BERRY NICE-KB Home community drawing interest with new floor plans, ample options, middling costs

Two-story homes are popular attractions at Blackberry Creek, a new Summerville area neighborhood of 183 houses from KB Home. A low brick wall with fire pit highlight the back porch of the 3,224-square-foot Hurst model at Blackberry Creek. The KB Home neighborhood is in lower Dorchester County. The formal living room of the Hurst model comes with hardwood floors and fireplace. KB Home offers numerous options for its houses at Blackberry Creek, which have base prices from $124,990 to $210,990. So-called “basic” homes at Blackberry Creek in lower Dorchester County are not too shabby. They’re all EnergyStar high-efficiency rated, come with Whirlpool appliances and Shaw carpet and range in size from 1,272 to 3,396 square feet and price from $124,990 to $210,990. Desiring to secure a lot of home for the money, some buyers in the KB Home neighborhood forego options to seek extra square footage, says Jason Harper, sales associate. Other purchasers, however, scour the builder’s extensive design center off Rivers Avenue. They’ll select upgrades such as quartz countertops, maple cabinets, tile floors, jetted tubs and separate showers and stainless steel stoves, dishwashers and refrigerators. “It’s the next best thing to custom,” he says. Blackberry Creek home buyers and shoppers seem to like the opportunity to pick the type of house they want and how much they want to spend. About 2/3 of the neighborhood’s 183 homes and home sites have been sold, Harper says. Meanwhile California-based KB Home, which has its state headquarters in North Charleston, is rolling out four new floor plans starting today. They include the two-story Franklin and three ranches, the Camden, Kershaw and Fairfield. They all have four bedrooms except the Camden, which has three sleeping areas. They all come with two-car garages, sodded front yards and attic space. “People are looking for more value, more square footage,” says Michael McGivney, the regional vice president of sales and marketing for KB Home. There are six existing models at Blackberry Creek, the one-story Summit and two-level Tyler, Crestwell, Dearborn, Malvern, Hurst and Hancock. Options by plan are lofts, great rooms, game rooms, dens, large walk-in closets, balconies, covered front porches and fire pits on the backyard patios. Blackberry Creek has a small park with a covered gazebo, picnic tables and grills. The community has a host of buyer types, although many homeowners have children. “I’ve definitely seen a lot of families come through,” although not so much with young children, Harper says. He has also noticed older couples who are downsizing and “don’t want the hustle and bustle of Summerville.” A number of buyers are in the armed forces or employed by large companies nearby such as the Bosch auto plant and Force Protection, which makes mine-resistant military vehicles. Youngsters would attend Dorchester District 2 schools, and the private Pinewood Preparatory School is also nearby. Harper says the neighborhood benefits from a convenient locale, within 10 minutes of Interstate 26 and of the Summerville historic and business district. “We are excited about it,” McGivney says. Blackberry Creek is the sixth community from KB Home in the Charleston area. Two more are scheduled to open next year, Cypress Grove south of Moncks Corner and Linnen Place in Mount Pleasant. For your real estate needs please visit http://www.sallyandj.com/