City Marks Milestone in Park Circle Revitalization Effort

Earlier today, the City of North Charleston announced that a news conference will be held on Friday, February 8, 11 AM, at the entrance of Oak Terrace Preserve neighborhood in Park Circle (1500 East Liberty Park Circle, North Charleston, SC 29405).

Mayor Keith Summey and Councilman Bob King will speak, marking the beginning of Phase 2 of the City’s award-winning Oak Terrace Preserve neighborhood, with comments on upcoming redevelopment projects in the historic district of North Charleston.

The news conference will also address the City’s pending plans to revitalize sections of Rivers Avenue, and the northern end of the former naval base, after the December 2012 rails settlement with the State of South Carolina.

As a follow up for the public, a block party will be held on Saturday, February 9, as a free event, from 11 AM to 3 PM. The event is designed to celebrate the neighborhood’s progress over the past six years, and the construction of Phase 2, featuring food, fun, games, kids’ activities, and live entertainment.

“Oak Terrace Preserve opened the doors for the revitalization of Park Circle’s residential neighborhoods,” says Summey. “Until construction began on Phase 1, there had not been a new housing development in the Park Circle area for 50 years. Now, young families are coming back to the neighborhood, and private residential developments, like Mixson and Hunley Waters, are now gearing up with new construction as the recovery is gaining momentum after the national housing recession of 2008.”

Summey cited the unique advantages of Oak Terrace Preserve for families, with the Charleston County School of the Arts and nationally-ranked Academic Magnet High School within short walking distance of the neighborhood.

As a city owned, public-private project, Oak Terrace Preserve has received national recognition over the past five years, including Green Builder Magazine lists for top ‘green’ neighborhoods in the United States. Other City honors include the National League of Cities Award for Municipal Excellence and the Home Depot Foundation Award of Excellence for Sustainable Community Development.

Over the past two years, publications like This Old House, Bloomberg Business Week, and Men’s Journal have all recognized Park Circle as one of the nation’s ‘cool,’ up-and-coming neighborhoods. The Charleston City Paper readers voted Oak Terrace Preserve as the Charleston area’s “Best New Development of 2009”. KaBoom! cited North Charleston as a Playful City USA Community.

“This notoriety is a product of public and private efforts to redevelop a neighborhood that could have easily been lost without careful planning and investment,” adds Summey. “We’ve come a long way in six years, but I truly believe the best is yet to come.”

Oak Terrace Preserve is a 55-acre sustainable community owned by the City, and developed by private contractors. Homes are EarthCraft® Certified, and feature neo-traditional designs with a Lowcountry vernacular. Upon build-out, OTP will feature 374 homes and town homes, which includes a network of pocket parks, and some hundreds of preserved trees, including many grand oaks. Phase 2 will encompass the construction of 52 single family housing units and 16 town homes over the next 18 months.

Recent videos on the neighborhood:

Oak Terrace Preserve – Community

Oak Terrace Preserve - Schools

Mayor Summey on Oak Terrace Preserve's phase 2 and proximity to schools

Mayor Summey on Oak Terrace Preserve and Park Circle's revitalization

Information and video on Oak Terrace Preserve are in the media kit, at http://bit.ly/otpmediakit

For questions on the news conference, contact Ryan Johnson at the above email address and phone number. For inquiries on Oak Terrace Preserve, call or email Keith West, at the above email and phone number.

Information on Oak Terrace Preserve can be accessed online at http://www.oakterracepreserve.com.

Oak Terrace Preserve residents launch North Charleston's community video series

The City of North Charleston has released two video shorts, which depict residents of the City's Oak Terrace Preserve neighborhood discussing quality of life issues in their community. The videos, entitled "Community", and "Schools" were recorded in August, following a voluntary, unscripted format. The videos, on the City's YouTube Channel, are the first in a series of videos chronicling the progress of revitalization in the neighborhood.

"The videos illustrate a major impact of the City's efforts at attracting young homebuyers to Park Circle," says North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. "The influx of young families moving to the Park Circle area, and North Charleston, has been impressive. It's a sign that our revitalization strategy is working, even in relatively lean economic times. The number of young, white collar professionals coming to Oak Terrace, and the greater Park Circle area, has been fueled by major employers, as well as up-and-coming entrepreneurs".

