South Carolina's first federally chartered startup lender in years is eyeing its next outpost.
Mount Pleasant-based Beacon Community Bank is looking to redevelop a former Circle K service station and convenience store at 527 N. Main St. in downtown Summerville.
The deal is subject to a proposed environmental cleanup and land-reuse plan filed by VCKH’s Magnolia LLC with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control in late March
The applicant is owned by local car dealer Tommy Baker, who also is Beacon's chairman and co-founder. It plans to acquire the nearly half-acre corner property "and intends to redevelop the property with a bank," according to the document.
"The property was formerly a gas station. The past use of the property or adjoining properties may have caused environmental pollution on the property," the filing stated.
The public comment period on the cleanup proposal runs through May 1.
Fast-moving Beacon opened its sixth branch in five years in 2023 when it expanded into the North Charleston market and bolstered its existing East Cooper presence by opening a new corporate headquarters and retail office along U.S. Highway 17 across from Boone Hall Farms.
The bank opened its doors in early 2018 on East Bay Street in downtown Charleston after raising about $34 million from more than 320 local investors led by Baker of Baker Motor Co. Beacon's other branches are in Mount Pleasant and one on Daniel Island.
Split decision
The dozens of newcomers who relocate to the Charleston region each week won't include the "Golden Bachelor" and his new bride after all.
Gerry Turner and Theresa Nist, who tied the knot in a TV wedding about three months ago, went on ABC's Good Morning America last week to announce they've decided to part ways. Turner filed the papers to make it official, citing an “irretrievable breakdown” of their new marriage
"Theresa and I have had a number of heart-to-heart conversations, and we've looked closely at our situation, our living situation, so forth and — and we've kind of come to the conclusion mutually that it's probably time for us to dissolve our marriage," he said on the morning show.
Shortly after Turner picked Nist to be his bride on the ABC reality show, the 70-something engaged couple told People magazine they were considering a move to Charleston from their residences in Indiana and New Jersey, partly because her son and family live nearby.
“We looked at home after home, but we never got to the point where we made that decision," Nist said on GMA.
All best
Three South Carolina towns were named as the “Most Beautiful Coastal Towns in the South” by Southern Living.
Charleston, Georgetown and Beaufort made the list, as well as cities in North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, Texas, Florida, Virginia and Maryland.
Beaufort, which ranked No. 4 out of 15 on the list, was chosen because of the amenities of Waterfront Park, the 100-slip marina, its downtown charm and its proximity to Hunting Island State Park.
“Beaufort’s Waterfront Park is a great place to get wide-open waterfront views as you take a sunset stroll,” Southern Living writers described in the ranking.
Charleston was No. 7, with mentions of the dining, shopping and cultural offerings, its proximity to the barrier island beach towns.
“To be fair, the Holy City comes to mind for a lot when we’re talking about great Southern vacation destinations … There’s not much you can’t find in Charleston,” according to Southern Living.
Ranked No. 13, Georgetown was hailed as the “crowned jewel of South Carolina’s Hammock Coast, a string of six towns bookended by Myrtle Beach and Charleston, Georgetown offers all the same charms of Charleston with far fewer crowds.”
The selections were made by Southern Living editors who research and visit destinations across the region.
Upstate acquisition
A Lowcountry concrete business is cementing its footprint in South Carolina with an Upstate acquisition.
Summerville-based Knight’s Companies and its Knight’s Precast division recently bought MST Concrete Products Inc. of Pendleton.
Financial terms were not disclosed.
Knight’s Precast said it plans to open two new Upstate locations, in Central and in Pendleton. CEO Pete Knight called the deal an "exciting step in our companywide expansion strategy."
Family-owned Knight’s offers septic, ready-mixed concrete, precast concrete, trucking and concrete-pumping services, as well as steel reinforcement products to commercial and residential customers with plants in Summerville and Richmond Hill, Ga.
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