kitchen countertopsIn West Ashley, SC

Multifamily real estate firm will build 155 single-family townhomes in growing Charleston suburb at Bees Ferry Road as part of expanding Storia platform

“The real work begins now,” added Matthew Beck, RangeWater development director for the Charleston and Nashville. “Our team’s ability to immerse ourselves in the fabric of an existing neighborhood is a defining quality in our process, and one we very much look forward to delivering on.”

RangeWater Real Estate has closed on 17 acres at Bees Ferry Road and Bluewater Way in the vibrant West Ashley community, in Charleston, S.C.

The multifamily developer is planning an all 3-bedroom, 2-bath community of townhomes called Bellerose at Bees Ferry, a Storia neighborhood. The beautifully appointed homes will have one-car garages, 9-foot ceilings, gourmet kitchens with top-end appliances and stone countertops. The community will feature an open-air club house, pool, firepits and planned events to delight residents.

“We’re excited to be part of the thriving West Ashley community,” said Palmer McArthur, RangeWater’s Managing Director of the Carolinas and Tennessee. “The city of Charleston is investing in Plan West Ashley to support this area as a future employment node and commercial hub.”

Charleston Parks Conservancy is planning The West Ashley Greenway & Bikeway and the Charleston International Airport is less than a 20-minute drive away.

“Charleston is one of our favorite places to develop because of the lifestyle and economic opportunity here,” said Steven Shores, Chairman and CEO of RangeWater. “Residents are attracted to the beautiful beaches and waterways of this area, as well as Charleston’s historic charm and plentiful jobs. We’re proud to bring a Storia neighborhood to best serve this demographic.”

RangeWater closed on the 17-acre property and will break ground in August. First move-ins are slated for October 2023. Bellerose at Bees Ferry will be convenient to parks, waterways and popular destinations like Edisto River Brewing Company and Southern Roots Smokehouse.

“The real work begins now,” added Matthew Beck, RangeWater development director for the Charleston and Nashville. “Our team’s ability to immerse ourselves in the fabric of an existing neighborhood is a defining quality in our process, and one we very much look forward to delivering on.”

Privately owned RangeWater was founded in 2006. The company acquires, develops, manages and invests in multifamily communities across the Southeastern and Southwestern United States, with a $6.3 billion portfolio.

RangeWater’s Storia division is deploying more than $800 million in capital across the Sun Belt to build homes for rent (also known as BTR, or build-to-rent). RangeWater launched its first Storia properties in Georgia and has several thousand BTR units in the pipeline, with new communities under development from Atlanta in the Southeast to Boulder, Colorado, in the Mountain West to San Antonio and Fort Worth, Texas in the Southwest.

Today, BTR is more than 15 percent of RangeWater’s portfolio. The company has been awarded 95 projects representing 12,488 homes in communities across the country under management or development in 64 cities in 11 states for more than 28 clients.

Bellerose at Bees Ferry will be the company’s first Storia project in S.C., though RangeWater is active in the Charleston region with conventional multifamily properties. The company recently built and sold The Merchant, an award-winning community in a historic Charleston neighborhood that included 18 buildings spanning several city blocks. RangeWater has 11 communities under management in the state.

About RangeWater Real Estate

RangeWater is a fully integrated multifamily real estate company creating fulfilling experiences for its partners, clients, residents and employees across the Sun Belt. The Atlanta-based company has acquired and developed more than 20,000 multifamily units since its inception in 2006 representing in excess of $6.3 billion in total capitalization. RangeWater currently manages a balanced portfolio of over 86,000 multifamily units across 11 states. With offices in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, Tampa and Salt Lake City, RangeWater targets high job growth markets with demand for new housing. For more information, visit http://www.liverangewater.com/LiveRangeWater.com.

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CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Mold, debris and bugs -- a persistent problem several West Ashley families have in their apartments.

Dana Washington and her two young children moved into The Shires Apartments complex just four months ago. They were hoping for a fresh start.

But then, Washington and her kids started to get sick.

"I am getting headaches, I am dizzy, it is hard for me to get up and work, and then I come home, but when I get up and work, I feel better because I am out of the house," says Washington.

