Dermal Filler in John's Island, SC

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) — The city of Charleston encompasses many different areas of the Lowcountry, including Johns Island, but residents say they sometimes feel left out, and that could change.

The piece of land on the 3500 block of Maybank Highway might not look like much off Maybank Highway, but soon it plans to be Johns Island’s very own recreation center.

“The gap is evident. If you just look at the city’s own map of parks around the city of Charleston, there’s a huge gap on John’s Island,” District 3 City Council member Jim McBride said.

“This is an answer to what we heard from the community,” Robert Summerfield, director of planning and preservation for the City of Charleston, said.

This recreation center, residents say, has been a long time coming.

“Everyone always just thinks of us as, “Well, we’re part of the city, but we don’t really participate in getting any of the benefits of the city.” So, having all of these programs going and starting now is a big deal. And I think it’s great for the community that we’re finally seeing that we’re part of the city and not just, you know, part of the county or just over the bridge,” Peter Rubino, vice chair of the Johns Island Council, said. The recreation center will include a range of amenities for the community, from a multi-use gym to pickleball and even an aquatic center."

“We’re surrounded by water here. There are a lot of kids who don’t know how to swim, but if we have a program that’s affordable for those kids to be able to get swimming lessons, I think it’s a tremendous value to this community,” Rubino said.

And to some, the most valuable aspect of this center is not having to leave the island.

“Create amenities on John’s Island that people want to use on John’s Island and to work at on John’s Island. The more people can stay on John’s Island without having to drive and add to the traffic,” McBride said.

“Anything we can do to reduce traffic coming on or off the island is always a plus,” Summerfield said.

Plans also include a basketball court, playground, and splash pad, bringing all the family fun, all in one space.

“provides an opportunity to bring the community together. So having people from different neighborhoods who’ve never met each other before, come to one place,” McBride said.

This recreation center is designed to be a big and strong civic building to represent and support the community.

“It gives everyone an opportunity to engage and exchange ideas and stuff, which is, I think, tremendous,” Rubino said.

City officials say this project is being fast-tracked to provide this center to the community as soon as possible.

“Mayor Cogswell put a top priority on this Johns Island recreation center for both the speed of it and putting it first in line and also the quality of it. When it’s built in about a year or so, it’ll be the best recreation center in the city of Charleston,” McBride said.

Whether you need a place to work, get some exercise or play with your family, this recreation center could be your next one-stop shop.

“Break ground on it this year and then ideally have it up in 18 to 24 months,” Summerfield said.

The design review board for the city of Charleston approved the conceptual designs of this recreation center project, and now the project heads to the board of zoning appeals.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) — Charleston city leaders are racing against the clock to find a way to pay for long-needed road and intersection improvements on Johns Island, as traffic congestion continues to worsen and state funding falls short.

City council has until February to decide whether to move forward with a Municipal Improvement District (MID), a tool that would allow the city to collect fees from new development to help fund infrastructure upgrades.

Charleston City Councilman Jim McBride says the issue isn’t the condition of the roads, but their capacity.

“Our population growth has exceeded our infrastructure to support it,” McBride said. “The main reason for that is all the traffic bottlenecks on Johns Island are on state roads — and the state does not have enough money to improve roads and intersections to keep up with the growth.”

Statewide transportation needs total about $70 billion, while projected revenue sits at just $27 billion, leaving a $42 billion funding gap, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s revenue forecast through 2040.

That shortfall has pushed city leaders to consider alternatives like a Municipal Improvement District, which would focus on funding projects the state cannot.

McBride says the idea is to reinvest money from new development back into the community.

“It generates income based on new development on Johns Island that goes back to Johns Island,” he said. “That could be intersection improvements, traffic lights, sidewalks, or pathways connecting neighborhoods to business centers.”

Municipal Improvement Districts allow cities to assess fees on developers whose properties meet specific criteria, helping pay for infrastructure or stormwater drainage improvements tied to growth.

McBride says traffic congestion is already taking a toll on the local economy.

“People aren’t driving to businesses on Johns Island as often because of the traffic,” he said. “That hurts small businesses.”

This is not the first time Charleston has explored the idea. A similar proposal was paused in 2021 while the federal government reviewed its legality. The plan resurfaced at a city council meeting last November, and leaders are now gathering public input before any decision is made.

However, Mayor William Cogswell says timing could limit how effective the district would be.

“It would have been great if this was done 10 years ago,” Cogswell said. “You would’ve had a lot more revenue coming in because it would only be taxing new businesses — and much of Johns Island’s commercial development has already happened.”

The mayor says the city is also considering a Tax Increment District, which would use future growth in property values to pay for infrastructure improvements.

