Orthodontist near Goose Creek, SC

Recently, in a low-key ceremony, the city of Goose Creek broke ground for a new structure that will add to the footprint of its current municipal center on Highway 52, which was completed in 2020. On March 27, crews began to fence off a piece of land where the new Assembly at Goose Creek will eventually stand.

The building will sit near what is now an open grassy area to the left of the entrance of the current city building. The city reports that it is needed for its growing number of employees.

“There is a dire need for new office space in city hall,” said Goose Creek communications director Frank Johnson. “The population of Goose Creek has officially doubled in the last 20 years and keeps going up. To serve the residents, the city staff has increased, naturally.”

Johnson notes numerous civic-related staffers, including life planning, zoning and engineers, are getting cramped in the current office space. But the 13,500-square-foot assembly building will not be used for that overflow.

“The council meetings will be there (assembly building) once a month,” Johnson said. “The current council chambers will be converted into office space, which is crucially needed."

Johnson said designers are not building just a new facility for council meetings. It will be used in various ways by the city and for events.

“We had a choice about what would make more sense: to build new office space or a multi-purpose building?” Johnson said. “This will be a great venue for weddings, family reunions and banquets. There is not a wedding venue here, so that will be an incredible addition to the city."

Those involved in the plan say the city has the money for the building, and in fact, it was part of the master plan for the current city building that opened 25 years ago.

The estimated cost for the assembly building is about $13 million. Johnson notes that Goose Creek can make some of the money back because of the structure’s multipurpose approach.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A major industrial milestone was celebrated Friday morning as Leonardo DRS, a defense technology company, placed the final support beam atop its new manufacturing and testing facility at Bushy Park Industrial Complex in Goose Creek.

“We’re doing the top off, which is a ceremony that shows the progression of the plant and its completion. It’s a very big item for the community and our industrial site here. With DRS coming here, it’s going to employ a lot of folks with good-paying jobs and economic development for our community,” Cody Baker, Vice President of Business Development and Manufacturing at Bushy Park Industrial Complex, said.

Employees, local leaders and project stakeholders gathered to witness the placement of the final beam, marking the end of two years of hard work and commitment.

“So, the completion here will be roughly 140,000 square feet, a manufacturing facility focused on propulsion systems for the US Navy. So, it is very big, particularly given the history in Charleston with the Navy,” Baker said.

As the Navy continues its modernization efforts, the Charleston facility is set to play a vital role in advancing submarine propulsion technology, further solidifying the region’s significance in the defense sector.

Senior Vice President and General Manager for Naval Power Systems at Leonardo, Jon Miller, said this project marks a key moment in the future of U.S. naval capabilities.

“This is not just your average building. We’re going to be doing pretty special things here. We will be building large electric motors, which are the propulsion system for the next class of submarines for the US Navy. And then ultimately, we’ll also be building and testing steam turbine generators, which will power that motor and also provide the power for the submarines,” he said.

Miller said the 140,000-square-foot building will be used to support the U.S. Navy’s submarine and shipbuilding efforts.

“This is a great day for Leonardo DRS, and I’ll be a little bold and say a great day for the U.S. Navy. This is a big milestone for us to help. If you watch the news today, you know we’re in the middle of a Navy buildup, and this is a very important capability for the Navy. And this will be a national asset, one-of-a-kind facility when we’re finished. The only one in the country providing capabilities for our nuclear submarine,” Miller said.

He said Friday was a deeply patriotic day not just because the facility will help strengthen national security, but will also create jobs and boost the local economy.

Miller highlighted that one advantage of choosing the Charleston area for the facility is the opportunity to engage with local college and university students to help connect new graduates with job opportunities right out of school.

“So, one of the advantages of the Charleston area is we’re able to engage with local school systems and colleges in the area. So, we’ll be drawing both technician talent and engineering design talent to come in and help us with development and testing. So, we’ve already begun a great interaction with the local community, and I expect that just to continue to grow,” Miller said.

He anticipates the facility will start with just under 100 employees, with plans for the workforce to grow over time.

The facility is set to open in 2026 and is on track to receive its certificate of occupancy by November.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Close to two years after Goose Creek City Council members agreed to rezone a piece of land near some densely packed existing homes, things look much different. In May 2023, the land was made available for residential housing.

At the time, residents in the area along Pandora Drive, which backs right up to the site, told The Berkeley Independent they tried to get the council to change the plan, but it never happened. Some considered moving.

Now, those living along the stretch, mostly in small one-story ranch-style homes, have watched as excavation crews cleared the 30-plus acres in just a few months. Their homes, once backed by a massive buffer of thick trees, are now next to open land.

“They destroyed the animal habitat,” said resident Pat Bowman. "The noise has gotten really bad.”

