Charleston, S.C., resident Ellis Coleman knows exactly where he would safely ride out a Category 5 hurricane: The clubhouse of 17 South, a 220-unit, 250,000-square-foot apartment community his company operates in Charleston.
The interesting part? Coleman will have plenty of room to spare during a storm. All residents at 17 South live in a similar storm-safe structure.
Photo Courtesy of EYC Companies
Worry-Free Ownership
“We don’t worry about hurricanes at 17 South. It’s bulletproof from wind and rain,” explains the president and CEO of EYC Cos. , his family-owned and operated real estate development company specializing in residential and mixed-use property design, development, construction, and management.
There’s a lot more about 17 South that Coleman doesn’t worry about:
- Take heating and cooling. Coleman’s company commands a big competitive advantage with a flat-rate, one-price plan for all utilities. Coleman doesn’t worry about master-metering the complex. “We know our operating expense is well below any renter’s cooling or heating need,” he says. Like to keep your thermostat at 62 during August? Not a problem at 17 South.
- Coleman’s management team doesn’t worry much about noise complaints, in spite of the fact the development is “just a sidewalk away” from one of the city’s busiest highways. “The city likes to build close to the road. We’re literally 12 feet off Route 17. You can stand in one of our apartments and watch the cars whiz by with virtually no road noise,” Coleman reports.
- Other boxes Coleman checks off his worry list include fire (four-hour rated walls), mold (moisture is never an issue), and HVAC wear and tear (22 SEER-rated variable speed, duct-free units). “We built 17 South to be as passive as possible. We don’t want anything that needs to be replaced in five, 10, or even 15 years,” he says.
So how does Coleman achieve all this and more without cost and NOI worries?
The $32.8 million project is built with insulated concrete forms (ICFs), a wall system solution that is gaining rapid favor across the country, especially in areas subject to extreme wind, rain, snow, heat, and cold.
Photo Courtesy of EYC Companies
Photo Courtesy of EYC Companies
Nothing Like It
For Coleman, nothing compares with ICF. “I have a home that’s on the water just south of Charleston. I wanted to do an addition, but I didn’t want to worry about hurricanes. How could we build a hurricane-proof addition? I considered steel. Then a friend mentioned ICF. ‘What’s that?’ I thought. I looked it up and started making calls,” he remembers.
He built his ICF addition and was impressed. Then the 17 South deal came along. “The project required Type III construction. The timing and opportunity was right for ICF,” Coleman says.
Next-Level Living
Coleman isn’t shy about comparing the cost premium of ICF versus stick-built. But he also knows most neglect to compute ICF’s inherent advantages. “It’s hard to beat an ICF envelope for an 8% cost increase,” he says.
Coleman also adds the voice of the renter. “Our customers enjoy a building that’s quiet, comfortable, affordable, and won’t have to leave if the wind blows 100 mph. It’s a next-level living experience.”
Learn more about how the lessons of 17 South could be profitably applied to your next project.
