Tuppers' way: Family businesses team up to design quiet Guilford Gates neighborhood off Central Avenue

About 15 homes have been built and a dozen occupied at Guilford Gates, off Central Avenue in Dorchester County. Houses are priced from $450,000 to about $1 million or more. Leroy BurnellThe Post and Courier This 4,300-square-foot home has a large living room with fireplace and a bookcase. The community has 37 lots. The old dairy farm on Central Avenue in western Summerville has been parceled out over the years for new urbanist Charleston single homes and dwellings. Still, the Tupper family, which owned the land and milked the cows for generations, swapped the property for one attractive tract. In 2004, the family began developing the site as Guilford Gates. The custom-home neighborhood, which is launching its second phase, will have 37 homesites. Prices range from about $450,000 to as much as $1 million or more. And the neighborhood's title? "My wife's father's name is Edward Guilford Harrison," George Tupper Jr. says. "The family influence is a tremendous asset." The Tuppers chose to design a community that's upscale and in keeping with the semi-rural flavor of Central Avenue beyond Butternut Road. While developed, the property is relatively open. Houses are built based on modified home plans that owners can customize. Land sites are 2/3 of an acre to 1 acre. The community is bordered by woods and wetlands, and tall pines and oaks dot the properties. "The whole concept is it's a natural setting," Jordy Tupper says. Even so, the community is hardly out in the sticks. Guilford Gates is within Summerville town limits, three miles from downtown and even closer to new shopping centers at Central Avenue and Old Orangeburg Road. "We are right in the growth area," George Tupper Jr. says. About 10 homes built in Guilford Gates in its first phase have been occupied. Buyers have included families with younger children and retired couples. The new sector is just starting. There's a 4,300-square-foot spec home on the market for $698,000. The sprawling two-story house is indicative of the neighborhood's custom style. Based on a modified design, the home comes with coffered ceilings, crown molding, bathroom ceramic tile, hardwood floors, maple cabinets, a large living room, laundry room and a "keeping" or "moving" room with a gas fireplace, says Adrian Wood, project manager with G. Tupper III Construction. There are four doors to a rear screened porch and open deck, with natural gas hookups for grills. Blanketed with surround-sound speakers, the 5 1/2-bedroom house has a breezeway connecting to a three-car garage and furnished room above. The home sits on a large wooded lot. "It's a quiet subdivision," Jordy Tupper says. To locate Guilford Gates from downtown Charleston, take Interstate 26 west to Exit 199A, Main Street in Summerville. Follow Main Street into downtown and turn right on Richardson Avenue. Make the first left onto Central Avenue. Continue on Central for a few miles. At a fork, stay left (Butternut Road is to the right). Go less than a mile more. Guilford Gates is on the left. Neighborhood Guilford Gates. Location Dorchester County. Total homes 37. Home sizes 2,500-5,000 square feet. Home prices $450,000-$1 million plus. Lot sizes 2/3 to 1 acre. Typical features --Custom-built homes. --Large lots. --Hardwood floors. --Wooded, wetland surroundings. --High-end kitchens. Property taxes $4,021 on a $600,000 home. Area attractions Pine Forest Country Club, downtown Summerville, Ashley River, Summerville Medical Center, Dorchester County Judicial Complex and Interstate 26. Distance to downtown Charleston 29 miles. Schools Knightsville Elementary Grades K-5; phone, 873-4851; enrollment, 838; certified staff, 66; PACT results, 38.4 percent of fifth-graders scored proficient or advanced on English/Language Arts, 29 percent on math, 37.5 percent on science and 24 percent on social studies. DuBose Middle Grades 6-8; phone, 875-7012; enrollment, 853; certified staff, 60; PACT results, 26.6 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient or advanced on English/Language Arts, 21.2 percent on math, 28.2 percent on science and 18.4 percent on social studies. Summerville High Grades 9-12; phone, 873-6460; enrollment, 3,517; certified staff, 207; SAT results, 501 verbal and 520 math. The 1021 combined score is higher than the state average (984) and the national average (1017). Housing Trends Summerville/Ridgeville area of Dorchester County: Number of sales in the second quarter of 2008: 218 (down from 381 in the second quarter of 2007). Average sales price: $222,900 (up from $219,600). Median sales price: $183,000 (down from $194,750).