Bowman lives along Pandora Drive in a neighborhood — ironically, in the same neighborhood — where a home boasts of being the site of the first Goose Creek council meeting in 1961.

Beazer Homes is now on site. The proposal from Beazer shows the residential areas of the proposed Avalon Point Planned Development hold approximately 29.11 acres.

The development, as presented, has 142 residential lots, including 71 single-family residences and 71 townhome units. An additional commercial area totals approximately 3.5 acres.

Jake Buck just moved to the area. His home was purchased in July 2024, with no mention of the pending clear-cut just 50 yards from this door.

“When we first bought the house, what we loved was that these woods were right across the street, and we were kind of tucked away with the nature here,” he said, adding traffic and water pressure will be a problem.

The area sits near one of the busiest intersections in Berkeley County, where Red Bank Road, Highway 52 and Highway 176 intersect. The address for the site of the planned development is 117 Red Bank Road in Goose Creek.

The price of progress was costly for residents who enjoyed the swath of forest separating the Pandora Drive community from Red Bank Road. It is now all gone. No exact completion date has been determined for the construction.

Beazer Homes has a sign in front of the work giving those interested in buying in Avalon Point a phone number to get on a VIP list.

FLORENCE, S.C. (WCSC) - Two more Lowcountry teams punched their tickets to the SCHSL state championship games on Wednesday with victories in the Lower State title games.

The Berkeley girls won the 5A-2 Lower State championship with a dominating 67-32 win over North Myrtle Beach at the Florence Civic Center while the Goose Creek boys escaped with 60-46 victory over Berkeley.

The Stags girls and Gators boys join the Military Magnet and Summerville girls teams in their respective state championship games.

The ladies got things started and Berkeley didn’t waste much time. After giving up the first 2 points of the game, the Stags would go on an 11-0 run and never looked back in their win over North Myrtle Beach.

Alaina Carter led the way for the Stags with 17 points. Madison Thomas had 11 and Demi Gray also added 11, all in the 2nd half.

Berkeley head coach Crystal Peace, a former Stags player, was emotional after the win. She lost her mother almost a year ago and wished she could have been at the game to share the moment.

“15 years, even prior to that just pouring into these kids and I’m just thinking about my mom just thinking about my mom, I lost her last year and she spoke a lot of these things into existance and I’m so proud of this group, thankful for the coaching staff and just never giving up, never giving up always pouring into these kids” Peace said.

Berkeley will play in the 5A-2 state championship game on Saturday night at 6pm in Florence against Greenwood.

The boys contest was much closer as Goose Creek and Berkeley went into the final quarter tied at 35. But the Gators would turn things on scoring 25 points in the final 8 minutes.

Goose Creek had four players score in double figures led by Ja’Quell Brown who had a game high 20 points. Shane Potts, Jermaire Williams and Reggie Dozier each added 10.

Cam Palmer led the way for Berkeley with 13 points while Damien Kinloch added 11 and Jordan Livingston had 10.

“I just told them what do you want, if winning lower state is what you want and you’re satisfied be satisfied but if you want more why settle.” Gators head coach Blake Hall said. “I think you have to have that will not to give in when it gets tiring late in the game and I think you saw that maybe late”

Goose Creek will play the final high school basketball game in the state this season on Saturday night at 8pm against Greenville.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

GOOSE CREEK, S.C. (WCSC) - Goose Creek residents will have more opportunities to hear Mayor Greg Habib’s State of the City address in “Creek Conversations.”

Mayor Habib is switching up his traditional style of deliverance when it comes to the annual State of the City address since his election into office back in 2018.

Goose Creek residents will now have three chances to take part in the city’s Creek Conversations.

The first Creek Conversation takes place Thursday at Crowfield’s Planters Walk Clubhouse at 6 p.m. City spokesman Frank Johnson says the effort is meant to give residents space to share their thoughts and ideas directly with city officials.

“What this is a chance to do is to let everyone know what’s going on with each city department,” Johnson says. “We’ve got a lot of exciting projects that are both in the works and coming up and then really hear from residents. It’s a chance to ask questions and share their thoughts.”

Residents will hear updates from the mayor, police department and department heads on city projects and economics during these town hall style meetings.

“The new projects, I know, are something people are very interested in,” Johnson says. “We have a new amphitheater here that’s about to crank up its second full season. We have some exciting concerts coming in, so people are excited about that. They want to learn more about this new multipurpose [installment]; the assembly at Goose Creek will be built here on the municipal center campus.”

The Creek Conversations will also take place March 27 at Northwood Church Building A and April 3 at the Calvary Church of Nazarene.

Johnson says the city’s growth continues with an estimated population of over 50,000. The number of Portuguese speakers in the area is increasing as well, he says. The Latin Advisory Committee will participate at the April 3 meeting along with Spanish and Portuguese translators as a resource.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.