Oak Terrace Preserve is a City-owned green residential project, which is privately developed by a team of builders and architects. Homes at the neighborhood are market rate, and combine the latest innovations in sustainable living with neo-traditional neighborhood design.

Community
Oak Terrace Preserve residents comment on their community's recognition as one of the nation's 'coolest, trendiest' neighborhoods, with its unique combination of green living, quality of life, and central location.



Schools
Parents and future parents see family-friendly Oak Terrace Preserve as uniquely positioned for their children's education, as the nationally-ranked Academic Magnet High School and the upcoming arts-infused elementary are within walking distance of the neighborhood.

North Charleston chosen as award finalist by the International Award for Livable Communities

The City of North Charleston was named a finalist in two categories for the International LivCom awards, which were selected based on applications submitted to the Board of the International Awards for Livable Communities, based in Berkshire, UK earlier this year.

The LivCom awards  are a United Nations Environment Program-backed competition designed to recognize civic environmental achievement. Since the awards competition was held in Songpa, South Korea this year, it was decided to defer any presentations until the competition is held in North America.

“No question, it is an honor to be selected as a leading city for sustainability in the world,” says North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey. “We hope to participate in future LivCom competitions. Nonetheless, this announcement is on a par with the National League of Cities and Home Depot Foundation awards of the past two years.”

Only two other American cities were finalists in the global awards program, Carmel, Indiana, and, Albuquerque, New Mexico. No American cities won awards in their respective categories at the competition in South Korea. Overall, the competition involved three days of intensive evaluation for 77 finalist cities from 26 countries. This was the largest awards event yet for LivCom.

North Charleston was a finalist for Category C (cities with populations from 75,001 to 150,000) in the Whole City awards, for its efforts at sustainable revitalization and urban planning of the East Montague Corridor and Park Circle. The City’s Oak Terrace Preserve residential project was a finalist for the Project Award, for its role as a prototype for sustainable, urban infill development.

Public Celebration for Oak Terrace Preserve Honors, May 22

North Charleston’s Oak Terrace Preserve neighborhood will be holding a block party for the general public from 11 AM to 4 PM on Saturday, May 22, at OTP’s 100 Dolphin Street. Called the "Super Terrificy, Double Fantasicy FREE For All Block Party."

http://www.otpblockparty.com/

The event will celebrate the community and The Sustainability Institute winning the first-ever Home Depot Award of Excellence for Sustainable Community Development in December 2009, and other honors such as the Charleston City Paper Reader’s Choice naming OTP the “Best New Development” in 2009 and 2010. The event features free food, live entertainment, games and kid activities, with tours of OTP and a session to meet the builders.

“We believe that the Award of Excellence and other recent honors are truly for the community,” says Elias Deeb, OTP project manager and president of Cedrus, LLC. “The award was initially presented in Washington, DC, with a news conference at City Hall in North Charleston, so this block party was a way for the entire public to celebrate spring and the community’s growing national profile.”



Deeb added that the public is invited to find out what makes Oak Terrace Preserve special, with its sense of community and sustainable building practices. OTP represents a fusion of traditional home design with the latest innovations in healthy, sustainable living. The neighborhood is receiving national acclaim for features like pervious sidewalks and a stormwater management system. The development has preserved more than 400 existing trees, including many century-old grand oaks.

Currently, the first phase of The Towns at Oak Terrace is underway by Carriage Hill Associates. Crescent Homes, Verdi Homes and the Pulte Group represent the remaining three builders at OTP. Oak Terrace Preserve is a City of North Charleston owned project, which is managed by Cedrus, LLC.

Upon build out, the 55-acre OTP will feature 374 homes and townhomes. With its EarthCraft® Certified homes, public spaces, preserved trees, recycled building material and innovative storm water management system, Oak Terrace Preserve has been recognized as a national leader in green, sustainable residential development. The neighborhood has been featured in GreenBuilder Magazine as one of the nation’s top residential developments. Other recognition has included listings of the Park Circle neighborhood in Men’s Journal and Cottage Living.

For more party information, please go to www.otpblockparty.com. For information on OTP, visit www.oakterracepreservesc.com.

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