Wide Open – Elevators, covered parking spotlight affordable new seniors complex in West Ashley

By Jim Parker jparker@postandcourier.com

Saturday, March 5, 2011

It’s one of the first things you notice at Grandview Apartments.
The mid-rise has a ground-floor parking garage, so residents can get in and out of their cars in dry comfort.
“You don’t have to get wet,” says Gloria Ricoma, property manager.

The 72-unit Grandview Apartments opened recently off Magwood Road. The complex provides affordable housing for seniors.

A nice perk, for sure. But covered parking is by no means the sole convenience in the affordable, 72-apartment-home village for seniors, located off Magwood Road west of the Ashley.

Developed by the non-profit Humanities Foundation, the new complex is geared toward residents ages 55 and older with incomes of no more than 50 to 60 percent of the median figure in metro Charleston.

Roomy elevators carry people up and down flights in the complex, which has three occupied stories. Screened-in porches are found at the ends of the halls on each floor. Seniors can spend time in a community room with big-screen TV, crafts room, exercise center, workout room, parlor and card room.

“I think they are going to be well-used” as places to socialize, says Shane Doran, vice president of public relations for Charleston-based Humanities Foundation.

Grandview offers both one- and two-bedroom apartments.

Grandview offers one-bedroom, one bath and two-bedroom, two bath floor plans. The 48 single-bedroom apartments are 716 square feet each; and the 24 two-bedroom designs are each 922 square feet. Rents start at $500 per month for the one-bedroom models and $598 for the two-bedroom styles.

Each of the apartment homes is crafted with attractive features, such as balconies, sunrooms, large living rooms and refrigerator, stove and dishwasher in the open kitchens.

Doran says the property’s chief allures are “the views and the walk-ability of the site.”

The apartments’ wide windows overlook woods, neighboring green spaces and Magwood Road. As a result of the ground level garage, all of the units are a floor higher than they ordinarily would be. In other words, the third floor is really four stories up in the air.

Well-placed elevators and a “good, efficient design” by Columbia-based Connelly Builders make it easy to move around the complex, Doran says.

Grandview has drawn interest right off. Completed just last month, the $9 million complex has secured tenants for about 60 percent of the units, Ricoma says.

Refrigerators, stoves, dishwashers and hardwood cabinets are standard in the kitchens.

“We moved in 15 people over the weekend,” Doran says.

Leases are typically one year and can include a $35 application fee, security deposit of $250 and up and a $100 deposit to reserve an apartment. The property has an on-site leasing agent, Crystal Rivers.

The location is well-suited for seniors, less than a mile from Bon Secours St. Francis Hospital off Glenn McConnell Parkway and close to shops, eateries and stores, Doran says.

Grandview Apartments is situated a few hundred yards from a sister property, the existing 42-unit Grand Oak Apartments -– which likewise is an affordable rental complex for seniors.

The Humanities Foundation has grown over the years to where it has more than 1,000 rental units under ownership in 17 properties.

In the Charleston area, the foundation developed The Shires, Shady Grove, Grand Oak and Grandview in West Ashley; Rutledge Place and North Central downtown; Sea Island on Johns Island; and Seven Farms Apartments and Seven Farms Village on Daniel Island.

The new 72-unit Seven Farms Village has 709-square-foot garden apartment homes starting at $500 a month. It’s energy efficient: the complex is the first LEED for Homes Gold multi-family development in South Carolina, Doran says.

The foundation has also branched out to Port Royal and Orangeburg and more recently out-of-state to Staunton, Va., and Pineview, La.

The exercise and activity room is an amenity at Grandview Apartments, which is about 60 percent leased.

Throughout its holdings, the Humanities Foundation prides itself on constructing high-quality apartments that nonetheless are affordable. For instance, the foundation chose to include covered parking at Grandview even though it is unusual locally outside of the flood-prone city peninsula.

“I think it turned out great,” Doran says.

To reach Grandview Apartments from downtown Charleston, cross the Ashley River Bridge and steer right onto St. Andrews Boulevard (S.C. Highway 61). Follow the highway, which becomes Ashley River Road, across Sam Rittenberg Boulevard. Stay right, past the Glenn McConnell Highway turn off. A couple of blocks after the Interstate 526 overpass, take a left on Magwood Road. Pass by Grand Oak. On the right is Grandview Apartments.

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2011/mar/05/gndviewapt/

Community: Grandview Apartments
Location: Charleston County
Phone: (843) 571-5225
Hours: 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday–Friday
Website: www.humanitiesfoundation.org
Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542.

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