Builders win community awards, real estate agencies host fundraisers and workshops

Community earns AIA chapter award A new development from I’On group inspired by the historic streets of downtown Charleston has won a top honor from the American Institute of Architects Charleston. Mixson, a sustainable neighborhood in the Park Circle area of North Charleston, won the Award for Service to the Community and Design Profession. It is given yearly to a builder or developer that demonstrates excellence in a project, resulting in a better community at large. To ensure that Mixson’s work with the community continues and expands, the I’On Group has created the Mixson Civic Trust, a community support organization that will promote and organize cultural, civic, and philanthropic events within both Mixson and the larger North Charleston community. Mixson features winding cobblestone streets, residences connected by archways, and intimate parks and plazas, according to the I’On Group. It has a variety of residences, shops, restaurants and cafes, offices, places of worship and other civic gathering spots. The environmentally-friendly one-, two- and three-bedroom homes are available from the mid-$100,000s. Visit www.mixson.com or call (843) 746-9696 . Company sponsors music fundraiser KW Music Fest 2008 will be held 7-11 p.m. Nov. 1 at the Charleston Visitors Center and Bus Shed. The event , to include food and drink, will have live music featuring Ed Hunnicut and Laura Ball, and Doug Jones. Admission is a $20 donation, kids 12 and under get in free. Sponsor is Keller Williams. The fundraiser will support Hospice of Charleston, East Cooper Habitat for Humanity, Darkness to Light and Dragon Boat Charleston. To order tickets online, go to www.kwmusicfest.com. Home builders host remodeler workshop A seminar on “Sales and Marketing for Remodelers” will be held Thursday, Oct. 30 at the Charleston Trident Home Builders Association, 2120 Noisette Boulevard in North Charleston. Registration, which includes lunch and materials, is $155 for Remodelers Council members, $200 for non-members and $175 for National Association of Home Builders members. Tori Stein, CAPS, is the instructor and will explain how professionals can remodel their marketing plan. The remodeling business relies on referrals and a steady supply of leads and clients. The course is aimed at helping remodelers build a positive reputation and have contented customers in the community. It will teach remodelers how to use marketing to their advantage, generate sales leads, make sales calls and presentations, close sales, and produce top-notch customer service. The course will give designation credit for CGA, CGR, and Master CSP and continuing education credit for CAPS, CGA, CGB, CGR, CSP, CMP, GMB, Master CSP and MIRM. For more information or to register, go online to www.charlestonhomebuilders.org, call 572-1414, fax 572-8227 or mail 2120 Noisette Boulevard, Suite 106, North Charleston, S.C. 29405. Urban planners, engineers host bioswale workshop Building industry professionals are invited to a free one-day seminar in North Charleston Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. The event is designed to provide regional developers, engineers, contractors and urban planners the opportunity to learn about Low Impact Development strategies for managing storm water, with an emphasis on bio-retention swales and pervious surfaces. Participants can view the bioswales at the city of North Charleston’s Oak Terrace Preserve on site. Davis & Floyd’s Mike Horton, an engineer who designed the bioswale system, will conduct the seminars along with Elias Deeb, project manager for Oak Terrace Preserve. More information on the seminars can be obtained by contacting Nicole Saladin, Nicole@belle.baruch.sc.edu, (843) 546-6219 , ext. 241 or Rebekah Szivak, SzivakR@dnr.sc.gov, (843) 953-9024 . The event is being sponsored by the city of North Charleston, Coastal Training Program, S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control, Davis & Floyd, S.C. Department of Natural Resources, S.C. Sea Grant Consortium, University of South Carolina, ACE Basin, and The Noisette Company LLC. Lane & Smythe adds to staff Josie Irvin has recently joined Lane & Smythe real estate firm in Charleston. She is a magna cum laude graduate of the College of Charleston with a degree in communications. Lane & Smythe is located at 9 Broad St. downtown. Realtor hosts fundraiser for youth with liver disease A benefit will be held Nov. 18 for Tony Pasquino, a local youth with Cystic Fibrosis and liver disease. He was placed on the liver transplant list in 2008. With the cost of transplants often exceeding $500,000, many transplant patients are unable to shoulder the financial burden. Billy Johnstone, real estate agent with Century 21 Waterfront Properties, is a liver recipient himself. That’s why he is heading up the benefit, asking for support to help Pasquino receive a new liver. The fundraiser, 5:30-8:30 p.m., will be held at Daniel Island Grille, 259 Seven Farms Drive. It will include live and silent auctions, food, drinks, and live entertainment. Tickets are available for $125 at BB&T bank on Daniel Island, Century 21 Waterfront Properties and Daniel Island Grille. For more information, go online to www.tonypasquino.org. Bald eagles raise chick at The Ponds The Ponds developer Greenwood Communities and Resorts says two bald eagles raised a chick during the 2008 nesting season, citing a letter from S.C. Department of Natural Resources. The resources department commended Greenwood for conservation efforts at The Ponds, a 1,950-acre master-planned community in Summerville that includes an 1,100-acre nature preserve. “We are proud to have done our part to increase the bald eagle population right here in our very own conservation area,” says John Morgan of Greenwood and general manager of The Ponds. The resources department letter says The Ponds’ bald eagle chick is one of 305 born in South Carolina this year. The number is substantial, considering South Carolina reported only 13 at the low point of the bird’s endangerment. “Reaching the status of ‘recovered’ has been a long journey for our nation’s bald eagle population,” says Thomas M. Murphy, the resource department’s state coordinator.