New mixed-use community developing in Goose Creek

Cobblestone Village, an 80-acre, mixed-use community that will include 320 apartments and 200 townhomes, is under development in the rapidly growing section of the Goose Creek area near Carnes Crossroads.

The project, which will also include a 28-acre commercial tract, is located adjacent to 2,300 acres reserved for a master-planned community to be developed by the Daniel Island Co.

Townhomes at Cobblestone Village are scheduled to begin construction in late spring or early summer and apartments will begin construction in late summer. Price points have not yet been set.

Catalyst Development Co., based in North Charleston, is in charge of the project and is taking offers on the commercial pieces of the development. The commercial tract includes an 18-acre piece suitable for a big-box retail anchor, plus 10 one-acre parcels fronting S.C. Highway 176.

The spine road into the development is under construction,with completion expected by June.

Catalyst Development Co. has been developing commercial and residential property for more than 25 years and currently is focused on developments in Berkeley County.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Beazer Homes - Now taking Pre-Sale Reservations for "Station West"

If your in the market to purchase (to live in or invest in) a Loft, Studio, Flat, or Condo in the Charleston, SC market - Look no further than Beazer Homes "Station West".

Welcome to Supurbia.
Live, shop, dine, and relax!  Beazer's unique InTown project brings you the ultimate daily living environment seconds from downtown Charleston, Avondale, South Windermere, and minutes to Charleston's beautiful beaches. Welcome to Station West.

Station West is offering 181 distinguished Loft, Studio, Flat, and Condo units.
Located in the heart of the exclusive Ashley River Bridge District on the corner of Albemarle and Folly Road.
Pre-sale pricing starts from the upper $300's.

Call Mike Terry to schedule your reservation appointment for Station West:
(843) 452-6038 or Mike@RealEstateCharlestonArea.com

House approves statewide wireless bill

COLUMBIA — South Carolina is a step closer to becoming the first state in the nation to create a statewide wireless broadband network.

The House Tuesday approved bill H. 3569 that would create the Wireless Technology and Communications Commission that will evaluate the economic, financial and technology issues surrounding the feasibility of creating a statewide network and takes the steps necessary to create such a network.

The commission will also evaluate how to best foster a private/public partnership in its implementation and operation of the network. 

“The potential for this kind of technology is limitless,” House Speaker Bobby Harrell said.  “Technology moves fast, and changes even faster. We need to move quickly to implement this and put our state on the cutting edge of Internet use. The Internet has revolutionized the world, and now South Carolina is moving to revolutionize the way we access the Internet.”

The bill is coupled with the virtual school legislation currently in conference committee.

The goal is to provide rural areas with access to broadband Internet. Schools, homes, public safety workers, municipalities, hospitals and businesses across the state could be connected to the Internet as well.

Supporters of the bill believe it could have huge economic development potential for the state by attracting new businesses and becoming a testing ground for emerging wireless technologies. In addition to aiding large businesses, a wireless cloud will also empower small businesses and entrepreneurs, especially in rural areas.

Wednesday, 25 April 2007 By SCBIZ Daily Staff

Del Webb community hosts preview event

If your looking for a retirement community (over 50 years of age) look no further than Del Webb Charleston, a retirement community near Goose Creek. Del Webb is targeting active adults and the community is currently in development. This Friday and Saturday Del Webb will host a pre-grand opening event at the Charleston Area Convention Center. Del Webb is developing a 1,000-home community on a 360-acre tract. Pulte Homes Inc. is developing the tract as part of the master-planned Cane Bay Plantation off of hwy-176, west of Goose Creek in the Jedburg area of Berkeley county. Sales are expected to open this summer. The preview sessions are Friday at 10 a.m., 1 p.m. and 4 p.m. Saturday at 10 a.m. and 1 p.m.. Del Webb, Inc. has received more than 1,200 responses to invitations to the event. Potential homeowners who attend the preview can get a glimpse of the planned community via a computer-generated, three-dimensional presentation that allows a virtual drive-through of the community and its 20,000-square-foot amenities center.

Call Mike Terry to Register (843) 452-6038 or Mike@RealEstateCharlestonArea.com

Giuseppi's Pizza - FORGET IT!

We ordered a pizza from Giuseppi's Pizza tonight and were told it would be delievered in 45-minutes.  It's been over 1.5 hours and we're still waiting!

