Great news! The site plans are out for bid. This is really going to happen!! Center Park Homes is going to be the builder. The bad news? Here comes the really hard part, fundraising. Ugh… wish us luck. Let the work begin!
Today is our first Trident Technical College scholarship application deadline. We had two applicants! It’s so exciting to see this coming to fruition.
Trident Technical College’s Helen Sughrue is guest presenter at the Concerned Citizens of Accabee monthly meeting. She is outlining the TTC Scholarships opportunity for Accabee and Hub Village residents. For more information about CCA please visit their Facebook page by clicking the following link.
Grayson Law Firm assists Bridge North Charleston in applications for 501(c)3 approval. It’s a lengthy process that could take a year or more. Here’s hoping for some good luck and speedy process.
Oh yeah! It wasn’t smooth or easy but we made it through to the other side. Closing on the Meridian property! The seven acres were selected because of its vacancy, no residents being displaced. Engineering and architectural plans are underway. Tremendous progress, WOOHOO!!!
It’s official! BNC has a Board of Directors: Latarsha Giles, President of The Concerned Citizens of Accabee; Will Jenkinson, Broker in Charge at Carolina One Real Estate; Patty Scarafile, Founder and President of Bridge North Charleston; Tammy Wilson, Community and Economic Consultant; Henrietta Woodard, Executive Director of Community First Land Trust; Julie Scarafile, Community and School Volunteer (non-voting member); and Mary Thornley, President of Trident Technical College (unpaid consultant).
Great on campus meeting with TTC President Mary Thornley discussing Bridge North Charleston’s scholarship opportunities. Requirements: high school diploma or GED, must be a resident of Accabee or Hub Village, for all ages with no grade requirements.
But the icing on the cake, President Thornley is so excited about BNC’s vision that she offered to be an unpaid consultant! Having Thornley on our team is HUGE! And Helen Sughrue, Executive Assistant for TTC President’s Office, is the go-to person for our applicants! Paperwork can feel daunting, but Helen will walk our applicants through it all!
Learning about all that TTC has to offer was impressive. There are nine-week certification programs and two-year associate degree programs … but there’s so much more with sprinkles on top, BNC’s scholarship applies to all of it.
Another productive and positive meeting with Mayor Summey and Shannon Praete. BRIDGE is proposing the idea of gifting the residual wetlands and buffer zone, to the City of North Charleston, in exchange for the City developing a pedestrian playground and park with access off Azalea Drive. The City would assume maintenance and liability. Mayor Summey’s response was favorable.
We are blown away!!! Glick/Boehm & Associates have generously offered to do the architectural plans for the North Bridge townhomes PRO BONO!!! Are you kidding me right now!?! Absolutely amazing!!! The twenty families who will be the homeowners are incredibly grateful! Special thank you to Billy Bishop and Shawn Mellin.
It’s tough when you don’t know what you don’t know! It takes a lot of time and effort – not to mention the endless forms – to secure non-profit status. In the meantime, thank God for the Coastal Community Foundation. They agreed to be our fiscal sponsor! Translation, they are comfortable with BNC operating under their 501(c)3 status until we receive our own. Special thank you to Darrin Goss and Kaela Hammon of CCF!
Meeting with North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey and Shannon Praete to share our vision for a new community and asking for the city’s help. Whew!!! both seem to be excited. Now we need to earn the trust of the residents. The Concerned Citizens of Accabee invited us to their monthly Zoom meeting. Fingers crossed.
The question is … where? has an answer. It must be a “God Thing!” Approximately seven acres of vacant land is for sale in Hub Village on Meridian Road, just off Azalea Drive. In the adjacent neighborhood, Accabee, there are a more than 250 households. Some of the land are wetlands. Due diligence begins to determine if we can build twenty townhomes on the land. Earthsource Engineering and Attorney David Crawford, HELP!
