Cigar Factory

Cigar Factory Project Update From The Simpson Organization

admin — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 21:04:48 +0000

Boyd Simpson, president of The Simpson Organization and the developer behind The Cigar Factory, discusses the project status, potential financing arrangements, and more.

Lonely Planet Names Charleston a “Top City”

CigarFactoryTeam — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 14:30:34 +0000

Lonely Planet, an international tourism guide, has named Charleston one of the “Top Cities to go to in 2010.” The listing is a category in the annual “Best in Travel” guide.

An excerpt from the Charleston listing in a Post & Courier article reads:This South Carolina city is the United States’ home of aristocracy,” the listing reads. “Etiquette is something this historic town is proud of, together with its numerous churches and palm-tree lined thoroughfares. The well-groomed locale has a thriving tourism business with notable luxury accommodations, historical sites and, recently a food festival and a Fashion Week.

Other cities listed in the “Top City to go to in 2010″ include: Kyoto, Japan; Istanbul, Turkey and Cork, Ireland.

The Best in Travel includes 850 international destinations with categories like the traditional (Top 10 Cities) and the unusual (Best Place to Have a Midlife Crisis).

The Lonely Planet website doesn’t give too much info about what’s in the guide, so you must purchase the book to find out more about their lists. Click here to buy on Amazon.

Interior Framing Goes Up in Lofts

CigarFactoryTeam — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 14:30:09 +0000

The layout and space of the lofts is really becoming apparent at the Cigar Factory. The interior framing has begun on the 5th floor. You can now see where the bathroom, closets, kitchen, bedroom(s) and living room will be after the addition of this interior framing.

Interior framing in loft on 5th floor

Interior framing- kitchen, bathroom and closet

Interior framing- bathroom and closet

Hello Insulation and Drywall!

CigarFactoryTeam — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 18:42:56 +0000

A recent tour of the Cigar Factory showed tremendous change since a month prior. Insulation and drywall have gone up on the fifth floor. Like all building construction, the installation of drywall and insulation will now continue downward to floors below.

Drywall installed on 5th floor unit

Insulation on 5th floor

Charleston Welcomes Boeing

CigarFactoryTeam — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 21:17:24 +0000

Boeing’s October announcement to build a second 787 assembly line in North Charleston has created tremendous excitement in Charleston, South Carolina and across the US. The 787 Dreamliner boasts extreme fuel efficiency (20% more fuel-efficient than the 767), and will use composite materials for most of its construction. The Charleston plant will piece together parts from assembly lines across the world, and hopes to produce three 787’s per month at full production. Boeing plans to start production at the Charleston plant in mid-2011 and finish their first Dreamliner by 2012.

Learn more about the 787 Dreamliner below

The plant will cost $750 million to construct, bringing construction jobs, and later, jobs at the Boeing assembly plant and money to the local economy. Construction will begin at the end of 2009, and will produce an estimated 600 jobs at the peak of construction (with an estimated 2,000 additional “spin-off impact” jobs). Boeing expects to create 3,800 new jobs over a seven-year period.

What does this mean for the general business environment in Charleston? Experts are predicting that this big announcement will encourage other businesses to come to South Carolina.

Why did Boeing decide on Charleston for their new plant? Various considerations were in play, including: an existing plant already in Charleston, incentives from the state, available workforce in the area (see article on Trident Tech’s aerospace program) and access to the world market.

The Cigar Factory is proud to welcome Boeing to Charleston! With 40,000 square feet of retail space and 25,000 square feet of office space, the Cigar Factory has plenty to offer both businesses and individuals relocating to Charleston. This historic, mixed-use development is built around the idea of “live, work, play,” with a blend of office, retail and residential units. The 66 residential units will have amenities such as: a rooftop observation deck with wet bar, fitness center, screening room, wine cellar, dog walk and more. Office tenants get more than just office space, with access to a high-tech conference room, private showers (great after a run over the Arthur Ravanel Bridge!) and fitness club and lots of FREE parking. View the renderings of office and residential space, and learn more about the amenties here.

