Charleston, S.C. used to be a quaint, somewhat sleepy, southern town. It is now looking more like a boom town. The Post and Courier, the city's newspaper, took on the task of quantifying the boom.
Are Charleston-area residents prepared to welcome another quarter-million neighbors?
They'll need to be, because plans to build nearly 105,000 homes have already been approved by towns, cities and counties throughout the three-county Charleston metro area. Those homes are waiting in the pipeline, behind the nearly 9,200 houses and apartments under construction this year.
The approved development plans allow enough housing for nearly 270,000 people — roughly equal to all the population growth Charleston, Berkeley and Dorchester counties have seen since 1990. It's nearly enough housing to accommodate the combined populations of Charleston and Mount Pleasant, and they are the largest and fourth-largest cities in the state.
