The New Covenant Church of God has experienced quite a few changes since its inception in 1993 that saw a group of eight “passionate” worshipers expand and grow throughout The Lowcountry, says church administrative assistant Sheila Black.

After relocating from Hanahan, the Pentecostal house of worship moved to Ashley Phosphate Road in 2007, while maintaining a steady presence in Mount Pleasant as well.

But Pastor Marc Campbell and company recently sold the North Charleston property in October 2021, with designs on building a state-of-the-art facility at 1667 Rose Drive in the Nexton mixed-use community in Downtown Summerville.

With shovels hitting the dirt this past Sunday, the projected completion date for construction is about 18 months away in the summer of 2024.

New Covenant’s congregation is presently meeting for 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. services at the old Summerville Church of God at 304 Pine Street during the Nexton construction phase. Additionally, the church also has several sub groups that meet separately on Wednesday night, including a a woman’s group, along with boys and girls clusters.

Food distribution services are also part of the mix, as New Covenant collaborates with a North Charleston ministry to donate food to the needy every Thursday.

“Our church will be constructed with future plans to include an outdoor amphitheater and athletic fields,” detailed Black. “Our main goal in the next few months is to have our church ready for worship and facilities for our children’s ministries.”

Campbell, a Hazard, Kentucky native, and his wife, Mary, served abroad as evangelists and pastors in the United Kingdom prior to starting New Covenant out of their living room.

When asked if Pastor Campbell’s sermon style is strictly by-the-book, Black described him as a preacher who will incorporate or relate to the daily lives of his congregants, but also bring his discussion back to the Bible. In short, she depicted him as a “man with a vision.”

It was also noted that Campbell is a member of the Charleston Ecclesiastic Council and heavily involved in training in parts of Europe and Asia.

Unlike lots of new churches featuring gospel bands and singing at their services, however, New Covenant goes down the more traditional music-free route.

“We are a multi-cultural, multi-generational place to worship,” concluded Black, who expounded on the collective enthusiasm provided by church members on a weekly basis.

“On any given Sunday at New Covenant, you will find smiling faces, willing hands and open hearts. There is room here for those who have felt unwanted and neglected. There is room here for those who have never walked through the doors of a church. There is room here for families that are struggling ... for the imperfect. As a matter of fact, this is what New Covenant is made of — come as you are. You’ll see suits and ties right next to shorts and flip flops. It would make our day to see you walk through the doors.”

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. – Nexton, the most innovative and walkable community in South Carolina, reported a successful 2023 that includes the addition of cutting-edge commercial space as well as fresh amenities and housing options. As a new year begins, the community is poised for growth on all fronts, advancing its status as a national model for master-planned communities.

“Nexton’s tenth year was filled with accomplishments. From celebrating 2,800 total home sales to welcoming a multitude of high-quality new businesses and housing choices, it was truly a remarkable year,” said Nexton’s Senior Vice President, Development Brent Gibadlo. “Each new year presents countless opportunities for Nexton, and we are excited to continue this momentum as a forward-thinking master-planned community and thriving economic hub in 2024.”

COMMERCIAL Nexton welcomed a collection of world-class retailers and commercial entities in 2023, including:

• The Hub at Nexton, developed by SL Shaw, added 88,000 square feet of office, retail, and restaurant space. It officially opened its doors in May, featuring local favorites such as The Co-Op and Derrington Dermatology. • Brighton Court: Two additional multi-tenant buildings were added adjacent to Coastal Fertility, offering new medical office and retail options. • Downtown Nexton: Sharbell Nexton LLC, the developer of Downtown Nexton, broke ground on Atelier Downtown Nexton office project in June and secured the first five tenants for the ground-floor retail in the Lofts Downtown Nexton apartments. Woodfield Development nears completion of The Ames, featuring 304 market rate apartments, and broke ground on The Radler, which includes 324 market-rate apartments. • Serendipity Labs, an established brand of co-working and flexible office facilities, celebrated the grand opening of its second Charleston location in Nexton in May. • The Pickle Bar: A new restaurant, retail and recreation concept that combines the growing popularity of pickleball with a bar and restaurant opened in November. • Dayfield Park, new commercial properties featuring office space and residential options, as well as retail and service providers broke ground in September. Tenants include The Goddard School daycare, HYLO Fitness, GoDog, Stretch Zone and Pinnacle Bank. • One Nexton, a Publix-anchored commercial center, broke ground with plans to include a bank and neighborhood-serving retail and dining.

