Estate Planning Attorney inNorth Charleston, SC

A North Charleston shopping center along one of the region's busiest retail corridors has come under local ownership.

Mount Pleasant-based Ziff Real Estate Partners added to its holdings in the region by acquiring the Promenade at Northwoods for $30.75 million.

The sale of 7800 Rivers Ave. closed on Feb. 11, according to Charleston County land records.

The seller was an affiliate of Big V Property Group. The Charlotte-based firm paid $35.8 million for the 322,400-square-foot shopping center in 2019. It then sold one of the buildings for $7.6 million two years later.

The property was developed across from Northwoods Mall in the 1980s and formerly was called North Rivers Market. Its current anchor retail tenants include Hobby Lobby, Ollie's Bargain Outlet and Boot Barn.

Last year, Gaffney-based Hamrick's took over a vacant space that had been occupied for decades by Toys R Us. Another new addition is Urban Air, an indoor trampoline park.

"We have significant dollars allocated for both physical and aesthetic updates to the center," said Ziff partner Christian Chamblee, who directs the firm's acquisitions and sales activities. "Expect facade enhancements, improved landscaping and upgraded management. We owe it to the community and to our investors and tenants, many of whom are local, to make the property attractive to visitors."

He estimated that Promenade at Northwoods draws about 2.4 million shoppers and other visitors each year, "which we forecast to increase with the recent successful openings of Hamrick's and Urban Air."

He added that Ziff's research shows that by 2029 "the market spending power for the three-mile radius around Promenade at Northwoods is expected to grow by 25 percent, which is faster than all but one of our portfolio markets."

While locally based, Ziff has invested $1.2 billion in commercial real estate deals across 16 states since 1991. It now owns about 50 income-producing properties, from retail centers to office buildings.

The Wingo Way firm marked its last major retail acquisition in its own back yard in late 2023, when it paid almost $47 million for the Walmart-anchored Wando Crossing in Mount Pleasant.

Ziff also owns Ashley Oaks and Crossroads Centre, both in West Ashley, and Ladson Oakbrook Shopping Center in Summerville.

Published: Feb. 6, 2025 at 2:00 PM PST|

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A Lowcountry family’s experience inside a North Charleston skilled nursing facility is sparking renewed concerns about the facility’s troubling history of complaints and investigations and is raising the question of how state and federal agencies regulate and inspect nursing homes.

Gerald McFadden’s family says the months he spent at Riverside Health and Rehab were marked by a series of disturbing issues after he was admitted in May 2022 following a traumatic brain injury from a car accident.

His mother, Terry McFadden-Brown, and his aunt, Lavone Richardson, shared their complaints with the State Department of Public Health during his stay and are now describing what they say was a horrifying situation in which their loved one was left to suffer in unsanitary and concerning conditions.

“I know that my child wasn’t being taken care of,” McFadden-Brown says.

The family says they saw problem after problem during their visits to Riverside, including nasty smells, unchanged diapers and gruesome bedsores.

“My nephew actually laid in that bed all night without being changed,” Richardson says. “One night they called us, and we rushed to Riverside. Gerald’s diaper was saturated with blood.”

McFadden’s mother and aunt spoke up, contacting Riverside management and complaining to the State Department of Public Health but nothing changed, they say.

In a statement, Riverside’s management says they cannot comment directly on McFadden’s care, but they acknowledge the family’s complaints. They reported Richardson’s allegations to the state, and after an internal investigation and a meeting with the resident and the ombudsman, they found no issues with his care, management says.

McFadden’s family’s complaints are not the first ones Riverside has faced, however. The facility received dozens of complaints, lawsuits and state and federal investigations over neglect, insufficient staffing, missing money and deaths. McFadden’s experience is just another example of accusations about what goes on behind closed doors.

Live 5 Investigates wanted to know how after years of well-documented issues, and even legal challenges, Riverside still sees the same complaints and still remains open.

After more than a month of requests for an interview to break down complaints, inspections and punishments for facilities like Riverside, the DPH, the agency tasked with regulating facilities, officials finally agreed to do an interview days after a deadline they were given.

They did, however, answer some questions in an email:

What processes/protocols are in place to ensure nursing homes and long-term care facilities are following state and federal guidelines?

DPH conducts inspections or surveys of facilities to determine compliance with applicable statutes and regulations. Additionally, the Department investigates complaints alleging statutory or regulatory violations.

If someone files a complaint, what are the next steps taken by DPH?

Upon receipt of a complaint, we review it to determine whether it alleges violations of the statutes or regulations that we administer and enforce. If there are alleged violations, then the complaint is assigned to DPH staff who investigate the complaint. The investigation may consist of an unannounced visit to the facility or provider, review of applicable documentation, and/or interview of relevant staff and residents/patients. After concluding the investigation, we will issue the facility or provider a report, which will include a description of alleged violations, if any.

If a complaint is substantiated, how is a facility held accountable/what consequences could they face?

If we determine the facility or provider committed statutory or regulatory violations, then we issue a report describing the alleged violations. Additionally, the facility or provider is required to submit to DPH a plan of correction regarding the violations.

