205 Michigan Ave. — Remodeled Folly Beach home with mansard roof a roomy rental that’s also for sale

By JIM PARKER

The Post and Courier

There aren’t any chickens or cows, but one house not far from the ocean could be mistaken on first glance for a small barn.

To be precise, the distinctive residence at 205 Michigan Ave. on Folly Beach never was a barn although it has a mansard roof and is nicknamed “Sandbarn.” At the same time, the property has been extensively remodeled and is for rent for $1,750 a month with a year’s lease, says Scott Johnson, who is the owner and is handling the lease.

The 1,450-square-foot house, with three bedrooms and two baths, also is for sale for $449,000. The property is zoned “island commercial,” so a buyer could open a bed and breakfast, for instance.

Johnson says 205 Michigan Ave. has a bit of history.

His mother Ida Johnson arrived at Folly Beach in 1978 “via my father’s Naval career,” he says. She went on to become the island’s pharmacist for 30 years, he says. Deliveries were made around town by bicycle.

In 1986, she bought the so-called Sandbar property, which had a flat roof.

A carpenter from South Africa installed the new mansard “barn” roof, Johnson says.

The two-story house held up through “many years and tenants.” But by the late 2000s, “Sandbarn was in a sad state,” he says. The residence sat empty. Johnson fully remodeled the house in a project that took more than two years. He says the house is “a unique, unusual building, but it survived (Hurricane) Hugo” in 1989.

Among the standout features in the restoration: old reclaimed beams were shored up; new foundation footings installed; modern natural gas and heating, ventilation and cooling systems added; Rinnai tankless water heater put in; plumbing updated; bathrooms modernized; and gourmet kitchen designed with twin convection ovens. Capping the residence was a “hail proof” slate roof, he says.

The ground floor has an open layout with the living room, dining room and kitchen flowing into one another. The bedrooms are upstairs.

“It’s a loving remodel, with lots of small touches, custom trim work, and an eye for low maintenance and low utilities,” Johnson says.

The property is near the Sandbar restaurant. Heading south, take the James Island connector to Folly Road. Bear left on Folly and proceed seven miles to the island bridge. Cross over onto Center Street and take the first right on West Indian Avenue. Go one block and just after the intersection, steer right on Sandbar Lane. The first left is Michigan Avenue. Ahead is 205 Michigan Ave.

For more information, contact Johnson at 619-559-9307.