Commercial Roof Repair in Summers Corner, SC

Greenville News

When thinking about trees in December, most of us picture a freshly cut evergreen nestled into a space of honor and decked with lights and ornaments.

However, the Arbor Day Foundation would like us to have a very different vision: native trees, planted outdoors to benefit people, wildlife, soil, and even the air.

Today, where trees are clear-cut daily and new subdivisions seem to pop up overnight, a holiday designated to planting trees could not be more important! As we planted trees back on Dec. 2, we discussed the origins of Arbor Day.

In South Carolina, Arbor Day is celebrated on the first Friday in December. This date was selected because trees planted in South Carolina during this time have the greatest potential to survive; they have time during dormancy to acclimate before the stresses of hot, dry summers. All 50 states celebrate an Arbor Day, and many are in the spring, usually the last Friday in April.

The very first Arbor Day was celebrated on April 10, 1872, in Nebraska City in the then-territory of Nebraska. J. Sterling Morton, one of the founders of Arbor Day, and his new bride, Caroline Joy French, moved from New York to Nebraska on the day of their wedding in 1854. While Morton started in Nebraska as editor of the Nebraska News, he was appointed secretary of state for the territory in 1858 and also served as the acting territorial governor.

If it was happening in Nebraska (or even beyond its borders), Morton knew about it. One of the things that caught his attention was the marked lack of trees. As he grew up in New York and attended college in Michigan, trees were constant companions.

In Nebraska, Morton and his wife missed trees, and not just for their beauty. Morton recognized the importance of trees to the whole environment, but specifically for their vital role in the control of soil erosion. Morton envisioned his beloved Nebraska full of trees. He planted trees all through his 160-acre estate to see if they could withstand the Nebraska climate, and if they would make good windbreaks or help to stabilize soil.

Morton also saw the value in trees as a resource for building material and food. He planted an expansive orchard — some of the original trees he planted remain in the Arbor Lodge State Park and Arboretum today.

Early in 1872, Morton shared his vision with the State Board of Agriculture, on which he served. The board made a resolution to set aside April 10 for the first Arbor Day, a holiday set around the planting of trees, with prizes for individuals and counties for planting the most trees. In fact, some 200 trees were planted that day on Morton’s own property. He wrote in his diary, “Arbor Day, an invention of mine, now becomes a public holiday, destined to become a blessing to posterity as well as to ourselves. It is devoted to tree planting & premiums are given to the largest planter by the State Board of Agriculture. On the Morton place, today, two hundred elms, ash and linden trees are set out on East Line and East Avenue.”

More than 1 million trees were planted that day throughout Nebraska. Seeing the success of that first Arbor Day, Gov. Robert W. Furnas, the other recognized founder of the holiday, officially designated April 10 as Arbor Day in 1874. By 1885, Arbor Day became a state holiday with the date of April 22, in honor of Morton's birthday. The holiday quickly became popular around the country, with all states having an Arbor Day by 1905, except for Delaware, which adopted the holiday in 1910. Today, Arbor Day is celebrated around the world.

This year, as you celebrate with a cut tree brought inside, an artificial tree, or enjoy trees in nature, think about planting some trees on Arbor Day next year.

Beth Button is outreach coordinator of the Watershed Ecology Center.

LITTLE HAITI, Fla. - You’ll be hard-pressed to find a 7-on-7 showcase that features the level of talent that was running around Dade County on Friday night for a spot on Raw’s roster.

In its inaugural event for the organization, Raw brought in elite talent from coast to coast, while also highlighting some of South Florida’s best in a setting where players went through individual drills, and then ran through a ton of 1-on-1 situations.

Here were some of the standouts:

ALPHA DOG: Julian Sayin, QB, 2024, Carlsbad (Cali.) High, Alabama commit

It’s not often that folks in South Florida get to see what an elite arm looks like up close, so when a five-star starts spraying it across the yard, it becomes evident to everyone around.

Sayin was accurate to all levels of the field and flexed a big-time arm when throwing outside the numbers. There was no question to anyone at Little Haiti Soccer Park about who the best player on the field was and that’s because Sayin made throw after throw.