I called Giuseppi's Pizza at the 1.5 hour mark and spoke with a person by the name of "Keith".  He was very RUDE and uncaring that our delivery was EXTREMELY LATE!  I would not recommend ordering from this place!!!

New air taxi serving Charleston airports, Southeast

A new air taxi service has begun serving Charleston area airports with on-demand service to community airports across the Southeast.

ImagineAir, based in Lawrenceville, Ga., operates Cirrus SR22-GTS aircraft, which seat three passengers and cruise at more than 200 miles per hour. The Cirrus is also equipped with a parachute. ImagineAir will expand its fleet in 2008 to include Eclipse 500 very light jets, which seat five passengers and can fly 1,300 miles nonstop.

The Cirrus aircraft are used for short hops while the Eclipse jets can fly longer hauls, said ImagineAir spokesman Haroon Qureshi.

“We can get you up to Montreal or down to Belize,” Qureshi said. “People are catching the buzz about air taxis.”

ImagineAir is already making regular trips between Augusta, Ga., and Kiawah Island for one customer, Qureshi said. The company will serve all the Lowcountry’s airports, including Charleston International.

“You just drive to the terminal, walk right up, hop on the plane, and 15 minutes later, you’re in the air,” Qureshi said. “And we’re not going to take your toothpaste.”

Trips can be booked by phone or online on the company’s Web site. Price quotes received online are guaranteed and discounts are available for ImagineAir flight club members. There are no added costs for last-minute flights or for same-day travel. A one-way trip from Augusta, Ga., to Kiawah Island for an ImagineAir flight club member and two other passengers would cost a total of $447.

The on-demand air taxi service is geared toward business travelers who want to cut out long road trips, spend more time with their families or visit several destinations in a day. It is also designed for leisure travelers who want to spend more time at their destination.

“We want to change the way people think about travel,” said Ben Hamilton, president of ImagineAir. “By the time you add up the expense of hotels, meals and lost productivity associated with most business travel, it makes good financial sense to take advantage of ImagineAir’s affordable, efficient air service.”

The Southeast is a good market for air taxis, Qureshi said, because there are less shuttle services available than in the North and cities are farther apart. Air taxis can also land at smaller airports that can’t accommodate larger jets.

“People take advantage of our service to get to hard-to-reach places,” he said. “In the South, there are hundreds of under-utilized airports. Right now, 90 percent of the population travels out of 20 airports, but 80 percent of the population lives within 20 miles of a regional airport.”

ImagineAir currently flies mostly south of Washington, D.C., and as far west as St. Louis. The company plans to serve the entire East Coast by next year as well as Texas and the Caribbean.

Air taxi service has been growing and gaining in popularity following increased security measures at the nation’s airports as well as with the Federal Aviation Administration’s recent approval of very light jets.

Greenville-based SATSAir, which also serves the Lowcountry with Cirrus SR22 aircraft, recently expanded service to Florida and ordered an additional fleet of 100 aircraft worth $45 million.

A berry fun time

Nothing says spring like the juicy taste of plump, red strawberry. Boone Hall Plantation & Gardens celebrates the start of strawberry season this weekend with the 10th annual Lowcountry Strawberry Festival. The festival opens at 10 a.m. Saturday and at noon Sunday; it closes at 6 p.m. each day. Activities include jump castles, a Ferris wheel, hay rides, face painting and sand art. Don’t miss the bluegrass tunes of Homeboy Reunion at 11 a.m. Saturday and 12:30 p.m. Sunday. Also, the Summerville High School Jazz Band will play at 4:30 p.m. Saturday and steel drum band Island Trio takes the stage at 3:30 p.m. Sunday. At 3:45 p.m. Saturday don’t miss the Berry Princess Contest for girls 2-4. Entrants should wear their best homemade strawberry-themed costume. No festival is complete without sno-cones, kettle corn, hot dogs, hamburgers, chicken fingers, a chocolate fountain for strawberry dipping and strawberry shortcakes. Cost is $4; $2 for children 12 and under. For more information, call (843) 884-4371.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Burn, baby, burn

