NEWS - Residential Real Estate

Gateway Realty to Handle Sales and Marketing

Okatie, SC – Oldfield, the 920-acre residential and recreational community located along the banks of the Okatie River, here, midway between the towns of Beaufort and Bluffton, S.C., has been purchased by TI Oldfield Development, a subsidiary of SF Capital of Atlanta from Crescent Resources, LLC.

According to John Ussery, a principal with The Ussery Group at Gateway Realty (who represented the buyer), and Jack Maloney of Maloney, Mitchell, Denton (who represented the seller), financing terms of the transaction will not be disclosed. Ussery said the purchase includes 136 developer lots plus all amenities and assets on the property.

Ussery describes the buyer as a newly organized development company that is looking to acquire and continue the progress of partially developed and distressed real estate projects in the Southeast.  He said founders of the firm have been involved in residential development for nearly 25 years, including subdivisions in the Atlanta Metro area and gated residential communities near Highlands and Cashiers, N.C.

Ussery said the new owners are excited about the attractive riverfront location of Oldfield and that they consider Beaufort County to be one of the premier growth areas along the southeast coast. He said they are planning to offer new homes, to be built by award-winning homebuilders, as soon as possible, and that Gateway Realty will be responsible for the sales and marketing of all homes at Oldfield, which will range in price from $300,000 upwards to $2 million.

Oldfield has been owned by Crescent Resources LLC, a land management and real estate development company and former subsidiary of Duke Energy, since 2000. The property has a recorded history which dates back to the early 1700s beginning with a Lord Proprietor’s Grant to then Royal Governor Robert Johnson in 1732 of a parcel of land referred to as “Old Field.”

The current property includes an 18-hole championship golf course, designed by Greg Norman, and golf club house, three community docks, an outfitters center, a river house facility for entertaining, boat storage facilities, stables, leisure trails and fresh water fishing ponds.

Phillip Galbreath, a principal with SF Capital, noted that an important element of his firm’s decision to purchase Oldfield was the community’s financial model which provides property owners with the flexibility to select their desired level of membership.  “The ‘a la carte amenity offering coupled with the natural beauty of the property, the traditional Lowcountry architecture and the riverfront location combine to create a lifestyle that is truly unique and compelling for anyone looking to enjoy ownership along the southeast coast,” said Galbreath.

Tom Jackson, broker in charge at Gateway Realty, concurred with Galbreath, stating that “the energy created by a new owner will enhance the attributes of the community which are already in place, and should make Oldfield extremely attractive to families looking to relocate to this area.”
Jackson said the sales team currently in place at Oldfield “will remain on board and all become part of the Gateway Realty team.”