We interviewed Hardeeville’s Director of Economic Development: Ted Felder
Welcome to Hardeeville, South Carolina,one of the fastest growing communities in the Southeast. The city’s transition from just another small town in the Lowcountry is not something that has happened overnight. The City of Hardeeville anticipated the growth that they are experiencing and have configured a way to not only grow, but to grow “smart.”
Jasper, the county in which Hardeeville is located, currently has a population of 30,000 spread over 600 square miles. The population is projected to more than double over the next few years. The genius plan: allow residential developments to accumulate, save space for commercial development, all without compromising the beauty of the county’s landscape.
The key factor spurring the growth is our remarkable location. Right off of I-95, we are only 15 minutes from both Hilton Head Island and Savannah, GA. The beauty of the area has led to expansion throughout the region, especially in Hardeeville. The growth is so tremendous that it has caught the attention of big time news broadcasters such as The New York Times, who recently featured an article on our smart growth.
The location, climate, and quality of life are just a few reasons why people are drawn to the area. People have discovered that Hardeeville is the perfect place to reside and inevitably this has led to an escalation of residential building. We have approved the building of approximately 60,000 new homes. The influx of residential development is not your typical subdivisions, but rather high-end communities. Emerging on once rural land are extravagant homes and properties featuring lavish amenities, private golf courses and country clubs that you truly have to see to believe. Hampton Lake, for example, is a private community featuring 906 acres and approximately 900 waterfront home sites situated on a 165 acre freshwater lake.
The explosive residential surge has increased the need for commercial development in Hardeeville. It is a great place to do business because we have everything businesses need to succeed. The demographics, the exposure, access to airports, interstates, seaports, college campuses and best of all a great quality of life.
Hardeeville is the perfect place to start a new business, especially with our business assistance program now in place. We have teamed up with the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Small Business Development Center and the National Bank of South Carolina to provide free one-on-one business counseling services to local businesses. We want to ensure business owners that we will stand behind them in every effort to help their business be a success.
The commercial development of Hardeeville will help achieve our underlying goal of “smart growth.” With this plan the first priority is to give back to the current citizens of the town. To start this off we are preparing a new project of “downtown revitalization” that will be completed at no cost to the residents.
How Crescent Centre Fits In
The Tetra Companies has become part of the amazing growth in Hardeeville with the development of Crescent Centre- a 300 acre mixed-use project with plans for big box retail, outparcels, in line retail, and multifamily development. Crescent Centre will be the face of Hardeeville, as it is the first thing people will see off of I-95.
We have placed our confidence in the project and The Tetra Companies. We certainly had the opportunity to work with any other developer for this project, but chose Tetra. The Crescent Centre project came to Hardeeville at the absolute perfect time with a remarkable location! You can’t tell I am excited can you?
To find out more about Hardeeville, SC, visit the city online at www.CityofHardeeville.com