RESIDENTIAL Nexton continued to provide a variety residential offerings and amenities to cater to all lifestyles and preferences, including:

• 492 homes sold in four residential villages including Del Webb Charleston, North Creek Village, Brighton Park Village and Midtown. • Nexton celebrated the 2,800 total home sale milestone. • Brookfield Residential was added to the community’s builder program and introduced their new townhome collection. • Builder Ashton Woods unveiled a new 55+ neighborhood of homes called Hammock Walk, featuring 100 villa-style homes in its first phase. The neighborhood celebrated the grand opening of its first homes and model home in December.

CIVIC • Nexton Middle School, a new fifth through eighth grade Berkeley County middle school, broke ground in December with a planned opening in 2026.

AWARDS + ACCOLADES Nexton received several national and regional accolades for demonstrating its commitment to forward-thinking design and innovation:

• Awarded the Grand Aurora Award in the category Residential Housing Community of the Year – Masterplan. • Awarded the Multi-Housing News Excellence Award in the category Development & Design: Mixed-Use. • Awarded a 2023 Best in American Living Award by The National Home Builders Design Committee for The Villas at Nexton in the category Single-Family Community For Rent. • Recognized as #38 of the 50 top-selling master-planned communities in the U.S. by RCLCO Real Estate Advisors, based on year-end 2023 home sales.

LOOKING AHEAD As Nexton closes another successful chapter, the community continues to set the industry standard for master-planned communities across the U.S. The following can be expected from the Nexton in 2024:

• Page’s Okra Grill opened in January 2024. • Additional homebuilder, Stanley Martin will join the Nexton community as well as new with a new collection of townhomes and condos to Brighton Park. Existing builders are adding new floor plans to Nexton’s Midtown neighborhood. • Brookfield Residential’s model townhome and first homes will open to the public in February. • Del Webb Nexton will break ground on its expanded amenity package with the addition of indoor and outdoor pickleball courts, a large gymnasium and restaurant. • Harris Teeter and Publix grocery stores will open. • Dayfield Park, a new commercial property featuring office space and residential options, as well as retail and service providers, will open. • Downtown Nexton: The first phase of the Lofts and Atelier Downtown Nexton will be completed in 2024. • Berkeley County Park will open in the summer of 2024.

More than a dozen tenants are coming to a new grocery-anchored retail development near Summerville that’s almost completely leased several months before construction is set to be completed.

The One Nexton commercial node on Nexton Parkway will include restaurants, service-industry providers, a bank and workout site in addition to a new 48,387-square-foot Publix supermarket.

Food-and-beverage offerings coming to the development include Catrina’s Cantina, Jersey Mike’s Subs, Woodhaven Pizza, Ruby’s Bagels, Indian restaurant Naan Appetit, and Dulce Churros, Ice Cream and Cocktails.

The Packie Wine & Spirits retail shop will join service providers Roper St. Francis Healthcare, Heartland Dental, Noire Nails and insurance firm Swamp Fox Agency. Workout site Basecamp Fitness and Fifth Third Bank round out the announced tenants coming to the site, which is still under construction. One outparcel site remains to be leased next to the 351-unit Camellia One Nexton Apartments under development on the combined 23-acre One Nexton site, Yurfest said.

The multifamily project is expected to be completed in May or June, according to Nexton spokeswoman Cassie Cataline.

Opening dates have not been announced for any of the commercial tenants, but construction is expected to be completed by the fall on the retail center. It sits across Nexton Parkway from a developing Harris Teeter-anchored commercial site. Harris Teeter is tentatively set to open in the spring.

On the way

A rhyming round of slushy sweet adult beverages is on tap for Upper King this spring with the planned arrival of Zachary’s Daiquiris.

The bar, opening in the former Basil Thai restaurant site at 460 King St., is being touted as “Charleston’s Chic Daiquiri Destination.”

Zachary Elliott, a South Carolina entrepreneur, filed for a liquor license recently for the property, and his social media accounts tease the spring opening of the sing-songy locale.

Elliott is also affiliated with Charleston’s Bourbon & Bubbles, Mesu and Republic Garden & Lounge, and is a partner with the Sweetberry Bowls franchise that has locations in the Carolinas, Georgia and New Jersey.

Elliott did not immediately respond for comment on the daiquiri venture.

The space at 460 King, a former bicycle shop and Huddle House, has been empty since spring 2021, when Basil closed its longtime downtown restaurant.