Regarding our licensed facilities and providers, we generally have authority to deny, suspend, or revoke licenses or assess a monetary penalty, or both, against a person or facility for, among other things, violating a provision of the licensing statute or departmental regulations. If we determine that there are conditions/practices at the facility that pose an immediate threat to the health, safety, and welfare of the residents, we may immediately suspend a facility’s license and, in such circumstances, we contact the appropriate state agencies for placement of the residents.

How does a facility stay open after continued complaints, citations and fines? What does it take for a facility to lose its license?

Complaints are not grounds for the Department revoking or suspending a facility or provider’s license. As noted, we generally have authority to suspend or revoke a license if the facility or provider have committed statutory or regulatory violations.

Revoking or suspending the license of a facility can have significant impacts on residents. For example, relocating a vulnerable adult from one facility to another can be a difficult transition for the resident and his/her health as well as for the resident’s family or responsible parties. Additionally, availability of beds in nearby facilities may be lacking. DPH is mindful and cognizant of these impacts. We generally only suspend or revoke a license when there is a demonstrated history of noncompliance and/or violations that pose significant threats to the health, safety, and welfare of the facility’s residents."

Documents obtained from the DPH through an open records request, however, show citations and corrections plans don’t stop the issues. Riverside was cited several times in recent years after residents lay in beds wet with urine or feces, after a nurse cussed at resident and after thousands of dollars went missing from one resident’s account.

Riverside had three federal fines in the past three years totaling nearly $24,000 and had its Medicare funding cut off at one point, Medicare records show, but complaints continued coming in.

Advocates from national organizations believe regulatory bodies and government agencies tasked with inspecting facilities and handling complaints are not doing enough to protect residents.

“As an advocate, when you look at the regulations and the laws in place to protect nursing homes residents, they’re amazing, they’re significant, and they’re very detailed,” Sam Brooks, the Director of Public Policy at The Consumer Voice, says. “But what we see repeatedly are failures at the federal and state government to actually enforce them.”

Brooks, whose organization advocates for long-term care residents and their families and fights for better quality care, believes part of the issue with holding facilities around the country accountable is that state and federal regulatory bodies are drastically underfunded.

“When you don’t have that money, you’re not investing in survey staff and complaint investigations,” he says. “You do see this real degradation of the enforcement authority.”

Even if facilities do see enforcement and numerous complaints, citations and fines, they find a way to keep their doors open, he says.

“I think for a lot of facilities, fines are the cost of doing business,” Brooks says. “They know down to the dollar how much it costs and how much profit they’re getting from a facility. And oftentimes, paying a fine is much cheaper than investing in staff and providing high-quality care.”

McFadden’s family pulled him out of Riverside in late summer of 2023. His mom quit her job to care for him. His family, however, believes something at every level, from government enforcement to staffing, must change.

“[Riverside] needs to be closed down, and that’s just it,” Richardson says. “Close that nasty, terrible building down.”

Riverside maintains the family did not express any dissatisfaction with McFadden’s care when they removed him from the facility nor did they voice any additional concerns when the facility followed up after his discharge, according to management. Facility leaders tried to work with the family throughout the time of his stay to address his concerns, management says.

Riverside’s Administrator, Patty Castle, released this response to requests for information about this story:

Due to federal and state privacy laws, we are unable to disclose specific details about Mr. McFadden’s treatment but we can confidently say that our staff diligently worked with his family to address any concerns they had throughout his stay at our facility. We followed our established grievance procedures, which include reporting any allegations of neglect to the state authorities for investigation. In March 2023, when Mr. McFadden’s aunt voiced concerns about his care, we promptly reported her allegations to the state. Following an internal investigation and a meeting between the resident and the ombudsman, it was concluded that there were no care issues. The outcome of this investigation was communicated to Mr. McFadden’s family. We also have no record of complaints from the family at any time about bugs or the cleanliness of the facility.

When Mr. McFadden admitted to our facility in 2022, his family’s goal was for him to return home where they could care for him. Upon his discharge in 2023, the family did not express dissatisfaction with our care. In fact, after Mr. McFadden’s discharge, we followed up with his family to ensure his smooth transition home and to address any potential concerns. At no point during the follow-up conversation did the family share any concerns about Mr. McFadden’s care or treatment.

In light of the clip that was aired last night previewing Mr. McFadden’s aunt stating one night she was informed Mr. McFadden’s diaper was “saturated with blood”, I encourage you to make sure you have a comprehensive understanding of Mr. McFadden’s health condition, including the medications he was taking in 2022, almost three years ago when this occurred.

We remain committed to providing quality of care to all our residents and we continue to work closely with families to address any concerns they may have, always striving to improve our services. Thank you for allowing us the opportunity to address these matters, and we appreciate your commitment to uphold your ethical obligations of impartiality, objectivity, and balance as you publish a second story about our facility.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The City of Charleston is looking to purchase property on the peninsula from Charleston County to build more affordable housing.

The county-owned property sits at 993 and 995 Morrison Drive, located next to the Charleston Tech Center, and currently is a parking lot.

