular concern. A third of the town’s business license fees are related to the construction industry.

“Obviously the construction industry is in such a recession and depressed state that next year we’re going to start seeing (a decline) in business licenses,” he said.

Burdette compared the one-year reduction to a business putting merchandise on sale. It could keep income flowing, even if at a lower profit margin.

“Frankly, I couldn’t disagree more,” said Councilman Joe Bustos.

Bustos said he disliked the idea of Mount Pleasant being on sale. He said the town should think carefully before implementing “fire sale” polices.

Bustos said any reduction in fees that the town makes should help residents. Repealing recent increases in town franchise fees and storm water fees should come before help for the construction industry, he said.

Other members of the committee were less critical of the idea but wanted input from developers on whether the fee reduction would actually prompt new construction. They asked for that input before moving forward.

Impact fee rates depend on the size and type of development. For a new commercial building, Burdette said impact fees could be as high as $150,000.

Burdette said state law does not prohibit lowering impact fees. The town depends on transportation impact fees for debt service payments, but the town has enough money in reserve to cover those payments for the year that the fee would be reduced, he said.

To View the Whole Article Visit: http://www.charlestonbusiness.com/news/26719-mount-pleasant-considers-cutting-impact-fees-in-half-to-spark-development?rss=0

EXIT Realty Charleston Group A full service Charleston Area Real Estate Brokerage with 4 offices located in the Goose Creek, Mount Pleasant, Sullivan's Island, and West Ashley Areas of Charleston SC. Services include residential sales and property management including long term and vacation rentals, and commercial sales and leasing.

Charleston

A turn in the South

Charleston economy continues to grow despite national economic challenges. Population growth as well as job growth will help maintain the Charleston housing market as one of the country’s finest. Charleston real estate  has been and will continue to be in demand. Charleston continues to receive accolades from prominent National publications.

Dec 30th 2008 | CHARLESTON
From The Economist print edition

A blue-collar military town, Charleston transforms itself into a white-collar security cluster

UNTIL the government closed it in 1996, the navy base in Charleston was the region’s economic engine. The navy was Charleston’s largest employer, directly providing work for more than 22,000 people. But after a decade of decay, some 340 acres (140 hectares) of the site is now part of a 3,000-acre redevelopment plan in North Charleston called Noisette, billed as “a city within a city” and costing $3 billion over 20 years. The redeveloped navy shipyard has already attracted a number of green businesses. Clemson University’s research campus has also moved there.

Partly as a result, the region’s economy is healthier and more diversified than it was a decade ago. Job growth for the Charleston region was 16.5% between 2000 and 2007; nationally, it was less than half that. Charleston’s growth in GDP, wages and bank deposits all outpace national averages. Household income has increased by 30% since 2000. In July Inc, a magazine for entrepreneurs, described it as among the best cities for doing business.

The armed forces still have an impact, generating $3.5 billion a year. Charleston is still home to an air force base, a training school for nuclear-power engineers, a naval weapons station, a Coast Guard training centre and Project SeaHawk, a model multi-agency anti-terrorism program. Convoys of “mine-resistant ambush-protected vehicles” (MRAPs) drive along conspicuously in South Carolina’s picturesque Lowcountry. They are heading for Charleston’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Centre Atlantic (SPAWAR), where they are outfitted with communications, command and control equipment and prepared for shipment to Iraq and Afghanistan. SPAWAR is the navy’s engineering and research arm.

The heavily armored vehicles offer better protection against improvised explosive devices than Humvees do. Since their use has increased, troop deaths from roadside devices are said to have fallen by about 90%. MRAPS are mostly built by manufacturers based in Charleston, such as Force Protection, with much of the technology developed by local companies like SCRA and Science Applications International Corporation. Some 80% of SPAWAR’s projects involve partnerships with private business, according to Philipp Charles, the center’s technical director.

All these defense and security companies are attracting highly skilled workers. In September the Milken Institute declared the Charleston metro area, which includes North Charleston and Summerville, to be among the leading ten cities for job creation. Between 2000 and 2007 the number of people working in IT grew by 52% in the Charleston region; nationally, it went up by only 9%. The numbers of scientists, architects and engineers grew by 52%, while dropping 3% nationally. South Carolina has the second-highest concentration of industrial engineers in the country, after Michigan. Manufacturing is growing in Charleston, as factories expand and new ones open, even as it seems to be dying a public death in the rest of the country.

As a result, the area’s population has grown 10% to 603,000 since 2000 and is forecast to grow to 624,000 by 2010. And to top it all, National Geographic recently ranked Charleston as being among the 50 best places to live.

Not all is rosy. Charleston’s port has been struggling to compete with neighboring Savannah. On December 18th Maersk, the world’s largest ocean carrier, announced it would leave Charleston by 2011, citing high costs and union intransigence. This is a big blow: Maersk accounts for 25% of Charleston’s container volume. But for the most part Charleston is weathering the economic downturn well. Defense contractors are not relying solely on America for revenue. Force Protection, for instance, is building MRAPs for America’s allies. A hybrid carmaker plans to open there. The economy has slowed since the summer, according to Karen Kuchenbecker, of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. But, she says, “We are holding our head above water.”

To read the article visit: http://www.economist.com/world/unitedstates/displaystory.cfm?story_id=12866425

For more information on the Charleston real estate market click here

EXIT Realty Charleston Group

Charleston Area keeps bringing in new industries and revitalizing the infrastructure of existing sites. The latest news for Charleston is for expansion of the old Shell Lubricant site which will create approximately 160 jobs. Increasing jobs will help stabilize and grow the Charleston housing market.

Charleston Post&Courier – December 1, 2008 - Delfin Group USA plans North Charleston expansion

Russia’s Delfin Group USA, also known as Project Bluewater, is looking to add 160 jobs at the former Shell Lubricants plant on Virginia Avenue in North Charleston.

An expansion-minded business previously known only by the code name "Project Bluewater" has been unveiled: Petroleum product manufacturer Delfin Group USA plans to expand its North Charleston plant.

Headquartered in Russia, Delfin purchased the former Shell Lubricants site on Virginia Avenue for $20 million less than a year ago. Now it plans to invest $55 million in the facility. Delfin will retrofit the plant's existing infrastructure to support manufacturing for its automotive and industrial lubricants to be sold in the U.S. and abroad.

The company's North Charleston operation employs 15 workers but will add 160 jobs within the next three to four years, according to a statement Monday.

Delfin said it will complete the initial phase of the expansion next year.

To read the whole article visit: http://www.charleston.net/news/2008/dec/01/delfin_group_usa_plans_n_charleston_expa63524/

For more information on demand for housing Charleston please visit: Charleston Housing

EXIT Realty Charleston Group

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