Go green with the 5K Green Village Tour run/walk Saturday. Race starts at 9 a.m. and winds through several smart-growth developments from Mixson Avenue to the Navy Yard at Noisette in North Charleston. The race benefits the Sustainability Institute. Cost is $20; $25 the day of the race. For more information, contact Joel McKellar at (843) 696-5869 or Bryan Cordell at (843) 529-3421. Or register online. Join the I’On Bike Races (pictured) in Mount Pleasant’s I’On Village from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday. Bring your favorite two-wheeler or just watch as bikers navigate the narrow European-style streets of I’On. Public parking is available on the soccer field near the intersection of Eastlake and Mathis Ferry roads. Grazi’s Shoe Café and Wine Bar in I'On Square is hosting a pre-race wine tasting at 5 p.m. Friday ($5 to attend).

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Allstate will renew 2,300 coastal policies These and other homeowners’ coverage had been slated for cancellation

Citing changing market conditions, Allstate Insurance Co. said Monday it is renewing 2,300 homeowners’ policies previously slated for cancellation.

In December, Allstate announced it would cut about 12,000 policies in the eight counties east of I-95 as it tried to limit its risk nationwide.

Another 8,000 policies along the coast were not renewed by insurers State Farm and S.C. Farm Bureau.

Allstate officials say the change is due to improving market conditions, such as expanding the S.C. wind pool.

The wind pool is a fund insurers can dip into when they suffer catastrophic losses in a particular area.

Wind and hail will be excluded from policies of Allstate customers renewing in the wind pool region. This protection can be written into the S.C. Wind and Hail Underwriting Association. Allstate will contact the policyholders being offered renewals.

More than a quarter of all homeowners’ policies in the state are along the catastrophic storm-prone coast. Those coastal policies cover about $150 billion worth of property.

By BEN WERNER - bwerner@thestate.com

My Recent Insurance story
by: Thea Riley

"Great news for local homeowners!  As Charleston saw wild weather with high winds this weekend, a tree in my yard landed on my neighbor's minivan and our shared fence.  Our Insurance Companies are hashing out the details and we are trying to see this as a great learning experience.  Hopefully one that will help me better serve my clients in similar situations.  I advise that all policy holding homeowners review the details of your wind & hail coverage before this year's hurricane season.  Good luck!"  Thea Riley, Realtor The AgentOwned Realty Co.

Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival:

April 29 at Alhambra Hall & Park, 131 Middle St. Presented by East Cooper Charities, this festival celebrates the Mount Pleasant shrimping industry. The event includes family activities, from face painting, arts and crafts shows and entertainers to shrimp-eating and shag-dancing competitions, capped with live music from the East Cooper Party Band. No charge to attend. Information: (843) 849-2061 or click here.

Mount Pleasant Town Council Meeting News:

Last night at the Mount Pleasant, SC Town Council meeting several issues were discussed including first reading for the "Central Mount Pleasant" project.

Town Council delayed zoning decision for the Snee Farm project that would create 57 new homes in Snee Farm. READ MORE

"Mount Pleasant Square" passes reading by Mount Pleasant town council by a 5 to 4 vote.  Located at the intersection of Ben Sawyer Boulevard and Rifle Range Road. The project proposes 287 condo units with more than 83,000 square feet of retail space.  READ MORE

Also passing first reading last night by town council was 12 home sites for habitat for humanity.  These will be located in the Phillips community off of Hwy-41 in Mount Pleasant.

After much discussion town council sent the much talked about "NO SMOKING" ordinance back to committee to be revised before voting on it.  Much of the debate centered around the "teeth" of the bill.  Several councilmen wanted to tame the ordinance a bit by making the offense more like a parking ticket than a criminal offense. This should be placed back on next months adgenda.

Central Mount Pleasant passes first phase

"Four ordinances designed to facilitate the construction of Central Mount Pleasant came in front of Mount Pleasant Town Council Tuesday night.

Central Mount Pleasant, a project by Mount Pleasant-based McAlister Development Co., was hailed by many citizens as a great development because of the low impact to roads and the increased walk-ability of the town it promised.

Central Mount Pleasant would lie on a 110-acre tract in between Hungry Neck Boulevard and Rifle Range Road. The project goal is to create a downtown Mount Pleasant using the New Urbanism concept of locating housing near restaurants, shops and green spaces".... READ MORE

Lowndes Grove Plantation sale could be highest price ever recorded on the Peninsula, not expected to affect bookings

Wedding receptions and other events scheduled at Lowndes Grove Plantation are not expected to be affected by the possible sale of the property, which went on the market last week.