The future Crimson Tide gunslinger also showed some promising leadership characteristics as a guy who wasn’t afraid to be vocal about getting guys in the right spot or making sure he and his receivers were on the same page.

Sayin also competed all the way through, and while things were getting heated and exciting on one side of the field, he would go to the other to make sure guys on that side were getting solid reps in, even though that wasn’t where some of the big time dudes were lining up.

NEXT FIVE OFFENSE

– LaWayne McCoy, ATH, 2024, Miami (Fla.) Central: McCoy was late to the party and missed most of the stretching and individual work, but that did not seem to slow him down or hold him back at all. From the moment he strapped on his cleats, the two-way standout at the South Florida powerhouse made contested catch after contested catch while bringing in the highlight reel snag of the evening when he went over a defensive backs back and snagged the ball out of the air with one hand (in what would be considered tight coverage). It’s still unclear which side of the ball the Top247 talent will end up playing at the next level, but McCoy made his case to catch passes at the Power 5 level on Friday.

– Brandon Winton, WR, 2024, Bradenton (Fla.) IMG Academy: Winton was the first to get the crowd roaring after essentially leaving a defender in the dust on an in-route. The Tennessee native playing his high school ball at the national powerhouse proved that he could create separation and win contested balls over defensive backs. He also showcased some speed, coming down with a finger-tip deep ball from Sayin, who dropped in the perfect spot. Winton did a good job coming down with it.

– Mazeo Bennett, WR, 2024, Greenville (SC) High: The Top247 wideout and former Tennessee commit showed why there are multiple SEC and top ACC programs in the running for his commitment. At 5-foot-11, 175-pounds, Bennett was smooth getting in and out of breaks, came down with 50-50 balls, and showed some speed as he ran past South Florida defensive backs to win deep. Bennett is a clean route runner who may have made more plays if some balls were thrown in better spots.

– Darriel Harper, WR, 2025, Miami (Fla.) Columbus: A member of the state champions in Florida’s highest classification, Harper was the best slot receiver on the field on Friday night. His quickness and speed was a lot for defenders to handle. In a setting where playing cornerback is already tough, Harper was having his way on the inside. At Miami Immortals tryouts on Thursday night, Harper was best one out there as well.

– Naeshaun Montgomery, WR, 2025, Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman: In every setting, Montgomery seems to showcase why he could end up being a highly sought after wideout in the Class of 2025. Montgomery seems to have surpassed his listed 6-foot height from the summer months, where he earned an offer from Miami during a 7-on-7 event at the school. Whether it’s in the slot or on the outside, the sophomore made plays on Friday night. He went for the big highlight play late in the session where he beat the corner by a few steps and tried to just palm the football, but it bounced off his one hand and hit the ground. Still, the separation was impressive.

NEXT FIVE DEFENSE

– Max Redmon, SAF, 2025, Palm Beach (Fla.) Cardinal Newman: Redmon may have a wide receiver designation on his profile, but it’s clear that he’s a safety all the way. Despite looking and being built like a backend defender, Redmon may have taken more reps than all but one. He lost a few against a strong group of wideouts, but he also intercepted a ball, and got hands on multiple other passes. It would be understandable if a safety didn’t look totally comfortable in this setting, but Redmon had a competitive drive and wasn’t afraid to work out on the perimeter or on the inside against slots and he consistently flashed.

– Jaydan Hardy, SAF, 2024, Lewisville (Texas) High: It was clear from independent drills that Hardy was sort of gliding out there. He has fluid hips and can change direction cleanly and that showed in the 1-on-1 session where he gave one of South Florida’s top slot receivers, Miami (Fla.) Columbus’ Jose Leon, a hard time in coverage. He was also one of the few to contain the aforementioned Harper, and also came down with an interception during that portion. He was active early in the session and then stopped taking as many reps as the event went on. When he was out there, he was one of the best looking defensive backs.

