January 29th, 2009 by Currie
Of all the acclaimed Charleston, Sc restaurants the one that gets the most press has got to be Hominy Grill, click to visit the Hominy Grill Website, located in our Elliotborough only a half a block from Chez Moi (where very little home cooking happens). Flip through a New York Times and you might just see an article on our little neighborhood grits place, or surf over to the Food Network and check out Robert Stelling cooking something delicious (click to view food network Hominy Grill). I always order a salad and the fried green tomatoes along with several sides like fried okra and collards or the pork chop if it is on the special board. The desserts are fabulous too! On Sunday the line is halfway down the block so I go for breakfast during the week and they have a newspaper box and open up at 7:30 so it’s a quick place to grab the paper and a coffee (and maybe a granola) to start the day. 
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January 26th, 2009 by Currie
Watch this interesting video and ask me about the commercial spaces for lease right next door to “Suite Sole” !
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January 26th, 2009 by Currie
So I ventured out Sunday morning to meet the owner and check out this space on Spring. It is a commercial residential zoning and has plenty of square feet for a small business office. The space is a little rough around the edges, but has potential and the owner is a really nice guy, who’s wife owns an art gallery next door. A big bonus to the space is that there is lots of parking, so if you are trying to get your foot in the door downtown and a sign up on Spring, this spot might be a good fit! Just be prepared to do some work or to overlook the rough edges.
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January 26th, 2009 by Currie
One of my greatest accomplishments on the daily scale is finding a good parking space, and since I have lived in Charleston off and on since before hurricane Hugo, I have an ever evolving bag of parking tricks for different locations around the city, the Gibbes Museum for example…never mind. That said, I would like to introduce the smart card as the latest way for the city to take your money. Having the SmartCard means you no longer have to walk around with a pocket full of quarters for the parking meters, just insert your credit-card size SmartCard and you’re good to go. I prefer broken meters or freind’s driveways or unpatrolled lots, but to each his own. SmartCards keep you from having to carry coins and they even refund unused minutes, but they don’t extend the time limit on the meter. You can pick up a SmartCard–or in my case pay your parking ticket–at 180 Lockwood Blvd., where parking is free, if you can find a spot in the lot. Despite the rumors to the contrary, there is lots of parking downtown and by the way, it would not kill any of us to walk more!
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January 23rd, 2009 by Currie
The price has come down below 200k on this perfect first home or pied-a-terre in downtown Charleston. Call me about owner financing or a lease to purchase! If you love to walk to Hampton Park and Downtown shops from your home, you should take a look at this house!
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January 22nd, 2009 by Currie
There are some new businesses working hard, renovating to open up in the Spring Cannon Commercial Corridor. I had a hand in finding some of them their new locations. Coming soon to 141 Spring St is Fuzzco design studio. Fuzzco has been amazing Charleston with their extremely inventive and unique style since 2005. They were previously located at 10 Storehouse Row in the Navy Yard at Noisette, but made the bold move last summer of purchasing a large home on Spring and putting it through a major renovation. The results are fantastic and while they do not yet have a sign up, rumor has it they are already hard at work in their newly renovated offices at 141 Spring. Also on Spring at number 162 is the innovative new salon Stela Blu, they are still working on renovation but plan to open in March, more on them will be forthcoming. Mac & Murphy a Charleston Paper Company is poised to open very soon at 74&1/2 Cannon. They report a unique line of stationary, cards, note pads and journals along with a meditative garden and a postage area so customers can purchase, write notes, and post correspondence all on location using their one of a kind paper products. On the food front, two new adorably petit restaurants are scheduled to open within the next month or so. On Rutledge, right next to the incomparable Cafe Lana is Mia Pomodori, a much anticipated Pizza restaurant in the tiny house formerly occupied by Dave’s Seafood Carryout. They have built a deck on which reportedly they will be serving up beer, wine and some very fresh and authentic italian cuisine. On the other side of the block on Coming is a tiny building that is being painted and renovated to house a sandwich shop, paper on the window hides the layout but I suspect a carry out situation, more to come on this as well.
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January 19th, 2009 by Currie
Last night I was driving and listening to a broadcast of Johnny Cash’s Live from Fulsom Prison recordings with commentary from inmates and guards at the prison. This morning I saw an article in the Charleston P&C about Noisette Foundation helping to rehabilitate prisoners by putting them to work on construction sites. The redevelopment of North Charleston continues to amaze me. The worst neighborhood is becoming the best neighborhood and the people who are skeptical just need to be better informed. The opportunities brought by development (in this case) are far outweighing any negative effects. The effort commonly associated with rehabbing buildings is now crossing over to rehabbing people. In the photograph below: Maurice Simmons, a graduate of the Lowcountry Civic Justice Corps, helps with the cleanup of a construction site on Cypress Street. The program is working; sending people out into freedom with skills they can use to keep them from going back to their old ways.
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January 18th, 2009 by Currie
I decided to write this post because I have so many first time homebuyers that I am trying to find an affordable home for right now. Even though the market is a bit deflated the rent is still strong so there are still not that many homes you can buy for cheaper monthly payments than what you pay in rent, and still, with most of my first time buyers, this is the goal. Monday, I closed a house with my clients Eric and Ann Marie and we were able to do just that. They actually bought the house next door to their rental and were able to purchase it at a price that makes their payments the same as what they were paying in rent at the equivalent house next door. It was a fun closing and a real success story. The only hiccup was the need to call in some subcontractor friends of mine to do some repairs at the last minute. Luckily, I have a very good team, and the sellers were more than willing to pay for the majority of the repairs. Yeah! Happy first time homebuyers in a home they love for a price they can afford! Call me if you are thinking of buying your first home.
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January 15th, 2009 by Currie
Things are changing in the development plan of Noisette, they are beginning to sell and lease commercial buildings! Perfect for offices and artists lofts there are some unbelievable properties, if a little pricey. Call me if you’d like a tour of North Charleston’s Noisette Project. Currie 843-853-2004
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January 15th, 2009 by Currie
A good friend and talented painter Lisa Shimko will have her paintings in a new show at one of my favorite boutique galleries on lower king, Plum Elements! For more information visit Plum Elements online at www.PLUMELEMENTS.com Come see the works from January 25th through February 28th
at Plum Elements
161 1/2 King Street
from 10-ish a.m. until 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday
from Noon on Wednesday
and until 7 p.m. on Thursday.
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