The house, which dates from 1787 and currently operates as a bed and breakfast, is listed for $7.2 million with William Means Real Estate, an affiliate of Christie’s Great Estates.

If Lowndes Grove Plantation sells at its current list price, it will be the highest ever recorded sale price of a home on the Charleston peninsula.

The property is booked for special events through next May, said Caroline Lubin, an intern working with Lowndes Grove’s event coordinator, Megan Morgan.

“All our contracts will be honored if someone’s having an event here. We’ve had numerous calls from concerned brides,” Lubin said. “Also, a property of this nature takes a very long time to sell, so we’re telling people not to worry.”

The current owners of Lowndes Grove, Alexander Opoulos III and his wife, Tina, are out of the country for the next week, Lubin said.

The couple bought the main house from Charles and Martha Craven in 2000 for $1.9 million and later bought the adjacent carriage house. The property encompasses 15 acres overlooking the Ashley River near Hampton Park and is the only remaining plantation on the Charleston peninsula.

Elle Haynes, the broker handling the sale, said the property is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and most of it is protected by a conservation easement. Haynes said the Lowndes Grove listing has been getting a lot of activity from potential buyers.

“It’s mostly people who want to use it as a private residence,” she said. “The owners would prefer to sell it as one property and preserve the historic value of the property.”

Haynes said the owners had also been approached by a potential buyer who was interested in subdividing some of the acreage for residential development.

Eddie Bello, director of the city’s Board of Architectural Review, said Lowndes Grove Plantation lies in a landmark overlay district and any proposed changes to the house or construction on its grounds would have to be approved by the BAR and reviewed publicly.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Tips For Staging your Home for Sale

Most Popular Home - Staging Suggestions -

In a slow market, it's particularly important to get a house ready to sell quickly. How do you help a client get their home in prime shape for showings?

Beverly Tracy of Beverly Tracy Home Design in Saratoga Springs, N.Y., walks through a client’s home and sticks Post-It notes on things she believes they need to do to get their home looking its best. Here are some of her most frequently made suggestions:

• Fix any visible problems that might be a red flag for potential buyers, including repainting stained walls.
• Cover damaged kitchen or bathroom floors with inexpensive peel-and-stick vinyl floor tiles if a more expensive change seems out of the question.
• Repaint public rooms that will garner a lot of a buyer's attention, including the kitchen, dining room, and living room.
• Clean up the exterior of the house, added potted plants, repair damaged walkways, and put a fresh coat of paint on the front door.
• Rent a storage unit and get rid of about half the furniture and most of the personal items.
• When showing the property, turn on every light in the house and tune radios on each floor to the same classical music station.
• Suggest that the owners refrain from doing much cooking (baking sweets is a good idea, however) and put good-smelling soaps in all the bathrooms

Daily Real Estate News  |  April 5, 2007

Going to Market

The Charleston Farmers Market opens Saturday in Marion Square on the corner of King and Calhoun streets. The market is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. each Saturday through Dec. 16. Check out the local produce, plants, flowers, herbs, arts and crafts from more than 75 farmers and vendors.

This year's Charleston Farmers Market offers an expanded variety of food concessions, including crepes, omelets, paninis, tacos and quesadillas along with desserts including Belgian waffles, gelato and ice cream. The opening-day market entertainment features the Yee Haw Junction Band from 10:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

The Summerville Farmers Market also opens Saturday at 218 North Main St. The market is open from 8 a.m. to noon each Saturday until the fall.

The Mount Pleasant Farmers Market will be back April 10. It opens at 3 p.m. each Tuesday at Moultrie Middle School. 

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Google makes Berkeley County cornerstone of the innovation economy

GOOSE CREEK -- They came, they said, looking for a site that had everything: ready access to electricity, access to water, a dependable, diverse infrastructure, a supportive business environment and, most importantly, room to grow as the market dictates.

In the end, representatives of Google Inc. said there just wasn’t any question that the 520 acres they’d set their sights on in the Mount Holly Commerce Park satisfied all their needs.

“It was a site that we looked at for a very long time,” said Rhett L. Weiss, Google’s senior team leader for Strategic Development of Global Infrastructure.