Gassing up

A Savannah-based convenience store chain is looking to add its first location in Mount Pleasant.

Parker’s Kitchen plans to build a 5,175-square-foot shop on S.C. Highway 41 at Wood Park Drive, next to the Lowes Foods-anchored Market at Mill Creek Shopping Center.

Site plans presented to the town show three options for the building’s placement: with fueling stations parallel to the store facing the highway, with gas pumps in the rear, and with the store on the corner near the street and pumps set perpendicular to S.C. 41.

The 6-acre site where the store is planned near the entrance to The Gates at Dunes West subdivision is owned by Highway 41 LLC, an affiliate of auto supplier Oakwood Group of Dearborn, Mich. It bought the property for nearly $1.3 million 16 years ago.

Heads up

A new salon focusing on relaxation and rejuvenation of the scalp and hair is now open in West Ashley.

Charleston Head Spa at 1420 Ashley River Road offers a serene atmosphere and personalized treatments to improve scalp health, according to its website. The business, owned by Molly and Josh Smith, is open weekdays by appointment.

Dance steps

A new place to twirl and tumble is being proposed in Mount Pleasant.

The owners of Tapio School of Dance and Gymnastics want to build a 9,500-square-foot studio between existing buildings at 600 and 608 Seacoast Parkway, a frontage road next to the Mark Clark Expressway west of Long Point Road, according to site plans presented to the town.

The school is currently at 455 Long Point Road in a shared-use structure. The proposal is making its way through the town’s review process.

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While Charleston's population is booming with new transplants, the Summerville and Goose Creek areas are developing just as quickly to accommodate the area's growth.

Summerville is located roughly 45 minutes from Downtown Charleston, serving as the ideal location for folks who want to move close to the city without being directly in the middle of the excitement.

Goose Creek is only 35 minutes from Downtown Charleston and is seeing a demographic of young families who hope to live near the city while finding affordable housing and nearby employment.

In recent years, both Summerville and Goose Creek have expanded with the development of several master-planned communities that offer housing, lifestyle, retail, dining, outdoor recreation and so much more. These areas have also developed several new businesses, restaurants, workspaces and corporate offices.

As Goose Creek's economy grows and thrives, many new projects and ventures are on the horizon in this Charleston community, specifically in Carnes Crossroads.

According to Post & Courier writer Barry Waldman's piece about new development in Carnes Crossroads, Carnes is now co-owned by Lennar Builders and Boston-based Freehold Communities, with approval to build about 4,500 homes.

This community is technically only a quarter built, with new projects on the way, such as the concept of "agrihood," a working farm and community gardens. Professional farmers will grow and supply produce, herbs and flowers to the community.

In September 2022, the city of Goose Creek announced a plan for growth in the community, including a walkable space for restaurants, offices and a green lawn for town events. Soon, this multi-planned community that is currently primarily residential with some outdoor amenities will expand to be more similar to larger communities like Cane Bay and Nexton.

While there are currently a few dining options available, like East Bay Deli, Steel City Pizza Co., and Mi Fiesta, plenty more options will be coming soon as well.

As for business development in Summerville's large Nexton community, according to Warren L. Wise for the Post & Courier, Atelier Downtown Nexton is a new project coming soon to Nexton, planned by an affiliate of New Jersey-based Sharbell Development on 7.5 acres on Brighton Park Boulevard off of U.S. Highway 17A.

Located in the Nexton community, the project will include multiple two-story buildings up to 18,000 square feet. Office, service and commercial space will be for sale or lease.

In addition, The Hub in Nexton is expanding. This project is a collection of office and commercial buildings under development on Nexton Parkway and Brighton Park Boulevard, and new expansions will include commercial tenants Lombardi's Pizza Kitchen, The Co-op Frosé & Eatery, The Backyard Biergarten, Lowcountry Yoga and children's gym KidStrong.

Big things are also happening over at Cane Bay Plantation in Summerville. Buck Investments, led by Eddie Buck, recently paid $13 million for nearly 45 acres on the northwest corner of the future Fair Winds Boulevard intersection at U.S. Highway 176. The buildout of this section will happen over the next four years.

Cane Bay has also been selling multiple large parcels of land for new housing developments as it expands, and the community is now roughly the size of Spartanburg, South Carolina.

More growth and business developments are coming quickly for these three large, multi-planned communities that are shaping up to be more like cities in their own right.