– Dmitri Kinchens, CB, 2024, Miami (Fla.) Edison: If that last name looks familiar, it may be because you know of his first-team All-American older brother, Miami safety Kamren Kinchens. I mentioned earlier that Redmon took more reps than all but one. That one was Kinchens who literally would not come off the field as he challenged receiver after receiver and won much more than he lost. The Dade County product had to be essentially cut off from taking reps at one point. Aside from making plays out in the secondary, Kinchens competitive nature makes him more than deserving for a feature.

– Keon Young, CB, 2025, Auburndale (Fla.) High: The Polk County product passed the eye test as soon as he stepped onto the field, so it was even more encouraging to find out that he was a Class of 2025 prospect. Young was an out-of-towner who was an active participant and broke up a ton of passes, one coming against a Top247 wide receiver in his class in Cortez Mills. The previous USF staff was the first to offer the young defensive back. I could see Young eventually attracting Power 5 programs once more get eyes on him.

– Ben Hanks Jr., CB, 2025, Miami (Fla.) Booker T. Washington: The early Top100 talent showed why programs like Miami, Florida, Alabama, and Georgia have extended offers. All of 6-foot-1, Hanks uses his length and speed to stick pass catchers. A few good plays by wideouts were made while he was in coverage, but when Hanks was out there he showed promising tools and disciplined eyes as wideouts tried to shake him with double moves. I didn’t see Hanks get beat deep and when the ball is in the air, the Dade County native can track it down and make a play on it.

MORE STANDOUTS

– Baltimore (Md.) St. Frances Academy quarterback Michael Van Buren has a live arm and was maybe the best quarterback during the red zone portion of the day with some impressive back shoulder throws to his wideouts. He wasn’t as accurate as he could have been at times, but it’s clear there is arm talent. When he was on he threw some of the more impressive balls on the night.

– Sticking with quarterbacks, Miami (Fla.) Central bound quarterback Antonio Smith, a Miami (Fla.) Killian transfer, looks like an arm who could continue the success at the storied Dade County program. He doesn’t have many of the desired measurables, but he could be a highly-efficient passer in the area.

– It’s easy to see why some of college football’s best are on 2025 Tampa Bay (Fla.) Tech wide receiver Dallas Wilson. The big 6-foot-3, 180-pounder didn’t take a ton of reps but the few that he did were impressive with one contested down field coaching drawing some heavy reactions from the surrounding crowd.

– There wasn’t a bigger pass catcher on the field than Melville (NY) St. Anthony’s Korey Duff Jr. The 6-foot-5, 190-pounder showed impressive body control and hands at his size, making probably the second most impressive catch of the day behind McCoy’s when a tipped pass stayed in the air and Duff was able to bring it in and handle it while falling down. He made another catch in tight coverage over the middle of the field, which was encouraging.

– Miami (Fla.) Columbus slot Jose Leon had one of the best routes on the evening when he lost a defender and made a catch over the middle after changing direction on a dime.

SUMMERVILLE — When eighth grade history teacher Charity Carpenter first walked into her classroom in the new East Edisto Middle School on Aug. 8, she had to leave again and walk around the building to work off her excitement.

It was the Monday before school was set to start, and the hallways still smelled of new paint. Other teachers wheeled carts and trolleys full of equipment and school supplies into classrooms. Friends greeted each other, asking about each other’s summers or commenting on the new school.

Around the corner from her classroom, Carpenter bumped into fellow teacher Amy Baldwin, who was directing students from her Gateway to Technology class how to unload her computers and robotics equipment. The students had been in Baldwin’s class in previous years at Oakbrook Middle School and had volunteered to help her unpack her new classroom.

“How’s your room looking?” Baldwin asked Carpenter.

“I just walked in and I just had to leave my stuff there and take a walk,” Carpenter said. “I was just overwhelmed.”

East Edisto is the biggest school she’s ever been in, Carpenter told The Post and Courier. And the numbers back her up. The 120,000-square-foot school cost $31 million and took 16 months to complete. It’s located off S.C. Highway 61 behind Beech Hill Elementary. At full capacity, it can hold 1,000 students.

When school officially begins on Aug. 15, it will welcome 850.