On Thursday night, the county’s finance committee will meet to discuss potentially selling the property, with the city offering $30 million.

This comes after the county council recommended on Jan. 28 entering negotiations with the city for an amount ranging between $30 and $35 million for the cost of the property.

This is a $10 million increase from Mayor William Cogswell’s initial offer of $20 million back in October. County councilmember Jenny Costa Honeycutt says that is because the county was looking for an offer closer to the appraisal value of the property which exceeded $30 million.

City officials say that their plan is to use funds they have set aside from their Cooper River Bridge Tax Increment Financing District to purchase the property if they receive final approval from the county.

If the county sells this property to the city, Honeycutt says the funds they would receive would go into the county’s capital projects program which consists of various different initiatives.

“We do have a lot of capital projects that are ongoing. Azalea, the bio lab, and other upfits that are being done, so that’s where those dollars would be spent. I’m sure there will be a discussion among council about the possibility of other areas and reinvestment into affordable housing initiatives, but at this point, the designated funds typically go back into our capital projects program,” Honeycutt says.

The county had initially considered seeking out developers for this property to create affordable housing, however, before moving too far along in the process, the city showed interest in purchasing it.

“To get potential developers to look at developing it in the way that would maximize its utility and provide the most affordable housing that they could put on this site,” Honeycutt says. “We didn’t expect the city to come in with a competitive offer and so before we got to that phase of the process, the city made its initial offer and so there have been discussions ongoing with the city.”

The city had said previously that their goal was to create 500 affordable housing units on this property, but the Chief Policy Officer for the city, Logan McVey, says it will depend on factors such as the final price tag, site conditions and the cost of building materials at the time of construction.

McVey says that affordable housing is essential for the peninsula, not only to alleviate traffic problems in the area but to ensure long-time Charleston residents have a place to live.

“When you have to live in Goose Creek or outer West Ashley or Johns Island, you have to drive all the way if you’re coming to downtown and when you do that, you put a strain on our roads,” McVey says. “We’ve even got a study that shows that people who are from here can’t afford to live here anymore and they’re being replaced by people that are moving here, so we’re kind of losing the culture that makes Charleston special and it’s really important to keep it affordable to live here to preserve that.”

Honeycutt says that Thursday’s discussion could result in approving or rejecting the city’s offer or coming up with a counteroffer. If the county decides to move forward with the city’s offer it will have to go to the county council for approval on Tuesday.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

At least one large fire is still burning in the Carolinas following an outburst of wildfires this weekend, and fire weather is expected to persist across both states on Monday.

Newsweek reached out to the South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC) by email for comment.

Why It Matters

More than 175 fires were burning in South Carolina on Sunday, prompting Governor Henry McMaster to declare a state of emergency.

Many of the fires have since been contained, according to a map from the South Carolina Forestry Commission (SCFC), but the fire burning in Horry County near Myrtle Beach remains active. It has grown to 1,600 acres and is only 30 percent contained.

In North Carolina, hundreds of acres have burned in the Blue Ridge mountains near the towns of Tryon and Saluda, forcing residents to evacuate.

What to Know

As of Monday morning, fire weather persists across both states, though the red flag warnings issued over the weekend have expired.

Fire Danger

According to animated weather footage maps from windy.com, the worst fire danger is located in southern South Carolina, including in Charleston. The risk of fire spread is classified as "moderate" across southern South Carolina and east-central Georgia. Much of the rest of South Carolina and all of North Carolina's fire spread risk is categorized as "low" or "very low."

Drought map

Drought is contributing to the spread of wildfires by providing ample fuels for any fires that ignite in the area. In the Carolinas, the worst of the drought is concentrated in northwestern and northeastern South Carolina and southern and western North Carolina.

Weather warnings

As of Monday morning, much of North Carolina and the northwestern half of South Carolina have "moderate" weather warnings in place. According to the National Weather Service (NWS) offices in the area, the warning in place across both states is a special weather statement warning of fire danger

Wind

Strong winds can contribute to the spread of fire. According to the windy.com footage, most wind gusts are lower than 20 mph in both states.

Radar

Dry weather will persist, contributing to the fire risk in both states. There is no chance of rain on the weather radar for the Carolinas.

What People Are Saying

NWS office in Greenville-Spartanburg, South Carolina, in a special weather statement: "Another very dry day is expected again today with minimum relative humidity of 20 to 25 percent possible in the afternoon. While winds are expected to be light and temperatures still on the cool side of normal, dry vegetation due to lack of recent rainfall combined with the dry air will once again result in increased wildfire danger in northeast Georgia, Upstate South Carolina and western North Carolina."

NWS office in Raleigh, North Carolina, in a special weather statement: "The combination of very dry fine fuels like grasses and tree debris, limited rainfall in the last week, and very low relative humidity dropping to 15 to 20 percent will lead to an elevated risk of adverse fire behavior today."

What Happens Next

The special weather statements warning of increased fire danger will remain in place through Monday evening across both states. Meteorologists and state officials warned people against outdoor burning during the conditions.