DI News History - March 31, 2016

TEN YEARS AGO In the March 30, 2006 issue, the top news story was how local restaurants and retailers were struggling to get customers due to the small residential size of the island. The corporate climate remained good as the 225 Seven Farms Drive building and BenefitFocus were under construction. Of the five restaurants we featured – Soda Water Grill, Laura Alberts, Vincent’s Pizzeria, and Queen Anne’s Revenge, Lana’s Mexican Restaurant – only Laura Alberts remains open today. Soda Water Grill is now occupied by Vespa, Vincent’s by Honeycomb Café, Queen Anne’s by The Islander and Lana’s by Agave. At the time, commercial realtor Pete Harper likened Daniel Island’s then retail climate to that of a pioneer town where developers and merchants alike share financial risks while building a retail base together. In other news, we featured the David and Goliath story of how Cainhoy and St. Thomas Island residents initiated and, together with Daniel Island residents, waged a successful battle six years prior to stop a massive State Ports Authority terminal project on the southern tip of Daniel Island. FIVE YEARS AGO In the March 31, 2011 issue of The Daniel Island News the top story was Family Circle Cup preview and the return of defending champion Sam Stosur. Additionally, islander Shelby Rogers, who teamed with Patty Schnyder in an exhibition doubles match the previous year, were set compete together in the main doubles draw. In top business news, 109 River Landing Drive, right next to Sermet’s Courtyard, was purchased for $1.56 million by 109 River Landing LLC, a partially owned subsidiary of Colonial Commercial Group (CCG) in Greenville, SC. The 4-story building, which was custom built six years prior, has roughly 12,500 square feet of space, of which 1,200 was available for leasing. Major tenants at the time included Wells Fargo Advisers, Millennia Medical and Resolution Management Consultants. In other business news, Charleston Preferred Properties, a Charleston buyers’ agency that specialized in residential real estate throughout the Charleston area, hired islander Bart Jackson as a Buyer Representative.