For Dana, it has gotten to the point where her daughter has developed a cough, and her son was hospitalized twice in one day.

"He got worse at the house. He actually developed a fever at the house. So, I was panicking, like I do not know what to do, like I am giving him chicken noodle soup, I'm doing everything," says Washington.

That's when she says her doctor told her they're experiencing symptoms due to mold exposure.

"We went to the hospital, and they let me know it must be something coming from our home, like something we are digesting," says Washington.

Dana tells us she started searching through her home to see what could be causing the problems. That's when she found the mold growing in an unused closet next to her son's room.

Washington says she reached out to her apartment management more than a week ago.

She was told they were going to address the issues, but so far, nothing has happened.

“I have been waiting, I have barely left home, because I am waiting for them to come and to tell us what to do, so we can get out of here," says Washington.

And as she waits, she worries about her children's health.

"I do not know what I would do without my kids. When I saw my son sick in that hospital bed, and he couldn’t even- I had to pick my child up. I don’t know what I would do if I lost my kids," says Washington

In the meantime, Charles House, a non-profit that helps people dealing with housing problems, is stepping in.

“Our question is, what is going to be done for this family? They are being hospitalized, they're ingesting this, the least we can do is put them in a hotel and remove them from the environment until something is done," says Makayla McColling with Charles House.

For now, Washington reminds others in the same situation to speak up.

"If you are going through the same issue, do not blame yourself," says Washington.

We have reached out to the management of the apartment complex and have not heard back.

If you would like to get in contact with Charles' House you can call them at +1 (854) 844-7185

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WEST ASHLEY, SC (WCIV) — A terrifying moment at a West Ashley pool turned a swim instructor into a hero.

Melissa Macdonald, a swim instructor and lifeguard of eight years, saved an 11-year-old girl from drowning last Thursday. She said it was one of the most terrifying days on the job.

“All of the sudden we heard someone in distress over in the corner, and someone started yelling for help," Macdonald recalled.

She got her students out of the water, and immediately ran to the other side of the pool where a girl was being pulled out of the water.

“She was floating face down. There weren’t really any signs of life, no movement, nothing like that,” Macdonald said. “She was starting to turn that blue color. You know that oxygen is just not flowing.”

Macdonald and a few other people at the pool started CPR.

"My brain just kind of goes into 'Go' mode,” she said. “I have never seen a kid at that stage. We call that hypoxia which means that the oxygen is not getting to the brain, it’s not flowing and you can tell by the shade of the skin.”

After seven rounds of CPR, the girl started breathing.

“It was like one of those things where you’re in the really stressful 'Go' mode, and you don’t know what’s going to happen, and then immediately you just feel a sense of relief,” said Macdonald.

While this was Macdonald’s first time having to save a child’s life, Amy Emde, the owner of Charleston Swim School, says drownings are more common than people think.

“Unfortunately, it happens about two to three times a year, not to the point where they’ve already drowned, such as this young girl did. But there’s been many times our instructors have had to jump in to save a child that’s actually drowning because someone isn’t paying attention,” Emde said.

Emde called Macdonald a hero, but Macdonald said she was just following her training.

"Knowing that she’s going to be okay, she was breathing when the situation had ended and just knowing that we did what we could and the kid is going to be okay, that helped me a lot," Macdonald said.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCIV) — Mold, termites and more. They've been constant problems for a woman and her family at The Shires Apartments in West Ashley.

She’s sought help for almost a year, and now she’s getting it. But only after she had the courage to go public with her concerns.

“You can see a lot of water damage in the apartment. Throughout the apartment, you can see where there’s termite beds, there’s dead termites, there’s mold in the wall.”

These are all problems Demetria McNeil says have been taking over her West Ashley apartment since she moved in with her mom, sister and niece last November.

“Since we moved in, we’ve complained. Literally when we transferred, because the one upstairs had mold as well,” she says.

Darlene, her mother, has sickle cell anemia, and Demetria is worried about her health.

“It got worse over the past few months as well. She was in the hospital recently for four and a half months, just got home on hospice,” Demetria says.

