Mount Pleasant Magazine Sept/Oct 2016

nyone driving out to

Sullivan’s Island takes notice: The

Sea Island Shopping Center off

Coleman Boulevard is bustling. It’s

the quintessential stop before heading

to the beach and beyond. Residents

and visitors stop in to Harris Teeter

to pick up groceries, sit down in Mr. Causey’s chair for a

haircut or peruse the racks of clothing and home goods at

the local Goodwill.

What patrons may not know is the unique history

behind one of the oldest centers in Mount Pleasant. What

once was a quiet, sleepy fishing village and small town

grocery is now a busy epicenter in one of the fastest growing

areas in the Southeast. Over the past 50+ years, the center

has evolved into a 95,000-square-foot operation with more

than 25 tenants and a strong customer base.

The Sea Island Shopping Center was originally owned

by the Langley Family and was sold to the Hewitt Family

in the early 1960s. Batson L. Hewitt took ownership of the

property after his father died unexpectedly in 1962.

The center was Hewitt’s first piece of commercial

property and the one that started him on the road to a

successful career in commercial real estate. He continues

to manage the property today along with other innovative

projects such as the Spectator Hotel, the Bee Street Home

Historic Restoration and the French Quarter Inn. He was

named Commercial Realtor of the Year in 1998 and has

held many leadership positions in various commissions and

associations over the years.

Back in the 1960s, the center had a strong set of anchor

tenants: Piggly Wiggly, Western Auto, Belk and Eckerd

drugstore. The economic downturn in the 1970s caused

the center to fall on some rough times. Faced with losing

two important tenants, Hewitt began plans to redevelop

and expand.

Brooks Pharmacy bought Eckerd, which is now Rite

Aid. Hewitt slowly began filling in the spaces with smaller,

mom-and-pop stores. Goodwill signed on in the late 1970s

and remains a core retail entity today. Throughout the ’80s

and ’90s, businesses have come and gone and changed

ownerships and names – with one sparkling exception.

Causey’s Barbershop, nestled on the corner, has been

around as long as the center itself. The shop’s walls are

decorated in vintage sports memorabilia, and some of Dan

Causey’s customers have been loyal patrons for decades.

A crucial transition for the center occurred three years

ago, when Harris Teeter acquired Piggly Wiggly. The

grocery chain spent millions of dollars to renovate from

the roof down, creating a brand-new, state-of-the-art retail

space that has, in turn, attracted more strong tenants to

the center.

Surrounding Harris Teeter today are various stores and

restaurants, including a delicious French bistro, a nail bar,

a post office, Dante’s Spirits and Baroni’s New York Style

Pizza. Local residents come to the laundromat or stop at

Charleston Fabrics to begin their next big project. Overall,

sales are booming.

Hewitt is extremely pleased with the current mix of

retailers in the center.

“A good tenant mix is critical in a neighborhood

shopping center like this. There needs to be a certain

synergy around the anchor tenants, and I think we have

that,” he explained.

One important issue to address in the future is the

sheer volume of people expected to move to the area in the

coming years.

“The population of Mount Pleasant is going to

continue to accelerate for years to come, “ Hewitt said.

“Sea Island is in a very strategic position. Coleman

Sea Island

Shopping

Center is

located where

Chuck Dawley,

Ben Sawyer

and Coleman

meet.

Photo by Brandon Clark.

MPBM