Edgewater Plantation

Figures tell a lot about Edgewater Plantation, a 360-unit rental village, 90 percent occupied and visible to hundreds of people daily from Interstate 526 in Mount Pleasant.

Yet the community – and its tenants – are hardly just numbers.

“We stay very involved with the residents,” says Christy Wright, property manager. “I have found with the current economy, people are staying at home.”

And Edgewater Plantation, situated near the terminus of Wando Park Boulevard, is the kind of place where there’s plenty going on without leaving the property.

The eight-year-old complex, managed by locally-based Greystar, promotes a host of attractions. There’s a clubhouse with 24-hour fitness area, business center, surround-sound movie theater and lobby with fireplace and big-screen TV; “car care” center with free vacuum; coin-operated laundry; volleyball court; tennis court; and a swimming pool with gazebo, grill area, deck chairs – even a hammock.

Edgewater Plantation offers 1-, 2-, and 3-bedroom apartments from 786 to 1,387 square feet and renting for $870 to $1,475 a month. The complex charges premiums based on views and locations in the three-story buildings, which have 20 to 24 units apiece.

Floor plans are the one-bedroom Spruce and Oak, two-bedroom Cedar and Palmetto and three-bedroom Cypress. Standard features are refrigerator, stove and dishwasher in kitchens; screened-in porches; and washer and dryer hookups. Lease terms are six to 18 months.

“It’s nice to be at the end of the road,” says Brian Hinchee, leasing consultant. “We have lots of woods and marsh views.”

Other perks include detached garages for rent, 24-hour on-call maintenance and the availability of a courtesy officer who can help with requests or concerns such as loud music at night. Management recently starting working with a national group called CARES, whose crew act as “meeters and greeters” to help new residents get to know their neighbors.

The complex's staff regularly sponsors activities. A few events come with rewards, such as the “Taste of Edgewater Plantation.” Tenants submitted cookout recipes, and the resident with the best tasting cuisine received $250 off a month’s rent. In another event, tenants have been donating canned goods to be forwarded to the Lowcountry Food Bank. The most proficient gets a $50 rent break one month.

In addition to the neighborhood’s amenities, the complex is in a desirable spot, Wright says. “We obviously are in a premier location off 526,” she says. Downtown is 9 miles away. “You can be pretty much anywhere in 30 minutes, even Summerville.”

Occupancy totals back up the claim that Edgewater Plantation is a nice place to live. “We’ve averaged 88-90 percent the past four to five months,” Wright says.

Edgewater Plantation can be reached via Long Point Road in Mount Pleasant. Take Long Point just west of the I-526 intersection. Turn right on Wando Park Boulevard. Travel about 1.5 miles. While the Wando River isn’t visible, the road ends just short of it. The community is on the left.

Reach Jim Parker at 937-5542 or jparker@postandcourier.com