She says she reached out to the complex, and she says they sent someone out to fix one portion. The complex then gave her a letter, telling her how to prevent further damage.

The letter also gave them the options to move units or move out.

“You can’t keep cutting corners and cheating, you can’t paint over this no more. You have to take the walls out. You’ve got to gut it out,” Demetria says. “The floors, I know there’s mold underneath the floors. Our floor is wet now from the sewage, or whatever is leaking.”

She posted about the conditions to social media and was contacted by the team at Charles House, a non-profit that helps people dealing with housing problems.

“We’re trying to get an exterminator to come in and see what is beyond repair as far as termite damage. We’re going to try to get them some help with moving assistance and just do anything we can just to make this process a little easier,” says Makayla McCollin with Charles House.

Demetria’s family is now working on moving to a new home, and she has a message for anyone who is afraid of speaking up.

“People need to learn how to speak up. Stop living in fear. We deserve better.”

ABC News 4 reached out to JDC Management, the company that used to own The Shires apartments. They sent us a statement that says,

“The Shires Apartments sold to new ownership and JDC Management no longer manages the property. Service requests or issues that were brought to our attention by the Tenant, while under JDC Management, were addressed within a timely manner. The pictures the Tenant’s daughter is sharing to social media appear to be of an occurrence already remedied and treated. Guidance was given to the Tenant and family members to help prevent similar situations from occurring again.”

We also reached out to the new company that owns the complex to ask what kind of renovations they plan to do to the unit and the complex. We are still waiting to hear back.

Beat the heat this summer with Cold Shoulder Gourmet, Charleston’s newest sandwich shop.

Owned and solely operated by Craig Edmunds, Cold Shoulder has been selling out every day since opening May 26.

Currently, Edmunds offers eight sandwiches — the Gourmet, Classic, Else, Spicy, Simple, Sweet (Nutella and powdered sugar), Vegetarian and Vegan — made fresh every morning, served on focaccia bread. His most popular sandwich, the Spicy, is made with nduja (a spicy, spreadable pork sausage), Toscanino picante salami, greens, Parmesan, truffle cream and truffle hot sauce.

Many of the sandwiches are made in the morning, ready to go. But towards the end of service when all the premade ones are gone, Edmunds makes them fresh until supplies last.

Before opening Cold Shoulder, Edmunds worked with Patty Floersheimer and Trudi Wagner at both goat.sheep.cow locations for several years. While there, “honed” the skills he uses at Cold Shoulder, slicing cured meats fresh with a deli slicer, selecting cheeses that pair well with the meats and making homemade truffle cream. Meats are sourced from Smoking Goose Meatery in Indianapolis, In.; truffles from The Truffleist in New York City; freshly baked focaccia bread from Charleston’s Saffron bakery; cheeses imported from Italy; and local greens from new producer King Tide Farm.

“I’m so thankful that they kept me on … It was an invaluable experience,” Edmunds said. “Those ladies are rockstars.”

The shop’s name, Edmunds said, holds a double meaning: a reference to the cold shoulder of a prosciutto leg that hangs in Italian delis and the metaphorical cold shoulder given to food and beverage workers, “a community who maybe isn’t always served,” he said.

The Kenyan native moved to Charleston a decade ago from his hometown of Nairobi, did a gap year traveling through Italy, Spain and Portugal and settled into the Lowcountry after driving along the east coast.

“The whole goal was one of my mates ended up going to South Africa for University or the UK,” Edmunds, now 29 years old, said. “And I just needed to get off the African continent. I’m a beach bum at heart, so when I came to the U.S. I drove down the east coast and just kind of fell in love with this weird, lovely little city. I couldn’t bring myself to break away.”

When he first opened Cold Shoulder in May, Edmunds was making around 50-60 sandwiches a day and selling out. Now, he makes around 150 or more … and still sells out.

On July 4, Cold Shoulder sold out just before 9:30 a.m. He opens the shop at 8 a.m. Wake up early and wait in line to try a sandwich from the one-man sandwich show.

Cold Shoulder Gourmet is located at 1684 Old Towne Road next to Locals and opens at 8 a.m. Thurs.-Sun.

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