Johns Island neighborhood country living close to city
At the same time, the subdivision is in the city of Charleston, close to shopping centers and just eight miles from the peninsula.
"You think Johns Island, it's way out," said Will Jenkinson, real estate agent with Charleston Home Team -- a brokerage partnership within Prudential Carolina Real Estate. "The (Stono River) marinas, boat landings are right here. With the (new Stono) bridge finished, it takes 10 to 15 minutes to commute to town."
The 72-home community of Charleston single-style homes from $169,900 to $199,400 is also close enough to Kiawah and Seabrook islands to give the island's professional employees places to live that are more affordable than the $1 million plus oceanside homes, he said.
Barberry Woods' developer is Auld Reeckie LLC, a partnership that includes the landowner. Some of the partners are from the Upstate, and they came up with the name Barberry -- a type of plant that grows in the South Carolina Piedmont.
The neighborhood has proven popular with buyers. Sales started just eight months ago, and about half the homes are under contract with 10 residences already constructed. The builders include Jim McLean; Cole Gaither of Gaither Construction and Meridian Builders.
Combined, they offer 19 floor plans with predominantly Lowcountry and Colonial names: Allendale, Alhambra, Cooper, St. Charles, Charleston, Wando, Patriot, Stono, Hickory, Rutledge, Estill, Edisto, Waccamaw, Cape, Remley, Ashley, Moultrie, Simmons and Sumter.
The one- and two-story houses, on wooded lots, range from 1,303 to 1,873 square feet. Most plans call for three or four bedrooms, including some designs with the master bedroom downstairs. The siding is Hardiplank or brick. Natural gas is available in the neighborhood, which also is prewired for cable and online connections. Floor plans offer attached and detached garages.
Jenkinson said the expected buyers' market includes medical school students and other upwardly mobile individuals and couples, retirees looking for smaller homes and a smattering of young families.
While the neighborhood has a range of designs, buyers can add custom features such as stainless-steel kitchen appliances, recessed lighting, crown molding, Corian countertops and hardwood floors. Many of the options and upgrades are itemized: For instance, a screened porch would cost an extra $38-$43 a square foot, a garden tub an additional $900 and a double-car garage, another $11,500. The community permits privacy fences, although a neighborhood architectural review board oversees major property and design changes.
The winding boardwalk, along with a metal-roofed gazebo where residents can host oyster roasts and pig pickin's, was designed to distinguish Barberry Woods from yet another sterile subdivision. So are the sidewalks on both sides of the streets. "It's kind of just a community feel," said Kris Kordonowy, a fellow Charleston Home Team agent. "You see your neighbors."
To visit Barberry Woods from downtown Charleston, cross the Ashley River Bridge on U.S. Highway 17 South, veering left onto Folly Road.
Turn right onto Maybank Highway and follow the road past Charleston Municipal Golf Course. Cross the Stono Bridge, pass through the intersection of Maybank and River Road. The neighborhood is just past the post office on the right.
An alternative route is to take Highway 17 South, turn left on Main Road and proceed about 10 miles to the intersection with Maybank. Make a left on Maybank. Barberry Woods is a few miles along on the left.