Iron Wood wields big stick in local townhome market
The organizers of IronWood at Stono Ferry townhome community believe they've found that balance, showcasing three-bedroom residences with front porches, rear decks, fairway views of the Links at Stono Fairway and a 15-minute drive to the outskirts of town. They all cost less than $270,000.
"There's nothing that close to Charleston on the golf course that is of this (high) quality at this price," said John J. Manzi, one of the three partners of developer LandFall LLC.
IronWood has a triple meaning. It's named for a noted golf course, the hardy ironwood tree and the two elements in horse-riding spurs, said Ann J. Gillespie, broker-in-charge with The Agent Owned Realty and an equestrian.
The project has completed itsfirst phase, and the first owners are getting ready to move in. Manzi said the buyers are all types, from families with young children to retirees.
Developers built with the idea that many owners would be moving from larger homes to smaller ones. In that light, the 1,733- to 2,155-square-foot townhomes have an attractive, yet largely hidden feature -- storage space to spare to park a boat, a golf car, or all the stuff that builds up from living in a large house.
All units come with two-to-four car garages that include utility rooms. IronWood is not in a flood zone, so the garages are on ground level. Inside, the kitchen has a dozen or more shelves for setting away food and cookware. Most bedrooms have walk-in closets. And if that's not enough, there are attics.
Buyers pay a regime fee, currently estimated at $175 a month, which includes maintenance to all the units. That way, every townhome will be in top shape, Manzi said.
The IronWood homes come with standard equipment that's not found everywhere, such as floor molding in bedrooms, ceramic tile kitchens, 9-foot ceilings, upstairs studies and tubs and showers in all bathrooms (the units have three or 3-1/2 baths).
But they also are built to accept options and extras such as fireplaces, elevators, even a glass-enclosed porch. They're wired for cable, phone and online service, including high-speed Internet. The screened porch off the living room and open patios outside the garage and upstairs in some units have gas hookups to permit outside grilling.
Along with being spacious, the kitchens include roll-out drawers and dishwasher, microwave and garbage disposal, Gillespie said. Two of the three home styles include the master bedroom downstairs. Double-hung, tilt-up windows offer security since it's about impossible to squeeze in, she said.
There's Hardiplank siding on the front porches, which are not often found in townhomes. "We wanted a sense of country," said Manzi, whose partners in the venture are dentist and former Folly Beach Mayor Richard Beck and his brother, Carl Beck, an electrical company owner.
IronWood is considered a neighborhood of Stono Ferry, so residents can join the homeowners' association and golf course and take advantage of the community's extensive equestrian center. The townhome project's second phase will be along the fourth, fifth and eighth holes, Gillespie said.
With the Mark Clark Expressway a few miles away, the townhomes have access to North Charleston in 20 minutes. It's a similar trip to Charleston. "You don't have major traffic driving to town," she said.
Meanwhile, the community is just a few minutes away from the midsection of Hollywood, which is expanding commercially. Gillespie, who fashions herself as a town historian of sorts, said the first Ford dealership in the Southeast was in Hollywood, dating to 1911. Today, the town has a new Piggly Wiggly supermarket, a Family Dollar discount store and seafood and barbecue restaurants, she said. St. Paul's Country Day School is a nearby private K-12 school.
To get to IronWood at Stono Ferry from downtown, take the Savannah Highway (U.S. 17 South) to S.C. Highway 162. Make a left on 162 to Stono Ferry, which is on the left. Drive less than a mile and turn left at the signs for IronWood.
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