Real Estate Law in Wadmalaw Island, SC

JOHNS ISLAND — The owners of a Blackfish Road home dumped so much trash and debris on a city of Charleston-owned lot behind their house that it cost Charleston more than $140,000 to remove it all, according to a lawsuit.

Now the city is suing Jose and Rosalinda Martinez for that amount and potentially more, saying they made the mess and should be held responsible. The complaint was filed Jan. 30.

“I don’t know how I’m going to pay this,” said Jose Martinez, who told a reporter he’s a disabled man in his late 50s. “It’s way, way too much.”

Martinez returned a Post and Courier reporter’s phone message left at a number listed for J & J Masonry Contracting, which is registered at the same Blackfish Road address in a residential subdivision on the north side of Maybank Highway.

Behind that property sits about six acres of city-owned vacant land where Charleston is working on the $5.8 million Barberry Woods Drainage Improvement Project. When work began on the project in 2025, the city discovered the construction debris and trash.

On aerial images included in Charleston County’s property records system, tire tracks and piles of debris are clearly visible, going back years.

The county had received complaints about the same property in 2014 and code enforcement found construction debris on the Martinez’s property, which was prohibited. That case ended with the county mailing a violation letter.

According to the 2026 legal complaint, Charleston County put Martinez on notice more than a year ago and issued a ticket, and he removed some of the waste from the city’s land. County records show the process was delayed because of Martinez’ health, the amount of waste and a family medical emergency.

The ticket the county issued was dismissed in May 2025 and the case was closed. But then the full extent of the waste was discovered as the city cleared its adjacent property for the drainage project, according to the county and the city.

It was a roughly 10,000-square-foot area where the waste was between two and eight feet deep, the city claimed.

A contractor hauled it all away, finishing in September 2025, at a cost of $140,862.61, according to the lawsuit.

“I don’t know why they are claiming it’s all my debris,” Martinez said. “Some of it is.”

He said one of the city’s contractors told him not to worry about it, that they would clean it up.

On Jan. 30 the city filed the lawsuit seeking to recoup the cost, plus legal fees and potentially additional damages, along with an injunction barring the couple from trespassing and dumping on city property.

Charleston’s attorney Julia Copeland said the city expects to win a judgment and put a lien on the Martinez’ property, so that the government would get the money it expects to be owed when the property is eventually sold.

The Barberry Woods drainage project is expected to be finished this year.

Drivers along Maybank Highway on Johns Island have been passing a bright green, retro-style sign promising miniature golf is “coming soon.”

The wait is almost over.

Sea Island Mini Golf & Arcade is slated to open in late February, bringing two full 18-hole micro-layouts and a large indoor arcade with several dozen games.

The family-friendly entertainment hub at 3414 Maybank Highway features two separate courses — Alligator Alley and Swampville — complete with fountains, sand traps and mini bridges behind a warehouse-style building and parking area.

More than 40 arcade games will be installed indoors, along with multiple televisions for watching sports, including golf and a concessions counter inside will serve up soft pretzels, ice cream, slushies, nachos and pretzels.

Pending a permit, the food truck will offer pizza, fries and chicken fingers. The owners have also applied for a beer and wine license.

Each hole on the courses is sponsored by a local business, and the first nine holes on each course are wheelchair accessible. The design allows players to complete a full 18-hole round by combining accessible holes across both courses. A practice putting green is included on site.

Co-owners Sandie and Michael Albenesius, who also own and operate St. John’s Kayaks and Boat Tours, said the idea grew out of a desire to offer more activities for teens and families on the island and nearby James Island. They own the Sea Island Mini Golf with two additional co-owners.

Transforming the former storage warehouse took several years.

Players on the mini golf course will receive putters, golf balls, a scorecard and a tiny pencil upon signing up to play the courses.

Outdoor seating, picnic tables and televisions — including coverage from the Golf Channel — are also part of the setup.

Initially, Sea Island Mini Golf & Arcade plans to operate Wednesday through Sunday from noon to 8 p.m. but will fluctuate based on weather or demand. The owners said hours will likely expand as demand grows, particularly heading into the summer season.

Beyond casual play, the venue plans to host birthday parties, corporate events, themed nights and group outings for kids and adults alike.

Rural retail

A national retailer of farm and rural lifestyle supplies is eyeing a new stire at Foxbank Plantation in Moncks Corner, near a community slated for nearly 3,000 homes.

Tractor Supply and PetSense by Tractor Supply have submitted plans to the S.C. Department of Environmental Services for a 21,930-square-foot retail outpost at 219 Foxbank Town Center. The project’s owner and developer is Twin Rivers Capital.

Tractor Supply carries farm supplies, pet and animal feed, clothing, tools, fencing and other rural essentials. PetSense offers grooming services and pet prescriptions.

Brentwood, Tenn.-based Tractor Supply is described as the largest rural lifestyle retailer in the U.S. The chain operates 2,364 namesake stores in 49 states, along with 206 PetSense locations in 23 states.

The company has opened seven stores in the Charleston area since expanding to South Carolina in 2007.

Gold rush

Gold Digger, an antique jewelry store, repair shop and jewelry design studio, will open Feb. 7 in North Charleston's Park Circle area.

The address is 1080 E. Montague Ave.

Gold Digger is owned by Lisa Thomas and daughter Emma, who source pieces during their travels. Each item is inspected and prepared by a master jeweler.

Thomas also owns DIGS Charleston and DIGS Imports, a curated furniture shop located at the same address, as well as Out of Hand in the Old Village in Mount Pleasant.

In addition to antique and vintage jewelry, the shop will offer repair services and custom, one-of-a-kind jewelry design.

