Reclaiming Downtown

When we purchased our home we were not exactly in the market for an older home, and certainly not the turn of the century relic we now own. What we were in the market for was a property we could run our small business from. This inevitably lead us to scouring over the many town centers around the lowcountry; places where residential and retail co-exist harmoniously. We were originally drawn to the old village in Mt Pleasant and placed a contract on a FSBO that had a large detached garage. The house was only one block off Coleman Blvd, a main thoroughfare with the potential for plenty of traffic. That deal fell through...thankfully. The real estate market in Mt Pleasant is insane, especially in the Old Village, and the price of our original find was staggering. After the sticker shock of the Old Village, we developed a keener sense of what we were looking for. This process involved months of research, and weekend after weekend of day trips followed by evenings full of researching potential properties that had made our short list. We knew that we needed something with good traffic that could serve the purpose as both a primary residence and a professional services office. Although we were searching in Mt Pleasant, West Ashley, and North Charleston, we ended up in my hometown of Summerville. We had our search area narrowed down to just a few blocks in the historic area of downtown because we felt it offered the most promise for finding a mixed use residence. After a month or so, the perfect house appeared on the market. We were aware of it immediately and had a contract on it within four hours of the initial listing. The former owner used the very large room over the detached garage as a dance studio. With the exception of the mirrored walls, we felt that the detached building would make a perfect home office for our mobile diagnostic imaging service. In fact, most of the older cottages on the east side of town had already been converted to businesses. Chiropractors, law offices, and accountants occupied most of the small cottages in town, so we felt that the property would be a natural fit. It isn't ironic that we found the perfect property in a historic district. Mixed used residential/commercial zones were common in 18th and 19th century townships for a variety of reasons. Although not initially aware that we were contributing to the economic revitalization of our downtown area, we quickly realized that the mixed-use property combines a unique quality of life with the convenience of working in a growing community. Our live-work arrangement provides ample office and business space with a cozy living space - all with the charm and attention to detail that are an integral part of Historic Summerville life. Mixed use zones are making a comeback. In 1991, downtown Summerville, like many small towns across the country, was facing hard times; 40% of the building were vacant. Lifelong residents Rick Sutton and Cada McCoy rolled up their sleeves and did something about it. They drew together several hundred people and spent a year meeting, talking, exploring, and researching. The result was the formation of D.R.E.A.M., the non-profit organization dedicated to the revitalization of the downtown area. Since 1992, D.R.E.A.M. has helped to bring focus and support to Summerville and its downtown.
Summerville D.R.E.A.M. is a member of Main Street SC an affiliate of the National Main Street Program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.