| Charleston SC homes Mt Pleasant SC homes Summerville SC homes and surrounding neighborhoods. This weeks featured neighborhood!!! Highland Park serves up quiet, affordable living near North Charleston retail scene "It's established (with) large yards and trees. It's quiet, nice to ride your bikes through," said Karen Downer, who lives there with husband Gilbert Downer and two children.
To be sure, the subdivision of about 100 vintage cottages tucked off Murray Drive in Hanahan has a few drawbacks. There's some traffic off Highland Park Drive. The one-story homes may be too small for some buyers or require additions. Not all the houses are improved.
But as a starter community, Highland Park has a lot going for it. For one thing, the subdivision is close to dozens of shopping centers, businesses and schools such as Trident Technical College on bustling Rivers Avenue, Remount Road and other thoroughfares.
Gilbert Downer, a computer network administrator at the MeadWestvaco paper mill, can reach work in a few minutes, said his wife, who is also a network administrator at the company's corporate office off Leeds Avenue.
"It's conveniently located to everything," said Gena Glaze, a Realtor with Century 21 Southern Homes Inc. in Goose Creek.
The prices are attractive. Even though values have risen, the 1,100 to 1,700 square foot houses sell for $99,000 to $140,000. That compares with a $171,800 average price (and $175,000 median) in Hanahan as a whole, according to Multiple Listing Service figures.
The homes have nice features. Many houses are set back, providing ample front lawns. The back yards are often deep. Lot sizes are 1/3rd of an acre or more. "The lots are a lot larger (than in a typical starter neighborhood)," Glaze said. Inside, many homes sport hardwood floors and fireplaces. Gas appliances are standard.Gas appliances are standard.
The houses are sturdy; most are at least 45 years old, and some date back as far as the early 1940s. Brick and brick veneer with vinyl siding are common outside construction features.
Highland Park doesn't have amenities, but the neighborhood abuts a small park with picnic tables sponsored by the Exchange Club.
The Downers, who have two girls, Katherine, 10, and Caroline, 9, are moving. It's not because of the subdivision but because they would like a larger house. Their Highland Park home has just two bedrooms.
"It was plenty for what we needed at the time," Karen Downer said. A previous owner had renovated the home's kitchen, adding cabinets and Corian countertops. The Downers also remodeled, installing French doors between the living room and a dining area that they converted into a sitting room.
"We even considered adding a second story," she said.
In the end, changes in the Downers' work schedules made a move inevitable. But the couple have no complaints about their Highland Park residence. "It's a perfect home for somebody with one kid," she said.
To reach Highland Park from downtown Charleston, take Interstate 26 west to the East Aviation Avenue exit. Take Aviation to Rivers, turn left and continue to Hanahan Road. Turn right on Hanahan Road, and then bear right onto Highland Park Avenue. The neighborhood is straight ahead. Alternatively, take I-26 to Remount Road, continue east on Remount, then turn left on Murray Drive. Take Murray until it ends and turn left into Highland Park.
BY JIM PARKER |