The master-planned Nexton community will soon become a medical destination for Berkeley County.

Medical University of South Carolina has proposed a $130 million hospital within the Summerville community. The 128-patient bed facility will include four operating rooms, eight labor and delivery rooms, diagnostic testing and imaging, and emergency services, MUSC Health Chief Strategy Officer Sarah Bacik said.

“A large percentage of our current patients originate from Berkeley County, and this is going to really allow our patients to have access within our communities,” Bacik said. “It’s not a surprise to anyone that the growth has outpaced some of the infrastructure.”

MUSC has asked the state for approval to build the community hospital through a certificate of need.

The build is expected to take two and a half years.

Nexton’s Vice President of Operations Brent Gibadlo said a hospital offers a service to the surrounding areas and residents because health care options have become a growing priority for homebuyers.

“There are certain basic things that are important for everyone that don’t change,” he said. “Certainly good schools if people have children and then good health care options. So having a world-class hospital in close proximity is always a wonderful compliment to a community."

Downtown Charleston’s MUSC campus will remain the hub for the educational hospital, while the Nexton campus will book end it with satellite campuses and ambulatory services in between, Bacik said.

“We’re full downtown, and we need to make sure that we can continue to have access to those more acute patients,” Bacik said. “It’s really about getting the patients the right level of care at the right place.”

The need for a community hospital in Berkeley County is critical, said Dr. Dave Zaas, CEO of the Charleston division of MUSC. The hospital’s co-location in Nexton will help with the area’s continued growth.

“That is a lot of our strategy not just in tri-county but around the state,” he said. “Not only delivering the highest quality … but more convenient and ideally at a lower cost. I think that drives our ambulatory growth as well as our statewide strategy.”

Gibadlo said Nexton is just starting to explore the possibilities with MUSC and its idea of community health care, of being more proactive and going out into the community to initiate health and wellness programs. Preventative care could then decrease the need for hospital visits.

“We’ve had conversations with MUSC on how to incorporate some of those programs into Nexton,” Gibadlo said. “That’s everything from community gardens to community fitness programs to even potential opportunities for some of the coordination between MUSC and some of the companies at Nexton.”

Other suggestions include incorporating companies’ health care programs through MUSC and creating wellness programs employees can participate in.

Bacik is already excited for both caregivers and patients because she believes the best care is delivered conveniently to patients, many of whom come from across the state.

“A lot of our patients and staff travel to the peninsula today to receive care or to care for our patients … so if they could receive care 30 minutes closer, that’s a benefit for the communities as well,” Bacik said.

Gibadlo is going on 13 years at Nexton and said there is has another 13 or 14 years left in the business plan. He still remembers those early years, though, sitting in a Welcome Center trailer praying that builders and homebuyers would think outside the box.

Convincing people to give Nexton a chance was hard a decade ago given the location.

Over time, Gibadlo has found that if he pushes the envelope to create value, the innovation is well-received.

“I think the potential for Nexton is really evolving continuously. What we used to think was possible we’ve exceeded now. Maybe we can take it another step,” he said. “A hospital was something we only dreamed about 10 years ago. Now that’s happening.”

Nexton now receives calls almost daily from groups, retailers and home builders who want to create something exciting at the community. Gibadlo said the biggest challenge is prioritizing. If he reacts to every call, he risks losing focus of the long-term vision that Nexton is systematically moving through.

“At the same time, you have to be flexible enough that if you get a call, like from MUSC, you change track a little bit because that’s a great opportunity,” he said.

A community with a master plan allowed Gibadlo and his team to be deliberate about adding a hospital. They could look at the map of the 5,000 acres to find a plot that was accessible, wouldn’t disrupt homeowners with traffic and had surrounding space for businesses the hospital could bring in. Gibadlo believes they will come.

As an educational institution, MUSC’s research and development could lead to job opportunities and potential spin-off businesses, he said.

Together, Gibadlo and his team’s vision for Nexton stem from a love for the region. He knows, however, that with any growth, there will inevitably be challenges. The objective then is to figure out how to make those obstacles positive.

“We look at it and say hey, we can create this employment center in the Charleston region, take some of the pressure off downtown, 526, everyone commuting and bring some of the great things that people love about this region from a quality of life and bring them to another location that can spread them out a little bit,” he said. “Maybe we can play a small role in helping this region continue to be a great place to live. At the heart of it, that’s what motivates us every day.”