“And it wasn’t a decision we made lightly,” he continued. “We wanted to make sure this was a place worthy of a $600 million investment.”

After months of intrigue, Google Inc. has officially announced plans to open a data center in the Mount Holly Commerce Park in Berkeley County.

The revelation ended months of cat-and-mouse with the search engine giant that began last December when an entity called Maguro Enterprises LLC purchased the land for the price of $1 and “other valuable consideration” totaling more than $16.9 million.

Coming out from behind Maguro’s shadow — it was Weiss who came up with the cover name — Google executives went out of their way to be neighborly on April 4, visiting select media outlets, including the Charleston Regional Business Journal, and hosting a “community” barbecue at Cypress Gardens the following day.

The first phase of the data center, which Weiss described as an “environmentally safe and friendly use of the land,” is scheduled to open by the end of the year.

When the entire facility, presently conceived of as two large buildings on a large campus, is built out six to eight months later, it will employ about 200 people, he said.

Barry Schnitt, Google’s spokesman, said jobs created by the facility will be spread over 24 hours, minimizing the facility’s impact on local traffic during peak travel hours.

Of secrecy and server farms
Google’s Goose Creek data center will be one of a network of large service the company operates on the East Coast. In addition to this new site, Google is building a similar facility in Lenior, N.C., and is also considering another South Carolina site just outside of Columbia.

Weiss said the company is continuing to evaluate the site, but like the lead up to the announcement regarding the facility in Goose Creek, the valuation appears to be far more than that.

While he didn’t get into specifics of progress on that site, he did mention both the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and wetland mitigation, two phrases that typically aren’t mentioned until well into the land-planning process.

“What all of these locations have in common is that they are all part of our global infrastructure,” Weiss said. “We began to look more earnestly at the Southeast and South Carolina in particular because it was quickly becoming a tremendous population center.

“You know, when people do a search on Google, that process doesn’t just happen. It has to be processed by a huge server farm, and the closer you are to your users, the faster that process can happen,” he said.

One question that begged to be asked was why Google was so secretive about its interest in the Mount Holly Commerce Park site.

“The reason, simply, is that we are in a very competitive business environment, and in that environment, any kind of expansion is a very sensitive situation,” Weiss said. “If you’re Google, you don’t want to provide Yahoo with information about where you think your customer base is and where it’s growing.

“Who knows, given what they know now, Yahoo might be building a facility right up the road,” he joked.

“The other thing is it’s an industry standard to keep business negotiations confidential, and I think that’s good not just for us, but for the states we want to talk to,” Weiss continued. “If it had gotten out, officially, that Google was actively considering South Carolina, the state would have been hit with all kind of competitive challenges of their own.

“In the end, that’s why we didn’t want anything said until we were sure of what we were going to do,” he said.

Google officials also emphasized that while confidentiality was key, all of the public officials involved in talks with the company fulfilled their legal obligations as the economic development matter progressed.

“They did publicly what they had to do publicly,” Weiss said.

What’s in store
Andrew Johnson, Google’s East Coast regional manager of hardware operations, said that while he couldn’t go into details on all the specifics of the data center, the easiest way to describe it is as a specialized facility that contains lots of computers that run Google’s services.

“It’s literally where your search goes when you request information,” he said.

The company will be hiring a wide range of employees, from system administrators to entry level hardware technicians to managers, food service workers and ground keepers.

The average salary of these workers will be about $48,000 plus benefits.

“We’re trying to hire locally where we can, although certain jobs requiring specific skills sets will probably go to applicants from outside the area,” Johnson said.

Unlike many large companies that have located here in recent years, Google is not leveraging the ability of the state’s technical college system to provide worker training.

“We honestly feel that the Charleston area work force is sophisticated enough to suit our purposes, and whatever training is necessary can be done in-house,” Johnson said.

Like other Google facility’s, the internal culture will stress creativity and have the accouterments of a college dormitory, with access to free food, ping pong tables and video games, and even an in-house laundry being made available to employees.

As for how the facility will function, Weiss said the design of data centers is constantly evolving as Google rethinks ways to optimize its operations.

“Safeguarding the environment and finding ways to reduce the amount of power we use are constants at Google,” he said. “Toward that end, we try to use the most efficient servers as possible at our data centers, and we use an evaporative cooler, which uses a lot less electricity that traditional air conditioning units.”

