Charleston remains a popular destination, and the city’s expanding luxury hotel scene reflects that trend.

California-based Auberge Resorts Collection plans to debut its first planned luxury hotel in South Carolina come 2024 in the form of The Dunlin, located within the Kiawah River master-planned community on Johns Island.

In partnership with real estate developer The Beach Co. and private investment and management company McNair Interests, the project is set to have a January groundbreaking.

“The Dunlin will offer an unforgettable escape where guests can immerse themselves in the pristine natural setting of Johns Island and the culturally rich attractions of Charleston,” Auberge Chairman Dan Friedkin said in a statement.

The Dunlin property will include 72 cottage-style guest rooms and suites and 19 villas, as well as a main lodge and porch, great rooms and a library lounge. Amenities encompass a pool with cabanas, full-service spa, community farmstead, and access to the community’s Spring House riverfront swim and fitness facilities.

A riverfront restaurant with outdoor deck will also be available, as will two event spaces, including a 10,000-square-foot indoor-outdoor event hall.

“We are pleased to partner with Auberge Resorts Collection to create The Dunlin, which will be one of the most remarkable new resorts in the country,” Beach Co. CEO John Darby said. “Auberge has a terrific track record of creating the most unique hospitality experiences in the world, and this endeavor’s intimate setting will bring highly personalized service with a coastal experience inspired by the local environment.”

Built into the Kiawah River community, which puts emphasis in natural surrounding elements, The Dunlin will consist of 2,000 acres of land with 20 miles of riverfront nature trails and marshlands. Guests will be able to participate in nature excursions on the property, including fly fishing, crabbing and boating, as well as paddle boarding, hiking and biking.

Architect Robert Glazier was chosen to design the resort, and Amanda Lindroth of Lindroth Design will lead the interior design of the property.

Construction financing was provided by United Bank’s Charleston offices.

Auberge Resorts Collection has 22 other hotels and resorts across the globe, recently winning accolades from Travel & Leisure’s 2021 World’s Best and Conde Nast’s 2021 Readers’ Choice awards.

The S.C. High School League has released its preliminary realignment of member schools for 2024-26, a plan that includes the league’s multiplier formula to address competitive balance between traditional public schools and private/charter schools.

The preliminary plan includes dividing schools into five classifications based on student enrollment, but does not yet include regions. The enrollment numbers include a multiplier of 3.0 applied to students from grades 9-11 who live outside a school’s assigned attendance zone. Realignment appeals will be heard next month.

Among the Charleston-area schools that will be on the move for 2024-26 are:

• James Island Charter and Lucy Beckham, which move from Class AAAA to AAAAA. James Island now ranks 16th among AAAAA schools with 1,968 students, and Beckham is No. 50 with 1,450 students.

James Island officials said the school will appeal its placement, but had no further comment.

The SCHSL plans to divide Class AAAAA into two divisions for playoffs in 2024-26, crowing two state champions in each sport. Seven of the top 16 schools in AAAAA are in the Charleston area: No. 3 Summerville (2,623), No. 6 Stratford (2,312), No. 7 Ashley Ridge (2,300), No. 12 Wando (2,100), No. 14 Cane Bay (1,980) and No. 16 James Island.

• Bishop England, a private school on Daniel Island, which moves from Class AA all the way up to AAAA with an enrollment figure of 1,099 students. The closest AAAA schools to Bishop England in the realignment include May River, Bluffton, Beaufort, Colleton County and Hilton Head.

Gray Collegiate, a charter school in the Columbia area and the focus of much competitive-balance debate, moves from AA to AAAA with 1,296 students. And Christ Church, a private school powerhouse in the Greenville area, goes from Class A to AAAA with 952 students.

• Oceanside Collegiate of Mount Pleasant, a sister charter school to Gray Collegiate, moves from Class AA to Class AAA with 814 students using the 3.0 multiplier. OCA was listed with 500 students in grades 9-11 last year. Charleston Math & Science moves from Class A to AAA with 672 students.

South Carolina’s Shrine Bowl team broke open a tight game in the second half and posted a 24-0 shutout of their counterparts from North Carolina in the 87th Shrine Bowl all-star football game at Spartanburg High School.

James Island punter/placekicker Coleman Franzone scored six points in the game, booting a 33-yard field goal and three extra points. Franzone also punted six times for a 36.7-yard average with a long of 43 yards.