“We’re pretty close to what we can hold,” Principal Brion Rutherford said, adding that it’s located in the Oakbrook area, one of the fastest-growing parts of Dorchester County.

“There are a number of new neighborhoods going in,” he said. “We’ll be at our capacity pretty quickly.”

He and Shane Robbins, the new superintendent of Dorchester School District 2, said the new school is a factor of growth not only throughout the district but also in the Oakbrook area near the Ashley River.

A superintendent for 15 years at various districts, Robbins is no stranger to new school construction.

“There is so much excitement for students, families, teachers and staff members to move into a brand-new structure and make it their own and their home,” Robbins said.

‘Exploding’ with growth

Nestled in the Oakbrook area, the school is surrounded by large and growing housing developments like Legend Oaks Plantations and Summers Corner, which are adding thousands of homes in the coming years.

Cheyenne and Brennan Ledyard live in Drayton Oaks, a small subdivision about a three-minute drive from East Edisto Middle. Like many residents in the area, they’re still fairly new, having moved in when the neighborhood went up about two years ago.

They say the Oakbrook area, particularly the neighborhoods on either side of Highway 61, is “exploding.”

“We’re having tremendous growth on this side,” Cheyenne said.

Last year, their son Hudson attended Gregg Middle School, on the other side of Dorchester Road and the Ashley River. Now he’s starting seventh grade at East Edisto.

“He is very excited because this bus arrives about 20 minutes later than what he had to ride last year,” Brennan said with a laugh.

She and Cheyenne said they feel the middle school is warranted, especially since there are already two elementary schools in the area, Beech Hill and Sand Hill. Their only concern is that traffic on Highway 61 might be worse in the mornings now.

Down Highway 61 in Summers Corner, Michelle Cheslek was riding her bike with her 6-year-old daughter Olivia on a recent afternoon. And even though Olivia still has several years before she goes to middle school, Cheslek said she’s already relieved there’s one that close.

“Otherwise I think she would have been going to Gregg, which is a little farther away,” Cheslek said.

Like the Ledyards, Cheslek said the area is growing. Her family just closed on their house in May, and behind them, construction is underway on more houses.

Growth in the school district isn’t anything new. DD2′s student population has grown from around 16,000 students in the 2000-01 school year to more than 25,000 last year.

Managing growth

Despite population growth in Summerville, the district’s student population saw a slight dip during the pandemic, according to DD2. During the 2019-20 school year, there were 26,194 students at the school. This past year, there were 25,404.

“If you look at our numbers from the end of last school year, they replicate our numbers from the 2014-15 school year,” Robbins said, referencing a year with 25,175 students.

Robbins said that’s a factor of the pandemic.

“That’s a symptom of students that stayed in a virtual environment not associated with the school or possibly went the home-school route, and ... that wasn’t a Dorchester 2 issue or trend,” he said. “That’s something we saw across the state and honestly across the country.”

While those numbers have started to come back, Robbins said the bigger change is where the students are.

“What I think you’re seeing is a shift where geographically people are living in the county and where the population shifts have occurred,” he said. “For us, there is going to be growth that we’re going to rebound from post-COVID, so we need to have a long-term facilities study completed or updated.”

Robbins said East Edisto is about the average size of a middle school, and he doesn’t want it to get much larger than 1,000 students. He does believe the district will see more growth in the coming years and should have a plan to deal with that.

But he would rather utilize space in schools throughout the district before building any more schools.

“When you see numbers shift like that ... you look at the occupancy of each facility and, in lieu of building a new structure because one structure is at capacity, you look at, ‘OK, how can I adjust the attendance lines to make sure all my structures are at capacity before I have to go to the taxpayers and ask for money to build for more structures?’ ”

In other words, the district will look at occupancy levels at each school and send students to schools with more room.

That can be “emotional” for the community, he said, which is why the district should have a formalized plan in place. That would be an involved process that looks at everything from county population projections to roads, bridges and “potential obstacles” along bus routes.