Weiss said while presently the company has concrete plans only for a data center on the site, there will be plenty of land left over for future expansion as Google grows and enters new business markets.

“Who knows what this facility might be in the future,” he said. “It could be that in the future we add a research and development facility. It could be we add a training facility. This is the first time, by virtue of the size of the site, that we’ve had the flexibility to think that way.”

South Carolina officials just got it
As for what it took to lure the technology giant, Weiss said Google didn’t come to South Carolina looking for freebies or exclusive incentives geared solely to the company.

“Basically what got us here was a great state, county and local economic development team,” Weiss said. “In a phrase, they got it. They understood what we needed to establish a presence here and they also saw us as a good fit in regard to their objective of transforming the state into a knowledge-based economy.”

Weiss said for all the secrecy attached to them, Google’s approach to projects such as the Goose Creek data center is fairly straightforward.

“We basically come in and say, ‘this is what we’d like to do’ and explain that we are trying to launch multiple interconnected projects in multiple places, which makes normalizing our costs between projects important,” he explained.

“If officials indicate their state has or is willing to create that environment, then the discussions continue; if not, or if they feel it’s not in their best interest to create that environment, that’s fine. We’ll look elsewhere,” Weiss said.

With that as context, Weiss said South Carolina was very receptive to Google’s interest and marketed itself well, telling the company of its keen interest in creating a new, innovation-based economy and laying out the full menu of initiatives it had already adopted to try to make that a reality.

Weiss said Google was very impressed that the state legislature had recently updated the state tax code to exempt the electricity and the capital investment in equipment needed by internet-related companies from sales tax.

“This is something that the state had been doing for some time for the manufacturing sector, and it showed they were modernizing their tax and economic development regimes to better fit this new economy,” Weiss said.

“It wasn’t a Google-specific move, but it is one that is good for our industry,” he said.

Google also applied for another standard incentive, the state’s Job Development Credits, an application that was approved by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development.

The JDC program is a performance-based incentive directly related to new job creation and new capital investment. It offers quarterly partial refunds of new full-time South Carolina employee withholding taxes, once Google meets the investment and job thresholds, pays payroll taxes and provides proof of having paid qualified project costs.

The first million dollars of JDCs may be advanced, if Google so elects, from the governor’s closing fund, which is a fund approved by the state legislature for economic development efforts. This funding would reimburse the company partially for site preparation and infrastructure.

Google stands to receive approximately $4.8 million in JDC funds over the next 10 years if it invests $600 million and creates 200 jobs. That 10-year period can become 15 years retroactively if the company creates 400 jobs, company officials said.

The company has also entered into a fee-in-lieu-of-taxes agreement with Berkeley County. If Google invests exactly $600 million in the Goose Creek project, its annual fee payment will be $1.96 million. The fee depends on the amount of investment the company makes: If Google invests more in the area, the fee will go up; if it invests less, the fee will be less.

Google said its fee-in-lieu of tax payments will amount to approximately $58.8 million over the 30 of the agreement. In addition the company expects to pay about $7 million in sales tax for the purchase of building materials.

More than that, Weiss said, Google’s initial investment in the land and two subsequent fee-in-lieu-of-tax payments will pay off Berkeley County’s debt service on the Mount Holly Commerce Park, a cooperative economic development site it operates in partnership with Alcoa and the Santee Cooper utility.

In return for such considerations, Weiss said Google essentially brings three things directly to the local economy: tax revenue, money paid to directly to employees and local businesses and diversification.

Speaking of the latter, not only did Weiss appear well-versed in the history of the Navy base closure, but also was well aware of the Angelou Report and its blueprint for diversifying the economy through implementation of specific business clusters.

Weiss said in addition to the state’s business-friendly incentives, another critical factor in Google’s decision to invest in Goose Creek was feedback the company solicited from existing businesses in the region, not the least of which was Alcoa Mt. Holly, which aside from now being a neighbor to Google, also controlled the land in which the company was interested.

“They reinforced our view of the positive business climate in the state and said a lot of the things people traditionally say about the Charleston region — that it’s a great place to live and work,” he said.

“Our discussions with Alcoa were particularly important, because they are a company that has made a significant strategic investment in the area, as we have now done,” Weiss continued.