Franzone’s field goal in the first quarter was the only score of the first half. The Sandlappers scored a touchdown in the third quarter and posted two scores in the final period.

Summerville’s Yannick Smith, a wide receiver currently committed to East Carolina, caught three passes for 46 yards in the game.

Smith was part of a talented wide receiver position for the SC squad.

Tennessee commit Braylon Staley of Strom Thurmond caught three passes for 62 yards, including a 41-yard touchdown reception. North Carolina State commit Christian Zachary of Calhoun County had 63 receiving yards and a 43-yard score. Georgia State commit Avery McFadden of Hillcrest caught three passes for 55 yards.

Other local players on the SC squad included Lucy Beckham tight end Bryce Rothwell, West Ashley linebacker Terry Grant and Philip Simmons defensive back Troy Stevenson.

Rock Hill quarterback Matthew Wilson, headed to Appalachian State, was the offensive most valuable player for South Carolina. Wilson completed 8 of 14 passes for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

Santwan Nelson of South Pointe was the S.C. defensive most valuable player.

The Sandlappers dominated the game defensively, yielding only 49 total yards in the game. That included -7 yards in the passing game.

South Carolina rolled up 363 total yards. The running game was paced by Midland Valley’s Traveon Dunbar, who rushed for 76 yards and a 2-yard score to seal the game with under two minutes to play.

“Hat’s off to the entire team,” S.C. head coach Wayne Farmer of Calhoun County said. “Offense came out and put some points up in the second half and the defense was just great all game long.”

Art Craig remembers seeing Isaiah Perrin walking around the halls at Timberland High School and wondering why the big fella wasn’t playing football.

At the time, Perrin was about 6-foot-3 and tipped the scales at around 270 pounds. Craig thought he’d make a great offensive lineman.

Perrin, as it turned out, was more interested in becoming the next Tiger Woods.

“Isaiah was a huge golfer and really didn’t think about playing football,” Craig said. “We finally talked him into coming out for the football team and he was a three-year starter for us.”

Perrin, 34, grew to love the game and on Thursday was named the head football coach at Wando High School.

Perrin takes over for Rocco Adrian, who resigned in October after four seasons as head coach with the Warriors. Adrian went 8-28 at Wando.

Perrin served as the offensive coordinator for Stratford High School this past season, but has had stops at Wilson, Swansea, Lower Richland and Timberland as an assistant coach.

“Isaiah is a real student of the game,” Craig said. “I think he’s going to do a great job at Wando. He’s going to be able to relate to his players and I know they will love playing for him.”

Perrin said facing the Warriors during the regular season convinced him that the Mount Pleasant school has the potential to be a winning program.

“Seeing these guys and how they played us during region play made me want to come here,” said Perrin, who served as the head golf coach at Stratford for two years. “They were relentless in their effort. I think that’s something that we can build on. They have great facilities and a community that wants these guys to win. There’s a lot of potential here.”

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) - Those who live on or travel through Johns Island say they have mixed feelings about a new road designed to connect Maybank Highway to two other roadways.

Work is continuing on what is called the Northern Pitchfork, which will connect Maybank Highway to Fenwick Hall Allee and River Road. That work will require lane closures from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Friday on Maybank Highway at River Road.

Some residents are hopeful it can be part of a solution for what they say is horrendous traffic but others say it’s just a Band-Aid on a bullet wound.

There is also frustration surrounding the daytime lane closures for Friday, as residents believe it will be a nightmare, and the work should be done overnight instead.

Charleston County Construction Project Manager Sheila Parker said this has to get done in a specific window of time and they don’t want project delays. The new road is something the city and county have been working on bringing to life for years, with the goal of alleviating congestion and moving traffic along on the island.

“People coming off of James Island onto Johns Island using the Maybank Highway corridor will be able to take the Northern Pitchfork road and kind of bypass the Maybank Highway and River Road traffic light,” Parker explained

Byhira Thorn, who frequents the island often, said she thinks the new road will cause confusion for drivers, and it’s not addressing the root issue.

“I think another lane in general needs to be added,” Thorn said. “I mean, they did it with the bridge which was awesome, but they need to do it with the island. The island itself all around, roads need to be doubled for sure.”

Johns Island resident Kristin Nolan said she hopes this will help, but wishes it was done sooner.

“First of all, I think they should have thought about this before all of the building that went on and the extra light that was put here,” Nolan said. “I feel bad for people that go to James Island in the morning if Maybank and River are backed up for miles.”

