When the Charleston Naval Shipyard in South Carolina closed in 1996, the decision resulted in significant job losses and an economic shock to the local community.
North Charleston has spent years drawing up redevelopment plans for the 2,800-acre site and collection of historic buildings. Now the city is seeing success. Like many former military bases across the country, the site is being transformed into a vibrant area where people can live, eat, shop and work.
DRB housesa subsidiary of Japan’s Sumitomo Forestry America, will build the first homes for sale at what is now called Navy Yard Charleston. The Rockville, Maryland-based builder is planning 55 townhomes as part of a land development called “Marine Row at the Navy Yard.”
Work on the construction site will start in the second quarter of next year and the construction of the first homes will begin a year later.
The builder’s commitment extends beyond the city homes. It has offices and showroom space located in a renovated 1908 building called Storehouse 8.
DRB Homes expands its local presence with the shipyard agreement. The company has eleven residential communities with single-family homes and townhomes in various stages of sale in the Charleston area.
“The long-term vision for the property, combined with our love for this market, is what drew us to the location,” said Bennett Rogers, division director for land development at DRB houses.
Rebuilding a community
The Navy Yard Charleston redevelopment spans 85 acres within the larger property. Developer from Atlanta Jamestown and the investors have long-term plans to build housing combined with commercial and retail development.
Jamestown has become known for adaptive reuse. In Atlanta, for example, the company has a former Sears, Roebuck and Co. retail and distribution center. converted into a project that includes residential, office, restaurant and retail components.
Jamestown and its partners recently opened 78 live-work-rental apartments in a renovated 1918 building called Storehouse 9.
Jay Weaver, president of Weaver Capital Partners, a local Jamestown operating partner in the Navy Yard Charlestown project, told The builder’s newspaper that the team aims to deliver 3,500 units at full build-out, ranging from townhomes to condos to apartments.
However, if they see much higher demand, he says developers have the flexibility to exceed the initially planned 3,500 units, perhaps up to 5,000.
The DRB Homes development will emerge from property acquired from Jamestown, just outside the main campus.
North Charleston lacks a traditional downtown. City leaders hope the redeveloped shipyard can fill that void.
“We’re trying to create a complete ecosystem,” Weaver said, adding that the goal is to rebuild the shipyard community that existed before its closure.
End of an era
The community that developers hope to restore dates back to 1901, when the Charleston Naval Shipyard opened on the Cooper River and became the largest dry dock on the East Coast before World War I. It served as a hub for the dismantling and storage of naval vessels, as well as for building and repairing ships.
Charleston’s economy, still lagging after Reconstruction, needed a boost. By World War II, employment at the shipyard rose to 26,000. Many Navy personnel lived in shipyard housing and could purchase groceries and household items locally.
This influx of workers fueled significant infrastructure growth and directly contributed to the development of North Charleston.
The shipyard’s focus evolved over decades to include work on guided missile ships and maintenance of nuclear submarines. It narrowly escaped closure during the first two rounds of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission, but not in the 1993 round.
More than 350 military installations across the country have been closed in five BRAC rounds, the most recent in 2005. The closures forced cities to look for new uses to revive economic prospects.
In South Carolina, the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base became The Market Common, a mixed-use residential and commercial area. The former Brooks Air Force Base, now called Brooks, turned into a mixed-use project with new housing.
San Diego has converted its former Naval Training Center, once a major boot camp for sailors, into one Freedom stationa mixed-use development with new, dense residential options.
Slowing housing market
Like many other Sun Belt cities, Charleston’s housing market soared during the COVID-19 pandemic, making it one of the hottest markets in the country. Now the market has cooled to a more balanced state, characterized by flat to moderate price growth, longer marketing periods and greater buyer influence in negotiations than in 2021 and 2022.
North Charleston stands out as a more affordable, softer submarket with recent price drops and slower sales.
DRB Homes’ timeline for townhomes at Navy Yard Charleston may align with the market’s next upswing. Jamestown and its investors are taking a long-term approach to building the shipyard. In addition to adding more apartments, they could also welcome more products for sale.
“Our plans are to do this for the long term and really see it through to the end, which I think is another 10 to maybe even 15 years to put this together and do it the right way,” Weaver said.
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