Officials express satisfaction with the deal
In a joint statement with the company, Gov. Mark Sanford said Google’s announcement was “a positive sign that our efforts to improve the state’s business climate are paying dividends when it comes to attracting high tech, knowledge-based industries that will enable us to further compete in the global economy.”

“Given the stature of this company and the magnitude of this investment, this is a real win for South Carolina that will have a tremendous impact on the local and state economy,” he said.

S.C. Secretary of Commerce Joe Taylor said the state’s ability to attract a world leader in technological innovation will yield substantial results for the state.”

He said Google has vowed to make a concentrated effort to use as many local vendors and suppliers as possible so that the economic impact of this investment will have the greatest benefit.

“This state-of-the-art operation will bring tremendous economic opportunity to residents and businesses in the Charleston area,” said Bill Finn, chairman of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. “The international recognition of the Google brand will also solidify our reputation as a top location for innovation and technology.”

In the face of such comments, Weiss emphasized that regardless of whether Google expands into Richland County, its commitment to Goose Creek is for the long, long term.

“At Google we’ve always stressed that not matter how much growth the company experiences, additional projects don’t take away from the projects that preceded them,” he said. “We seemed to have seized onto something, and customers seem to want more and more of our services.

“It’s a big world out there, with plenty for everyone,” Weiss said. “And lots of information to connect people to.”


Want to work for Google?

Andrew Johnson, Google’s East Coast manager for hardware operations, said the company’s first order of business for hiring will be to find local managers for the overall facility and on-site technical operations.

Jobs descriptions for these positions and instructions for submitting resumes will soon be posted on Google’s Web site.

Johnson suggests that prospective applicants take a look at the positions the company posted for its previously announced project in Lenoir, N.C., to get a better idea of what these positions entail.

Personnel hired for these positions will be in charge of staffing the facility with maintenance, facilities, hardware and software technicians, which will make up the bulk of the job openings.

Other interested applicants and vendors can send information to info@mthollyproject.com This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Thursday, 05 April 2007 - By Dan McCue - as provided by South Carolina's Media Engine for Economic Growth

Google makes Goose Creek plans official

GOOSE CREEK -- Gov. Mark Sanford and Google Inc. today officially announced plans for the company to open a facility in Berkeley County. Google Inc. will invest $600 million and create 200 jobs initially at the Mt. Holly data center, according to a news release.

"We are so pleased to formally announce our presence in South Carolina and our plans to build a data center. The governor, Department of Commerce and Berkeley County officials have been wonderfully helpful during our evaluation. We look forward to growing our business and becoming an active member of the Berkeley County community," said Lloyd Taylor, director of global operations for Google Inc.

Google applied for the state's Job Development Credits and was approved by the Coordinating Council for Economic Development. The JDC program is a performance-based incentive directly related to new job creation and new capital investment. The first million dollars of JDCs may be advanced if Google elects from the governor's closing fund, which is a fund approved by the state Legislature for economic development efforts. This funding will reimburse the company partially for site preparation and infrastructure.

In addition, the state Legislature updated the state tax code to exempt the electricity and the capital investment in equipment necessary for this kind of a facility used in the Web search portal and Internet service provider industries from sales tax, just like what is done for the manufacturing sector.

The data center will be constructed on a 520-acre site, which was purchased from Mt. Holly Commerce Park LLC., an innovative economic development joint venture between Alcoa and Berkeley County, by a Google subsidiary last year. The jobs being created at this facility will be spread over 24 hours, leaving a minimal impact on local traffic congestion during peak travel hours.

"This announcement is a positive sign that our efforts to improve the state's business climate are paying dividends when it comes to attracting high tech, knowledge-based industries that will enable us to further compete in the global economy," Gov. Sanford said. "Given the stature of this company and the magnitude of this investment, this is a real win for South Carolina that will have a tremendous impact on the local and state economy. It's also important to note that as we work to attract new investment and create jobs, our administration has consistently believed in doing so in a way that preserves our quality of life. Because of the way these shifts are spread over 24 hours, we're able to achieve growth in this case with a much smaller impact on traffic than would otherwise be the case, something that impacts quality of life not just in Berkeley County, but in other parts of the Lowcountry as well."