Get crackin’

A Cajun-style seafood boil restaurant has opened near Tanger Outlets in North Charleston. Happy Crab Seafood is now serving at 4950 Centre Pointe Drive.

Restore more

The Habitat for Humanity ReStore on the peninsula is now open on Mondays.

The home goods-focused shop at 731 Meeting St., accepts donations and sells discounted building materials, furniture and home products, with proceeds supporting affordable housing efforts in the Charleston area.

Updated store hours are Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Wednesday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Sunrise arrives

The wait is over for diners in Goose Creek to get their own outpost of a Johns Island-based diner.

Sunrise Bistro officially opened Feb. 3 at 216 St. James Ave., in the former Ti-Ney Bangkok II Restaurant.

Co-owner Brian Appelt launched the eatery in 2009 with business partner Jessica Welenteichick after the pair spent years working together at Hege’s Restaurant on Johns Island. Other Sunrise Bistro locations are in Mount Pleasant, Johns Island, Aiken and Summerville.

JOHNS ISLAND — It’s beginning to look at lot like Lowes Foods.

After months of construction, shoppers on Johns Island are starting to see visible changes at the former KJ’s Market, which is in the process of being converted into a Lowes Foods grocery store.

Work started at the grocery store at Maybank Highway and Bohicket Road about eight months ago, when parent company Alex Lee Inc. announced last May the transition from the KJ’s to Lowes to better serve the community’s growing, changing demographic.

From the outside, the change is clear: new Lowes signage now greets shoppers rather than the KJ’s logo and the construction scaffolding has been removed.

Inside, Lowes' private-label products are steadily appearing on the shelves along with a new THC-infused beverage section.

There are even seasonal King Cakes shipped directly from New Orleans, a signature offering at all locations from the North Carolina-based grocer.

While the location is open and operating, company officials say the conversion is still underway and the full Lowes experience is expected to roll out over the next couple of months. That includes adding a bar that allows customers to drink and shop.

“It's not a fully effective Lowes Foods with everything up and running yet, that's going to be a couple months,” said Kelly Davis, senior director of guest engagement with the grocery chain. “We've got a ways to go inside.”

Davis said the method of staying open during transitions was the same when the company took over the location and transitioned it to KJ’s from Bi-Lo, as construction continued and new products hit the shelves.

Despite the ongoing work and visible construction inside, store traffic has increased steadily each week, Davis said.

Once the conversion is complete, the store is expected to feature signature Lowes offerings such as a community table section with wine and beer tastings, a “chicken kitchen,” kids events and a "Pick & Prep" option that allows customers to buy partial portions of produce that can be chopped, diced and sliced to order, whether its half an onion or half a watermelon.

The overhaul will include a refreshed interior and more higher-end items, like dry-aged beef, more locally sourced products and a bigger specialty cheese section.

The store is also actively hiring as new departments come online and Matt Nowlin, a Lowes division director who lives on Johns Island, will continue to tailoring the store to local shoppers.

A formal grand opening celebration is planned once the full conversion is complete.

The supermarket remains one of the main food-shopping destinations on the island. The next-closest option for residents is a Food Lion about three miles away on Maybank Highway.

In 2020, Alex Lee Inc. acquired 20 Bi-Lo stores from Winn Dixie parent Southeastern Grocers. The Johns Island store is the third former Bi-Lo in the area to become a Lowes Food, following prior conversions in Hanahan and West Ashley.

The other Lowcountry Lowes Foods store is in Mount Pleasant, which opened in 2019 on Highway 41 in a newly built shopping center.

JOHNS ISLAND, S.C. (WCSC) — Charleston city leaders are racing against the clock to find a way to pay for long-needed road and intersection improvements on Johns Island, as traffic congestion continues to worsen and state funding falls short.

City council has until February to decide whether to move forward with a Municipal Improvement District (MID), a tool that would allow the city to collect fees from new development to help fund infrastructure upgrades.

Charleston City Councilman Jim McBride says the issue isn’t the condition of the roads, but their capacity.

“Our population growth has exceeded our infrastructure to support it,” McBride said. “The main reason for that is all the traffic bottlenecks on Johns Island are on state roads — and the state does not have enough money to improve roads and intersections to keep up with the growth.”

Statewide transportation needs total about $70 billion, while projected revenue sits at just $27 billion, leaving a $42 billion funding gap, according to the South Carolina Department of Transportation’s revenue forecast through 2040.

That shortfall has pushed city leaders to consider alternatives like a Municipal Improvement District, which would focus on funding projects the state cannot.

McBride says the idea is to reinvest money from new development back into the community.

“It generates income based on new development on Johns Island that goes back to Johns Island,” he said. “That could be intersection improvements, traffic lights, sidewalks, or pathways connecting neighborhoods to business centers.”

Municipal Improvement Districts allow cities to assess fees on developers whose properties meet specific criteria, helping pay for infrastructure or stormwater drainage improvements tied to growth.

McBride says traffic congestion is already taking a toll on the local economy.

“People aren’t driving to businesses on Johns Island as often because of the traffic,” he said. “That hurts small businesses.”

This is not the first time Charleston has explored the idea. A similar proposal was paused in 2021 while the federal government reviewed its legality. The plan resurfaced at a city council meeting last November, and leaders are now gathering public input before any decision is made.

However, Mayor William Cogswell says timing could limit how effective the district would be.

“It would have been great if this was done 10 years ago,” Cogswell said. “You would’ve had a lot more revenue coming in because it would only be taxing new businesses — and much of Johns Island’s commercial development has already happened.”

The mayor says the city is also considering a Tax Increment District, which would use future growth in property values to pay for infrastructure improvements.

For now, city leaders say no final decision has been made — and traffic on Johns Island remains a growing challenge.