Warehouse project under way

REAL ESTATE

A group of industrial development insiders dug golden shovels into the ground last week, marking the start of construction for a $45 million project in Hanahan.

Lauth Group Inc. , a commercial development firm based in Indianapolis, plans to build two massive warehouse buildings in North Pointe Industrial Park, which sits off North Rhett Extension.

Suited officials celebrated the project's start in front of a raised field, where the first 390,180-square-foot warehouse will be built. It is scheduled to open in the spring of next year.

Once that building secures tenants, Lauth (rhymes with "moth") will begin building the second warehouse, which will measure 399,732 square feet.

"It's great for distribution, light assembly or manufacturing, or a combination of all three," said Houston Roberts, Lauth's vice president of office and industrial development.

The two buildings will rise alongside a smaller FedEx building and two warehouses once used by apparel maker Jones New York, which closed its 300-worker distribution operation earlier this year.

More than 12 million square feet of similar industrial space is planned for the Jedburg area during the next decade. Roberts said his company wanted to get a head start on the expected industrial growth, and his project differs because of its proximity to existing neighborhoods and businesses: North Pointe is close to the Tanner Plantation subdivision and the older neighborhoods and apartment complexes that cluster around Red Bank Road.

Choate Construction Co. will build the project, and the space will be leased through Colliers Keenan of Charleston.

The project marks Lauth's first Lowcountry venture. Roberts said the company eyed Charleston for two years and decided to pursue the project because of the port's planned growth.

Open house

The Custom Home + Remodel Show will take place this weekend at the Gaillard Municipal Auditorium in downtown Charleston.

The show will feature displays from 13 local architecture firms, which don't often have a platform to promote their work, said organizer Tim Barkley of Charleston Home + Design magazine.

More than 100 other home-related vendors also will show off their work at the event.

"I can't imagine how many miles and how much gas you'd spend if you were to drive around to these different venders across the Lowcountry," Barkley said.

Terry Haas, a designer from Home and Garden Television who lives on Daniel Island, will speak at 1 p.m. Saturday and Sunday about what type of remodeling builds value into a home.

The show runs from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Tickets cost $7, but children 12 and younger are free.

A place in the Sun

M&M Real Estate, a small, Summerville-based residential firm led by Mark Massad, has merged with a larger operation.

The company's agents will now work under the Carolina Sun GMAC Real Estate name. The Mount Pleasant company has more than 40 agents and an office on Ben Sawyer Boulevard.

M&M follows in the footsteps of other small local agencies that have opted to merge with larger ones in the slower market.