Google Inc. will pay an estimated $1.96 million annually in property tax to Berkeley County. This revenue is the equivalent of the property tax collected annually from 1,000 homeowners with homes valued at $200,000. Google also will pay millions in sales taxes on construction and numerous other purchases.

"Google is a household name and a world leader in technological innovation. South Carolina's ability to attract this type of industry and investment will yield substantial results for our state. Today's announcement is the result of a team effort from the state level to the local officials in Berkeley County. Thanks to the commitment of all parties involved, Berkeley County and the entire state will see numerous benefits for many years to come," said Joe Taylor, Secretary of Commerce. "We have enjoyed a positive working relationship with Google from the beginning. Google was upfront about what they needed to make this work and we were upfront about what we could do. We are very glad we could make it come together to bring a marquee name like Google to our state."

Google Inc. has made a concentrated effort to use as many local vendors and suppliers as possible so that the economic impact of this investment will have the greatest benefit. The company has hired local engineering and construction firms for the preparation and building of the data center site.

Similar projects by the Internet search engine leader have led to significant economic activity creating a positive multiplier effect in regions where Google Inc. has established. Following the announcement of a 30-acre Dalles, Ore., facility in 2005, new family-owned enterprises were developed, unemployment fell from one of the highest levels in the nation to below 5% and new residents were attracted to the region.

Google Inc. confirmed last month that it is also evaluating a site near Columbia and that the two sites are not in competition with one another. The Richland County site is currently in the permitting process. Once permitting is complete, Google Inc. will evaluate the site to make its future determinations.

Wednesday, 04 April 2007 - as provided by South Carolina's Media Engine for Economic Growth

Charleston wins three awards from travel Web site

Charleston is a triple winner in the first BestWeekend Travel Awards, compiled by travel Web site BestWeekends.com.

The company awarded Charleston its Best of the Best/Destination of the Year for 2007, citing the city’s charm and climate as well as its beaches, history, architecture, art galleries, golf and water sports, accommodations and restaurants.

In other categories, The Planters Inn at 112 North Market St. won the company’s award for Best Small Hotel, while burger joint Your Place tied with burger restaurants in New York and Cambridge, Mass., for Best Burger.

Travel expert Jim Flynn, founder of BestWeekend.com, travels the eastern United States to uncover destinations that offer a superior experience tailored to the weekend traveler. “A weekend is three days at most,” Flynn said. “You can’t afford to make a mistake on where you stay, where you eat and what you do.”

The company reports that American vacations are getting shorter every year, putting weekend travel on the rise. The number of weekend trips has risen 10% in the past five years, the company reports, with 30% of adults taking five or more weekend trips per year.

Rudy Giulani in Columbia, Charleston & Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani and Republican presidential hopeful will be in South Carolina on Thursday.

He’s scheduled an announcement and news conference in the Capitol Rotunda in Columbia at 9:30 a.m. At 1 p.m., he’s scheduled to have lunch with small business owners at Magnolia’s on East Bay Street in downtown Charleston. He will follow his Charleston visit with a meeting of supporters at the Myrtle Beach Pelicans baseball home opener at Coastal Federal Field in North Myrtle Beach.

Recently, Giuliani spoke with SCBIZ about his views on business and government’s role in fostering it.

Giuliani, who ran his own law office earlier in his career and now is head of Giuliani Partners, a wide-ranging, New York-based consultancy, said in his experience, government can be both a help and a hindrance to the small business owner.

“Most of the ways that government hurts is by interfering,” he said. “Government can give you some help in the special situations — where you have to do redevelopment — but largely, both on the government side and the business side I would make a deal with government immediately which is … don’t interfere with us too much. Do that and you’re giving us the best break you can possibly give us.”

Giuliani went on to say he believes it is important for local governments to keep taxes moderate or at least competitive with other states and cities that might be vying for the same economic development opportunities.

“What communities are businesses comparing you to? What are the other alternatives (for businesses) and what are their tax rates and how much off from that are you? Are you higher? Lower? If you’re higher, you’re going to lose a lot of business. If you’re lower, you’re probably going to be in pretty good shape. But at least if you’re even you’ll be in a competitive position.

“Holding the line on tax rates and fees — hidden taxes — is very, very important,” Giuliani said.

    Rudy Giuliani

By Dan McCue - Article from SCBIZ Daily, Tuesday April 3, 2007