Jerry Lee Lewis Concert

Jerry Lee Lewis - 8 p.m. - Dec 8. Great Balls of Fire! Lewis and the Killer Band will rock the Charleston Music Hall. Tickets are $75-$225. For details, call (843) 853-2252.

Local food and wine fest named one of Southeast's top events

The third annual BB&T Charleston Food + Wine Festival, scheduled for Feb. 28 through March 2, 2008, has been recognized by the Southeast Tourism Society as one of the Top 20 events for the month of February 2008.

To be considered for the award, the event had to be in at least its third year and have attendance of at least 1,000. The society also considered economic impact on the community, community involvement, whether the event was unique and if it had won other awards.

This year's festival, held in March, was recognized for highlighting Charleston as a culinary destination. More than 14,000 visitors attended the four-day fête, whose total ticket sales exceeded $462,000. Festival organizers donated $20,000 to charities and local culinary scholarships.

Highlights of the annual festival include a Culinary Village in downtown Charleston's Marion Square, featuring two large tasting tents, culinary competitions and cooking demonstrations. A few of the many other events include the Celebration of Charleston Chefs Opening Night Party, the King Street Sip & Stroll and the Lowcountry Gospel Brunch.

Recognition of the festival by the tourism society includes publicity in more than 800 newspapers and magazines, including the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Publicity on radio and TV stations will include the New Orleans-based radio show "Travel Talk Radio."

The Southeastern Wildlife Exposition, held in Charleston each February, also made the tourism society's Top 20 list for the month.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Green concept home planned for Poplar Grove

Poplar Grove, the low-density residential development near Hollywood that will preserve more than 3,000 acres under a conservation easement, has been chosen as the second location for a Concept Home, a project of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing.

The first PATH Concept Home was recently completed in Omaha, Neb.

The project team was looking for a Southern location for their next Concept Home, said Dana Bres, director of office policy and research for PATH.

The Concept Home at Poplar Grove will serve as a model of sustainability, disaster resistance, flexibility and cost effectiveness. The Concept Home's design and technical specifications will meet the nation's most rigorous green building certification standards, including Leadership and Energy and Environmental Design for Homes; Energy Star; EarthCraft House and the National Green Building Standard.

"We're kind of the Southeast guinea pig for the PATH house, which is great," said Vic Mills, principal and chief executive of Augusta, Ga.-based Blanchard & Calhoun Commercial, which is developing Poplar Grove.

The PATH home is a good fit for the development, Mills said.

"The entire lifestyle at Poplar Grove centers around conservation and the outdoors, so the PATH house is really in keeping with Poplar Grove as a community," he said.

Mills' company has partnered with Bennett Hofford Construction to build the PATH home. A design charrette, or workshop, is planned for Oct. 24 at the site. Final plans will be presented in February 2008 and construction will begin in the spring.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Magnolia Development to Begin This Fall

The Chamber's Charleston Area Business Council hosted a meeting last week with guest speaker, Josh Martin, AICP, CNU, director of planning, preservation and economic innovation for the City of Charleston to discuss the Magnolia Development project. In 2003, the City worked with residents and other stakeholders on a plan for the Charleston Neck Area. Using this plan as a guide, the developers of Magnolia created a conceptual development plan. In June, Charleston's Planning Commission approved the concept plan for Magnolia, a 216-acre development with up to 4,400 homes.

Led by Robert Clement and Terry Shook, the Magnolia Development Group aims to transform the peninsula's Neck into a vibrant, environmentally safe area of businesses, parks and residential neighborhoods. Magnolia would be what's known as an urban infill project, a plan to redevelop within a city rather than replacing green spaces with new suburban development. Plans are to begin this fall. Magnolia will also include 24 acres of public park, walking paths and public water access.

source: Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce

Charleston-area tourism: What's next?

The future of hospitality and tourism in the Lowcountry is the focus of a presentation by the Coastal Young Leaders Group on Wednesday evening at the Best Western Hotel in downtown Charleston.

Stephen Litvin, chair of the College of Charleston's hospitality and tourism management department, will talk about what's on the horizon for hospitality in the Charleston region, how growth in the region is being regulated and directed, the upside of regulation for industry and lessons learned.

The event is from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. at the hotel at 250 Spring St. Both members and nonmembers may attend; for information, call 800-321-5011 or 843- 513-9331. Registration is accepted at the door.

A tour of the hotel will be offered after the presentation.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Twin Rivers purchases 42 acres in Berkeley County

Twin Rivers Capital LLC has purchased 42 acres in Berkeley County where it plans to develop a commercial center with retail shops and other tenants.

The Charleston-based real estate investment and development company bought the parcel at the intersection of S.C. Highway 52 and Cypress Gardens Road on Sept. 19 for an undisclosed price.

The company is developing Foxbank Towne Center, with more than 500,000 square feet of retail and office space, to service Foxbank Plantation, an 800-acre, master-planned community with more than 2,400 single- and multi-family homes.

The initial phase of the commercial center will include a grocery store and various retail and office uses to follow. Twin Rivers plans to break ground in January 2008. The entire Foxbank Towne Center is scheduled for completion by 2011.

Twin Rivers was founded in 2002 and operates mainly in the Southeast. Its properties range from freestanding single-tenant buildings to multi-use strip malls.

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal

Charleston jumps to 12th place on national economic index

The Charleston-North Charleston metropolitan area jumped up 10 positions in the recently released Best-Performing Cities Index compiled by The Milken Institute, which ranked the area 12th in terms of economic performance among the nation's 200 largest cities.

"I think it speaks to the vitality that the Charleston area has benefited from for many years," said David Desplaces, international business director and assistant professor of entrepreneurship for the School of Business and Economics at the College of Charleston.

In the 2005 report, the Charleston-North Charleston area was ranked 22nd. The index is used to measure metropolitan areas' success in job creation and retention, looking specifically at where jobs are being created and maintained, corresponding salary levels and where economies and businesses are growing and thriving, according to the institute's Web site. The Milken Institute, a nonprofit independent economic think tank, has been compiling these indexes for more than a decade.

The study says the region moved up 10 places after "having posted solid employment and high-tech (gross domestic product) growth in the past year." The index also cited the area's low cost of living compared to other coastal regions, which remains an important draw for retirees, but said the diverse industry base also attracts skilled workers.

Since the last report, the study states, the metro area's employment base outpaced the national average by 7.1% during the past five years.

"Driven by data processing and telecom services, Charleston created jobs at a rapid pace, having grown its employment base by 3.6% in the past 12 months. Key recent developments include the opening of a new DaimlerChrysler van plant and an American LaFrance assembly plant," the study says.

Though not specifically cited in the study, high-tech companies such as Vought Aircraft Industries and Benefitfocus are probably also playing a role in the improved score, Desplaces said, as well as Google's plans to build a data center in Mt. Holly. The region is measuring significant growth in the innovation-based industry, Desplaces said, proving that the area's economics is tied to more than real estate and tourism.

Ranking 11th in the study was the nearby region of Myrtle-Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach.

"Obviously, South Carolina has an overall positive climate for location, relocation and for businesses," Desplaces said. "The question is how we handle the allocation of resources and the coordinating effort as it pertains to growth."

As a whole, Southeast states fared particularly well in the study. Receiving the top ranking in the index was the town of Ocala, Fla; Wilmington, N.C., ranked second.

To view the index in full, click here

as provided by Charleston Regional Business Journal - By Molly Parker , Staff Writer