“There’s a lot that goes into play when you look at making a decision on what’s going to work best, but the overall goal is to try to fully maximize all of our facilities so that we don’t have to consistently add on and build new structures because there’s growth in one particular geographical area,” Robbins said.

Earlier this year, district officials reported East Edisto was on track to be over-capacity within a few years of its opening. Robbins said that should only be a problem if the district doesn’t put those plans in place.

“There is a lot of growth in that area,” he said. “If we stayed status quo and we didn’t look at those things, absolutely it would end up being overcrowded.”

New opportunities for students

Baldwin is well aware of the growth. Not only will this be her 23rd year teaching in the district, but she attended DD2 schools from kindergarten to high school. That growth brings more opportunities for students, she said.

Take her subject, Gateway to Technology, which covers STEM subjects like robotics, design and engineering.

“That was such a small class back (when I first started teaching), and now it’s bloomed and blossomed and we have all these engineering avenues,” she said. “I have a sixth grader entering school, and the number of choices of classes, things like piano, that didn’t exist when I was a student ... So just the opportunities our district has brought as it’s grown has been really wonderful.”

Rutherford said he had some input on the classrooms and other features while construction was underway, such as what kind of designs and furniture would best promote collaboration in STEM classrooms and where best to put electives so that they’re located close to the sixth grade hallway.

One important aspect of the design was safety features, he said. Those include cameras, alarm systems that will alert people when exterior doors are left open and a crosswalk across Highway 61 that will be manned during school drop-off and dismissal. There will also be a dedicated office for the school’s social worker to help address students’ mental health needs.

Rutherford echoed Baldwin’s excitement for the array of opportunities — and praised Gateway to Technology in particular. He said Baldwin and the program she set up at Oakbrook have won multiple awards throughout the state. The same goes for chorus teacher Maurice Burgess, he said, who will run East Edisto’s fine arts programs.

“I might be partial to this, but I think we have the best teachers in the school district, if not the Lowcountry,” Rutherford said.

They might not have the bright lights of the big city, the hustle and bustle of crowds on Fifth Avenue or the Miracle Mile, but South Carolina’s metropolitan areas have an appeal all their own.

Not surprisingly, people from large cities across the country have been discovering the benefits of the Palmetto State’s smaller metro areas and have been moving in droves since the pandemic to improve their work-life balance.

As of July 2021, the U.S. Census Bureau reported South Carolina’s population of 5.19 million was 1.4 percent higher than the previous year, and the metropolitan centers accounted for much of the growth.

“These areas have a lot of the same amenities as the bigger cities, like New York and Chicago, good retail, entertainment; they still have that city vibe, that’s what makes them so attractive,” said Laura Ullrich, an economist at the Charlotte branch of the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond.

As the population grows in Charleston, Greenville and Charlotte-Gastonia at the North and South Carolina border, like the Pied Piper, companies are following the crowd of young workers and taking advantage of other amenities the state has to offer.

“Companies want a place where younger people are moving,” said Ullrich.

Add the state’s location on the East Coast, Charleston’s port and tax incentives related to driving additional population growth, and it’s an ideal enticement for businesses to invest in the state, said Ullrich.

Walmart Inc., encouraged by Charleston’s vibrancy, growing population, the state’s pro-business environment and its proximity to the deep-water Port of Charleston, opened a 3 million-square-foot import distribution

“One of the advantages of being a member of this vibrant community is the region’s existing infrastructure, including the Port of Charleston and Interstates 26 and 95,” said Charles Crowson, director of corporate communications.

Other large corporations and smaller businesses are, like Walmart, establishing themselves or expanding in and around the state’s bigger metropolitan areas.

It’s showing up in employment numbers. Statewide, seasonally adjusted figures from the S.C. Department of Employment and Workforce shows 79,900 new jobs were created since July 2021. Charleston drove 23 percent of the growth, with 18,400 jobs added. Greenville was second with 12,300 new positions, or 15 percent of the total.

Over the last 12 months, $3.8 billion in new investments have been made through 115 projects developed across the state, said Kelly Coakley, director of marketing and communications at the S.C. Department of Commerce.

