Lowcountry a ‘rich laboratory’ for real estate center

Perry Woodside, finance professor at the College of Charleston, pointed out that the tri-county area is a goldmine of real estate and land-use issues.

Brownfields, historic preservation, urban sprawl and development, wetlands and environmental regulations, all of these concerns lie within only 30 miles of the Charleston peninsula, Woodside said.

That is why Woodside and Bob Pitts, dean of the College of Charleston’s School of Business and Economics, consider the college’s new Carter Center in Real Estate essential to the region.

The center, which launched this fall and received a $1.5 million pledge from Atlanta developer Ben Carter, for whom the center is named, will conduct research into the host of land issues the Lowcountry faces. It will also collect and analyze local real estate industry data, Pitts said.

The Carter Center includes undergraduate courses taught in the business school’s Economics and Finance department, such as real estate principles and real estate financing and investing. Appraisal, regulatory zoning and other real estate courses will be offered. As the program expands, possible electives include urban planning, urban policy and environmental policy, said Woodside, the center’s director.

About 70 students are enrolled in real estate classes at the college, and that number should exceed 100 next semester when additional courses are offered, Woodside said.

There are 180,000 homes planned for the tri-county area, according to economist Al Parish, director of Charleston Southern University’s Center for Economic Forecasting.

There is the Noisette Co.’s 3,000-acre development plan for North Charleston. There are also massive, forthcoming mixed-used developments such as the 1,700-acre Carolina Park in Mount Pleasant, the 2,300-acre Carnes Crossroads in Goose Creek and the 500-acre Magnolia project on peninsular Charleston’s neck area.

All of that building and land development raises infrastructure questions plus concerns from the South Carolina Coastal Conservation League and other environmental organizations. This makes the Carter Center a natural fit for the Lowcountry, Pitts said.

Carter, whose Atlanta-based real estate company Ben Carter Properties Inc. has developed more than $1 billion in real estate assets over the past decade, serves on the College of Charleston’s board of governors and has familial ties to the college.

His two children are graduates of the college and his mother, Jane Middleton Carter, can trace her lineage back to Arthur Middleton, who co-founded the college in 1770, according to a College of Charleston statement.

“My family and I are delighted to be able to assist the college with this program. The College of Charleston has a special place in our hearts and the leadership of the college is very impressive. This is the place to enhance undergraduate knowledge and abilities to enter the real estate profession,” Carter said.

“With the generosity of the Carter family, the Carter Center in Real Estate will allow the School of Business and Economics to develop a world-class undergraduate program to serve our students and provide the real estate community with expertise and professional programs vital to the industry,” Pitts said. “This leadership gift sets the stage for a top program in an industry of tremendous importance to the future of our region and state. Our program will be hands-on and build in cooperation with partners in industry.”

The college is counting on the state to provide additional funding for the center, which has key support from S.C. Speaker of the House Bobby Harrell and Glenn McConnell, president pro tempore of the state Senate, Pitts said.

“The fact that the center will be a natural extension of the existing small business and entrepreneurship initiative at the School of Business should enhance state financial support,” Woodside said. “We believe the Carter Center will become a true center of excellence within the School of Business and Economics.”

South Carolina’s real estate industry increasingly will require professionals from diverse disciplinary backgrounds, and the Carter Center aims to provide the industry with these professionals, according to Woodside.

In January, the center, which as yet has no specific home in the college’s School of Business and Economics, will be housed on the fourth floor of the school’s 5 Liberty Street location, Pitts said.

With the region’s land-use and development issues and the real estate industry’s sizeable economic impact, Woodside considers the Lowcountry an ideal location for the Carter Center and the perfect place for students to learn about the industry.

“(The Lowcounty) is a rich laboratory for interns,” he said.