Sable Twins

The event took place on James Island, just more than four years ago. Yet it could have been eons ago.

Three developers – including a noted Georgia businessman who was on the board of the Atlanta Falcons football team – “broke ground” Jan. 11, 2006, on a chic new village of twin and triple townhomes with eye-catching views as far as Folly Beach.

From the smiling, laughing faces in a quickly assembled “photo op,” there’s no way to tell that the national real estate market would hit the skids a couple of years later, impinging on places such as this one. Or that the woman in the middle, Teresa Mincey, would still be plugging away as chief developer of the complex, Sable on the Marsh.

The backers “had to start all over,” she says. “The market wasn’t really ready.”

Now Mincey is giving the neighborhood another sales push, bringing in ERA Tides Realty and lowering prices to $249,000–$349,900 from an original starting price of $300,000 to $400,000 and up.

“I have new lenders,” Mincey says. “The market is just starting to turn around.”

The new sales group took over the property from a marketing standpoint on Feb. 1, says Wilson “Bud” Poston, broker-in-charge and partner with ERA Tides Realty.

Fourteen completed duplexes are left to sell in the half-moon shaped neighborhood, located in the city of Charleston. If they all find buyers, the developer can build another 25 townhomes, Poston says.

The three-bedroom, three-bath properties – each 1,638 square feet – possess numerous upscale touches. They include fiber cement siding with cedar accents, deep one-car garages, wrap-around porches, crown molding, granite countertops, hardwood floors, garden tubs in the master bedroom, stackable washer-dryers and well-appointed kitchens with stainless appliances including refrigerators and gas stoves. Balconies and patios look out over the marsh.

Fireplaces are an upgrade, and screened porches are being looked at as a possible extra. “We have had several people add a formal dining room,” Mincey says, noting that downstairs master bedrooms are also a popular option. The interiors showcase ample attic space. “It’s like another room,” she says.

Along with the pleasing scenery, community attractions include walking trails. There’s a sizable pond, and 200-year-old oak trees dot the property. A fire pit is in the process of being carved out. Meanwhile, plans call for a crabbing dock on a small creek connecting to Long Island Creek.

Homeowners association dues at Sable on the Marsh are $350 a month, which includes insurance premiums, Mincey says. “I think that one of the selling features is the low regime,” she says.

The marketing agents have seen a mix of second-home buyers and those purchasing for their main residence, Poston says. For instance, a couple from West Ashley bought a unit to be closer to the beach. “I think at this price it’s good for a second home,” Poston says.

Another recent buyer, by contrast, transferred from Washington, D.C., to a new job locally and is living in the townhome full time.

The recent sales come after a few years of fits and starts, Mincey says. “I guess this is a rebirth of Sable.”

ERA Tides Realty is holding open houses today and Sunday from 1–7 p.m., Poston says.

To reach Sable on the Marsh from downtown Charleston, head over the James Island Connector and turn left at the end onto Folly Road. Continue for four-and-a-half miles to Terns Nest Road. Turn left, and the entrance to Sable on the Marsh is on the right.

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

Neighborhood: Sable on the Marsh

Location: Charleston County

Phone: (843) 225-3278

Hours: Noon–5 p.m. Monday-Saturday, 1–5 p.m. Sunday

Web site: www.SableOnTheMarsh.com