“We’ve tracked about a billion dollars’ worth of capital infusion announced in the Charleston region over the past year,” said Megan Fink, director of marketing and communications at the Charleston Regional Development Alliance. “That includes capital raises by local firms as well as capital investments by local firms.”

In the 10-county Upstate region that includes Greenville, “We have been remarkably successful coming out of and during COVID,” said John Lummus, president and CEO of the Upstate SC Alliance.

He attributed much of the state’s good economic fortune to the statewide policy that allowed manufacturers to be considered a necessary business and stay open during the pandemic.

From 2020 to last month, 22 new projects brought a total investment of about $495 million to Greenville, according to the alliance.

At its new Dorchester County distribution center, Walmart employs more than 1,300 workers. It anticipates hiring and investing in the training and development of more than 200 more local full-timers.

And for manufacturers — one of the leading job growth sectors in the state — South Carolina has a “real advantage over competitor regions,” said Lummus.

“The state has an incredible manufacturing economy and high-tech companies in the manufacturing sphere,” he said. “In the Upstate, we have 110,000 people working in manufacturing and 2,100 manufacturers.”

Looking at the unemployment rate — 3.2 percent in July — one might think that the industry is having trouble going to find the workforce they need, Lummus said.

“But they are finding workers from employed and underemployed people who can make more by moving up into higher tech jobs,” he said.

Combine that with ReadySC — a workforce training program that is part of the state’s technical college system — and manufacturers have a healthy pool of workers to draw from.

The same holds in Charleston and its suburbs, where Volvo Car USA announced it would build its first US plant in 2015 to manufacture its S60 mid-size sedan and XC90 sport utility vehicle.

“The Lowcountry offers easy access to international ports and infrastructure, a well-trained labor force, an attractive investment environment and experience in the high-tech manufacturing sector,” said Katherine Bergmann, head of communications and community relations. “All of that, combined with the quality of life, makes Charleston a great place to live and build a career.”

Volvo expects to grow its workforce over the next year and is looking for talent from all areas and demographics. As it competes for workers, recruitment challenges exist, Bergmann said.

But workforce challenges are particularly prevalent for smaller businesses in growth sectors, including leisure and hospitality, where 6,000 jobs have been added in the Charleston region over the last 12 months as the industry continued to recover from the pandemic.

One of the Charleston area’s longtime restaurant chains knows the labor challenges all too well. The Kickin’ Chicken is now closed on Tuesdays at all five locations throughout the Lowcountry because it can’t get enough help.

“It’s a struggle at all locations,” said Chip Roberts, president and co-founder of the 25-year-old dining chain. “The problem is from top to bottom, from management all the way down. It’s thin all over.”

The restaurant group should have about 250 employees, but Roberts said it’s operating on about 150.

The Kickin’ Chicken has done better during the summer on hourly staff, but Roberts said, “If they don’t feel like coming to work, they don’t. You are already thin, so what are you going to do, fire them?”

Roberts said the chain considered closing part of the dining rooms to limit demands on the waitstaff, but he noted the restaurants still need someone with management skills to open and close.

“It’s hard to find some skilled labor and cooks,” he said.

Roberts pointed out it’s easier to find help in the Charleston area’s suburbs of Ladson, Goose Creek and Summerville.

Marilyn Knox with Culver’s restaurant experienced that firsthand.

When the franchisee opened her second Charleston-area Culver’s frozen custard and ButterBurger restaurant on Ladson Road on Aug. 29, she already had all 60 new employees lined up.

Knox said it took about a month to hire all the workers she needed at the new restaurant site.

She believes the secret is the way the company takes care of its employees through incentives, bonuses and holiday parties.

“People want to feel like they are part of a team,” she said.

At the newly opened Pasture & Grain restaurant in Mount Pleasant, owner Ira Hill remembered being fully staffed almost immediately after announcing the new eatery planned to open in a former pizza restaurant in June.

“As time went on, we lost 40 percent of those we hired,” he said in mid-August.

“It’s been a labor of love for interviews,” Hill said. “We are short-staffed, but we’re not poorly staffed. It’s universally challenging. You want quality workers as well.”

