Magnolia Development (South Carolina)
Location: City of Charleston, approximately two miles north of the Historic District; situated along Ashley River Waterfront

Site background: Site includes three EPA CERCLA sites and eight state brownfield sites. Location formerly included two phosphate fertilizer manufacturing plants and one wood treatment/preservation plant that operated on the site from the early 1880s until the late 1970s.

LEED-ND: One of two sites in S.C. to have been selected as a pilot project for U.S. Green Building Council’s new LEED-ND program, which encompasses smart growth, New Urbanism, and green building elements in neighborhood design (ND).

Size: 220 acres total (145 acres highland)

Cost (value at full build out): $1.5 billion (estimated)

Players: Cherokee Investment Partners (principal investor); Robert L. Clement, III (CEO); Craig Briner of Green Hawk Partners (managing partner); City of Charleston; Hagood and Kerr (counsel), Morris, Manning, and Martin (counsel); Young, Clement, Rivers, LLP (counsel); EPA Region 4 (agency), SC DHEC (state agency)

Synopsis: Magnolia will be a mixed-use, pedestrian-oriented development that will include approximately 3,800 residential units and up to 2.5 million square feet of retail, office and hospitality space. The first phase of horizontal development began in September 2008 and the first phase of vertical development is slated for late 2009. Build out will be completed in multiple phases over the next 15 years. (Source: Magnolia Development)

Imperial at Sugar Land (Texas)
Location: Sugar Land, Tex., at center of Fort Bend County

Site background: Site was previously home to the 40-acre historic Imperial Sugar Company. Primarily asbestos abatement and general site cleanup are needed and will be completed in October.

Size: 650 acres

Cost: $393 million (estimated)

Players: Southern Land Company (design, architecture, homebuilding, landscape, etc.); Cherokee Investment Partners (principal investor); Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse (commercial developer); Allen Boone Humphries Robinson LLP (attorneys)

Synopsis: Plans for the historic refinery district include 200,000 square feet of office, 150,000 square feet of retail and entertainment space, and approximately 500 residences. A 500,000 square-foot commercial office park, which will consist of a mixed-use residential and retail village are also planned as part of this project. Additionally, the Imperial site will include 1,100 single family homes in a traditional neighborhood design. With assistance from Cherokee Partners, Development Design Group, and Struever Bros. Eccles and Rouse, the reuse of many key buildings will bring exciting new retail, residential, office and entertainment possibilities. This redevelopment promises to not only inject some new life into the town of Sugar Land, but also to preserve the cornerstone of the town’s history. The estimated completion date for this project is 2017.

(Source: Southern Land Company and www.imperialtx.com)