Charleston Charm

by Warren Grant

Imagine living in a gentile, southern town, Summerville…a town named after the season. How warm, active, and engaging it must be.

There is such a town in the Lowcountry of South Carolina that was founded in the late 1700s by Charlestonians and other area residents looking for pine-scented higher ground to escape the prevalent coastal summer heat, flooding, and mosquitos. They came by carriage or up a river called Ashley to the higher grounds and welcoming woodlands of Summerville.

Located just over 30 minutes northwest of Charleston, Summerville is a place of grand azalea gardens, ancient oaks draped in Spanish moss, precolonial historic sites, and Southern hospitality. It is also the self-professed ‘Home of Sweet Tea,’ about as Southern as you can get.

Summerville is also home to a gated active-adult community called Cresswind Charleston, a tidy, welcoming collection of neighborhoods and lakes tucked tight into a 1,100-acre nature conservancy that is also where the headwaters flow for that same river called Ashley. The well amenitized community clubhouse includes a resort-style pool, fitness center, demonstration kitchen, billiards and card room, arts and crafts room, and an on-site lifestyle director. There are also tennis, pickleball, and bocce ball courts, and an outdoor amphitheater that hosts myriad concerts and entertainers.

Karen and Art Stark discovered Cresswind through an online search. They were looking for a little milder climate than the tidewater region of Virginia where they lived. Art grew up in Charleston, was stationed there in the Coast Guard for a time, and still has family there, so he had an affinity for the Lowcountry.

Karen had an affinity for Cresswind Charleston within minutes of walking through the first model home they toured. “I walked in and just knew this was a place for us,” describes Karen. “I even started to say right there in the model home that ‘our home will have this feature’ and ‘our home will have an expanded porch.’ Our search was over on the first day and we love it here.”

The Starks are outdoor people and spend hours walking and biking Cresswind’s scenic trails, hitting the fitness center, and doing water aerobics for Karen. And when ideal-LIVING spoke with the couple in February, they had just gotten back from a fresh seafood lunch in historic downtown Charleston and walking the Rainbow Row of 13 pastel-colored Georgian houses on East Bay Street. Sounds like the perfect afternoon! Another Cresswind couple, Steve and Sue Hoak, recently moved to the community from Pennsylvania. They had taken a couple of visits down South to visit various locations, but a second visit to Cresswind sealed the deal.

Says Sue, “We were considering a place on Hilton Head Island, but we stayed at Cresswind through their Discovery Program. The home we were in just had so much more natural light and charm. It was an easy decision.” On their discovery visit, they had an arranged dinner with a couple who lived at Cresswind, and the four became instant friends – which would later prove beneficial. The Hoaks visited just before the pandemic hit last March. So they picked out a homesite and a three-bedroom house plan, went back to Pennsylvania to sell their house, then in May embarked on a 22,000mile, five-month tour of the United States in their RV.

They called it the ‘Social Distancing Tour of 2020.’

“We received regular photo updates on the progress of our home from our realtor and construction manager. But we also got pictures from the couple we had dinner with, which was most welcome getting their personal perspective.”

The Hoaks spent the last month of home construction in an Airbnb on nearby Edisto Island on the Atlantic Ocean before moving in on December 10. They both bike the trails, walk their dog, use the fitness center, and Sue has joined the Cresswind book club and knitting club. They’re also itching to browse downtown Summerville’s seasonal farmers market open Saturdays from April to November.

Residents of Cresswind Charleston have close access to great health care through the Summerville Medical Center. And a comprehensive facility in Charleston is the West Ashley Medical Pavilion, part of the Medical University of South Carolina.

Cresswind Charleston is part of Kolter Homes’ portfolio of Cresswind active adult communities. For more information call 888-262-9607 or visit www. cresswindcharleston.com.