He also is well aware of the challenges throughout the food-service industry in hiring and retaining workers.

“We are entering the business at one of the worst times in the industry, so we have to get it right and provide quality.”

Construction is another sector grappling since COVID-19 with a nationwide labor shortage driven by a lack of qualified help, and that could impede progress in areas that need improvement to ensure the continued growth of South Carolina’s metropolitan centers.

In South Carolina, more than 90 percent of companies responding to an Associated General Contractors of America survey said they have positions open. Nearly 80 percent are having difficulty finding workers to fill them. Employers that belong to the trade group attribute the crunch to a lack of candidates with the specific jobsite skills they need.

“There is plenty of work to perform and not enough people to do the projects,” said Ken Simonson, AGC’s chief economist

Staff reporter Warren L. Wise contributed to this report.

Celebrate the small town feel of Summerville, and the easy, friendly cadence of life in the Lowcountry. Summers Corner weaves together beautiful homes, artful parks, open spaces, and proximity to the things people want – like schools only a short bike ride away and local retail offerings – to form a close-knit, vibrant community. Currently, Summers Corner is home to more than 100 families – and new neighbors and friends are always on the way.

Homes at Summers Corner beautifully bring the Lowcountry’s unique character to life – through wide front porches, expansive windows, a mix of architectural styles, and a variety of street scenes. No resident is more than a 5-minute walk from their home to a park or public garden. The result is a community that feels connected to both the land and the people who call it home.

What’s more, Summers Corner gives buyers the freedom to choose homes designed by four different builders, each with their own style: Saussy Burbank, Sabal Homes, Stanley Martin Homes and Dan Ryan Builders. Homes start in the $200s, and range in size from 1,580 to 3,619 square feet.

Home To A 95-Acre Lake, Nature Trails, Community Parks, Open Spaces & Much More

Connectedness is a recurring theme at Summers Corner, especially when it comes to the natural world. Buffalo Lake, 95 acres of fresh water, gives residents the opportunity to explore local water and engage with area wildlife. From the Lake’s fishing dock, residents can launch canoes and kayaks and fish for largemouth bass, crappie, blue gill and catfish. The open-air lakeside pavilion offers opportunities to relax and take in the beauty of other nearby residents, like ibis, eagles, and osprey.

Those who walk, hike, and bike can take advantage of Summers Corner’s extensive nature trail system that includes everything from quarter-mile strolls to 3.8-mile loops, while still having access to free wi-fi. Along the way, residents venture through community parks like Archer Park, Summers Park and Helix Park.

Lowcountry summers demand access to cool waters, and the Community Pool House at Summers Corner, exclusively for residents, features a resort-style swimming pool with a large deck, a shallow children’s area and splash pad, changing rooms and restrooms, plus shady areas for barbecues and picnics.

If there’s a heart to Summers Corner, you’ll likely find it at The Commons, home to the Corner House Café + Information Center. Visitors can learn more about the community, and everyone can find master gardeners toiling away in our demonstration gardens. At the café, enjoy roasted coffee, homemade pastries, delicious seasonal fare, and craft beer and wine. And, everyone’s invited to a mix of events – from food truck rodeos and live music to the farmers’ market and art classes.

Top-Rated Schools & A New Performing Arts Center

Summers Corner is within walking distance of Sand Hill Elementary, which serves students from kindergarten through fifth grade, and is celebrating its third year, and the acclaimed Rollings Middle School of the Arts, which welcomed 695 students on its first day in August. Both schools are part of the top-rated Dorchester District Two school system. The centerpiece of the school, a 1,100-seat Performing Arts Center with orchestra and balcony seating, “black box” creative space, and intimate side porch, is scheduled to open in 2019.

If you’re ready to experience Summers Corner for yourself, stop in for a cup of coffee at Corner House Café + Information Center, located at 1609 Beech Hill Road in Summerville, SC 29485. Four decorated models are open daily Mon–Sat 10am–6pm; Sun 12–6pm. For more details, visit SummersCorner.com or call 843-377-8844.