Is Third Time the Charm for Charleston Development?

By Mike Switzer

Published January 6, 2017 at 9:47 AM EST

10 years ago, an attractive piece of Charleston, South Carolina real estate was slated to be developed into a high-end, mixed-use resort-style community…but then the real estate market collapsed. A few years later, the owners tried to attract industry to the property, but to no avail. Now it looks like we may be coming full circle as the prospective owners of this Upper Peninsula island have announced plans to build an upscale, mixed-use community there once again.

Mike Switzer interviews Mark Toro, managing partner with North American Properties in Atlanta, GA, developers of Lorelei on Laurel Island.

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Mike Switzer

After almost 20 years, Mike Switzer retired from Wells Fargo Securities in 2001 as Senior Vice President/Investment Officer and Certified Portfolio Manager. In 1999, he and his wife, Maggie, purchased and operated for eight years the Baskin Robbins ice cream store on Forest Drive in Columbia. They grew the store from a bottom-tier operation in the Baskin Robbins franchise system to one in the top 5% nationwide within three years, tripling sales along the way. While operating the ice cream store, Mike and Maggie received patents for a portable ice cream sink and fold-down sneezeguard they invented and in 2002 started Magnolia Carts, an ice cream cart manufacturing company, which they sold in 2013.

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