Earlier this month, Charleston leaders said they are working on a $30-million project to improve traffic on Johns Island, part of which includes widening Maybank Highway to four lanes from River Road to the Stono River Bridge. But funding for that has yet to be nailed down and those plans are years away.

The construction on Friday is weather-dependent and drivers are asked to use caution while driving through the area.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - Officials with the city of Charleston and Charleston County have announced a plan to address traffic concerns on Johns Island.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said the plan is the result of collaboration between the city of Charleston and Charleston County and will tackle traffic flow problems at the intersection of Maybank Highway and River Road, portions of Maybank Highway and the northern and southern Pitchforks, Tecklenburg said.

“Traffic congestion has been a huge issue coming and going on Johns Island,” he said. “And it was accentuated when that traffic light got added down the street. And everyone came to the realization that we needed to go back and rethink what got done six or seven years ago, what’s been done since then and what can we do collectively and collaboratively to make it better and make improvements.”

The city and county laid out the main points of the plan:

“Pitchforks” means two new roads that will branch off of Maybank towards River.

“The current cost estimate sits somewhere between $25 and $30 million to do all of this,” Charleston County Councilmember Joe Boykin said.

Tecklenburg said the money will come from future sales tax and Department of Transportation funding and once permitted, will apply for federal funding.

The full construction funding will have to be identified and approved by both city and county councils, according to Tecklenburg.

The first goal for short-term, interim improvements to Maybank Highway are expected to be complete in the first quarter of 2024, Tecklenburg said.

Robby Lingenfelter who works on Johns Island said he’s hopeful about the project but still frustrated.

“They say that the northern pitchfork will be completed by the first quarter of 2024, that’s good,” he said. “Southern pitchfork they said will take years, so we’re still five to ten years from alleviating the issues we have now.”

He said the city and county have been meeting since June to address the traffic issues on Johns Island.

“It’s going to happen. We are committed to making that happen,” Tecklenburg said.

Some locals question the mayor’s timing.

“Hearing this press conference that is happening five days before an election, can’t help but notice that a lot of this was conceptual and funding for a lot of this isn’t even secured,” Logan Mcvey said. “So, this seems like more talk and a lot more traffic just sitting and waiting on stuff to happen.”

Tecklenburg’s response was that they needed enough vetting through engineers and design teams before the plans could be presented.

Charleston County Council member Jenny Huneycutt, Charleston City Council member Karl Brady and the city’s planning and traffic directors also attended the news conference.

WATCH THE CHARLESTON LEADERS ANNOUNCE THE JOHNS ISLAND TRAFFIC IMPROVEMENT PLAN BELOW

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

JAMES ISLAND, S.C. (WCBD)- It has been 35 days since Jennifer Drummond was found severely injured along a James Island road.

Friends and family are still searching for answers in what is believed to be a hit-and-run.

The family, joined by their attorney, held a press conference Wednesday morning with new details they hope will bring them closer to finding the person responsible.

The Drumond family, fatigued, after over a month of not knowing exactly what happened to Jenn.

“We don’t sleep at night, wondering if someone texted with a lead,” Jenn’s uncle, Chris Drummond said.

However, they’re not letting up.

Drummond said, “You just can’t hit somebody in the roadway and drive off, and someone not know something.”

Searching everywhere they know of for answers to what is believed to be a hit-and-run.

In a press conference Wednesday morning, their attorney Scott Bischoff, gave new information on her movements that morning.

“Based on information on Jenn’s phone, her step count that was also connected to her apple watch, we believe that she left her house around 5:17 and her step count stops at 5:18, just before 5:19,” Bischoff said.

According to surveillance video there were three cars that drove down Woodland Shores Road around the time of the incident, but new video shows the car believed to be the one that hit Jenn.

“We believe the primary suspect vehicle is vehicle number 3, that appears to be a relatively modern SUV with a sunroof and 5 lights,” Bischoff said.

As far as Jenn’s condition, family members say she is making progress.

They say she got up and walked yesterday, but she’s still very slow to answer questions and there’s still a long way to go.

At this point they’re just doing whatever they can to bring justice to Jenn.

“On top of a really awful injury that she suffered, our mind is also thinking who did this, when will answers surface, will answers surface. It’s something that weighs on our mind constantly,” Jenn’s best friend, Audrey Marhoefer said.

There is a $10,000 reward for information about the incident of you have any information about this incident, call the Charleston County Sheriff’s Office.