For now, city leaders say no final decision has been made — and traffic on Johns Island remains a growing challenge.

CHARLESTON — Charleston County has started construction of an interchange south of U.S. Highway 17 and east of Main Road as part of a larger effort to alleviate traffic for West Ashley and Johns Island residents.

The interchange is part of a $354 million road project — the largest infrastructure project in Charleston County history. It includes the construction of flyover ramps at the intersection of Main Road and Highway 17; a bridge over CSX Railroad; a roundabout at the intersection of Main, Chisholm and River roads; and a widening of Main Road from River and Chisholm roads to the interchange ramps. It’s funded by the 2016 transportation sales tax.

The improvements were originally part of a bigger project for Main Road, from Bees Ferry Road to Betsy Kerrison Parkway. The project was then split into three segments, with this particular segment first estimated to cost $130 million in 2020.

Construction workers first built a temporary trestle bridge across the marsh to access where they are building the interchanges. Those were designed to allow drivers to avoid the intersection of Main Road and Highway 17 and go directly to Johns Island or West Ashley. Herb Nimz, county manager for the project, previously told The Post and Courier the focus is to build a way on and off Johns Island first before constructing the flyover ramps at the intersection.

The county also plans to build a roundabout at the intersection of Main, River and Chisolm roads. Eric Adams, county director of public works, wrote in an email to The Post and Courier that construction of the roundabout is expected to begin in the first quarter of 2026.

This project has been in the works for years, to many West Ashley and Johns Island residents’ dismay. Main Road is one of the two ways on and off Johns Island and beyond, including Kiawah, Seabrook and Wadmalaw islands.

Census data shows the population of Johns Island increased rapidly from 2010 to 2024, from around 15,100 people to almost 23,000. More than 25,000 people are estimated to live on the island today.

The project is one of the many road projects in progress from the 2016 transportation sales tax. Adams said at a County Council finance committee meeting last March that road projects usually take several years due to permitting required ahead of construction. Construction is often the shortest component, he said.

The project remains on track to be completed in late 2028.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCIV) — Funding is now complete for a major affordable housing development on Johns Island that will bring homeownership opportunities to 50 Lowcountry families struggling with rising housing costs.

Sea Island Habitat for Humanity has secured all the funding needed to begin building infrastructure for Sweetgrass Preserve, a new neighborhood planned on a 30-acre parcel of land. The milestone clears the way for construction to begin on what officials say is the nonprofit’s largest project to date.

Once completed, Sweetgrass Preserve will include 50 affordable, owner-occupied homes for families who already live and work on Johns Island but have found it increasingly difficult to buy a home through traditional means.

“It’s folks who own their own houses. So, it’s not rentals. They’re not short-term residencies,” said John Rhoden, executive director of Sea Island Habitat for Humanity. “They’re people who already live here and now getting a house of their own for the first time. It’s people who can’t afford a house in the normal process.”

Habitat officials say the project is a direct response to rising housing costs on the island. New data shows the typical home now sells on Johns Island for about $700,000, nearly 10% higher than this time last year.

Habitat for Humanity says Sweetgrass Preserve offers what it calls a long-term housing solution. Families who qualify purchase their homes through an affordable mortgage and also help build them alongside volunteers.

“We’re probably the closest thing I can come up with to a permanent solution for housing,” Rhoden said. “They’re getting a house, it’s their house, it’s a mortgage, they own it. But they also have to work on that house. It’s not a free house — they’re buying it from us, and they help us build it.”

READ MORE | "Charleston Housing Authority approved for 77-unit affordable housing on Huger Street."

The nonprofit is currently working with Charleston County to complete the permitting process. Construction is expected to take about five years, with 10 homes built each year.

Unlike some previous Habitat projects, officials say Sweetgrass Preserve is being planned and built as a single, cohesive neighborhood. The development also includes efforts to preserve natural features, such as saving trees and creating green and park spaces within the community.

“We’re spending a lot of time up front, getting it all planned beginning to end,” Rhoden said. “So, it’s one community as opposed to just throwing a house here and there like we have done in the past sometimes.”

Building homes in the same area at the same time also allows Habitat to maximize volunteer efforts.

“We’re all on the same street working, all building at the same time,” Rhoden said. “We can use volunteers on multiple buildings at the same time. It helps with the economies of scale.”

With funding now secured, Habitat officials say there are more opportunities for community members to get involved.

“We always need the help,” Rhoden said. “We need help swinging hammers, painting, caulking — all kinds of things. If you want to come work on a job site, you can give us a call.”

Groundbreaking for Sweetgrass Preserve is expected to begin in mid-2026, and officials hope to have the first nine families moved in by next December.