Want a closer look? Take a virtual tour of the building and its features here.

Construction Update: Electrical and Plumbing

CigarFactoryTeam — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 18:33:36 +0000

Construction on the building has been moving quickly these days. Installation of electrical wiring and plumbing has begun. The electrical and plumbing work began on the 5th floor (like all other building construction), and work will continue to the floors below.

Hall lighting has been installed on all residential floors, and electrical is visible in all residential units on the 5th floor. The black pipes seen below are the first steps in the plumbing installation.

The electrical and plumbing work began on the 5th floor, like all other building construction, work will continue to the floors below.

Black pipes are plumbing that has been installed and electrical installed in several spots

Electrical wiring installed on 5th floor

Hall lighting has been installed on all residential floors

Cigar Factory Adds Additional Earthquake Bolts

CigarFactoryTeam — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 19:20:13 +0000

Star-shaped earthquake bolts

Frequently, I overhear Charleston tour guides telling their guests about the small, metal bolts on most of the old buildings around town. Some have a simple, circular shape, while others are intricate, star shapes (right).

Most people are unaware that Charleston lays on a fault line, and the city experienced massive damage from an earthquake in 1886. After this quake, builders began installing pattress bolts, or earthquake bolts as it is commonly referred to in Charleston, to strengthen their buildings.

Earthquake bolts are made up of two parts–an iron rod and a plate (or bolt). The plates are the visible element of the support structure that are seen on the outside of building. Cigar Factory’s Superintendent Jeff Barber of Trident Construction explains, “These plates are connected to a rod that penetrates the exterior of the building and then bolted to the timber frame on the interior of the building. This, in effect, literally bolts the exterior masonry to the structural timber frame of the building.”

Cigar Factory currently has 12 bolts, and work has begun to add 300 earthquake bolts to the face of the building. The process should take a few weeks.

Bolts are connected to a rod (above) that penetrates the exterior of a building and then bolted to the timber frame on the interior of the building.

Plates (or bolts) being painted before installation. They will connect to the rods above.

Charleston is Conde Nast Traveler’s #2 City in the US

CigarFactoryTeam — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:45:05 +0000

Charleston has again dominated the Conde Nast Traveler’s “Readers’ Choice Awards.” Charleston narrowly missed the #1 spot for “Top US Cities,” and Kiawah Island was ranked #1 “North American Island.”

San Francisco took the #1 spot for “Top US City,” but Charleston beat out New York City and Chicago! Other US Top Cities include: Sante Fe #3, New York City #4, Chicago #5, Honolulu #6, Carmet #7 and Savannah #8.

San Francisco took the #1 spot, but Charleston did beat out New York City and Chicago! Other US Top Cities include: Sante Fe #3, New York City #4, Chicago #5, Honolulu #6, Carmet #7 and Savannah #8.

Other Charleston winners include:

Kiawah Island’s The Santuary ranked #49 in the “Top 100″ list and #1 “Top Mainland US Large Resort.”
Charleston Place ranked #16 for “US Hotels.” The French Quarter ranked #46, The Planters Inn ranked #55 and The Market Pavillion ranked #93 in the same category.
John Rutledge House Inn ranked #33 in the “US Small Hotels” list.

Check out Conde Nast’s Travel Guide for Charleston here, which has links to past stories and photos.

The 21st Annual Readers’ Choice Awards received 25,000 responses. To read the entire methodology for the survey, click here.

Customizable Kitchens and Bathrooms

CigarFactoryTeam — Thu, 22 Oct 2009 17:00:50 +0000

Samples from different Finish Level Packages

The Cigar Factory lofts are going to have a contemporary and sleek feel, but not every loft will look the same. Owners have the ability to customize their kitchen with different finishes, appliances, countertops, flooring and kitchen options.

Their are several features that will come standard, including: granite countertops, oak hardwood floors, Siematic cabinets, Kohler fittings and tile backsplash and bathroom floors.

Choose from upgrades like a gas kitchen option, or appliance upgrade packages from GE Profile Collection, GE Monogram Collection and Bosch. Want your kitchen to match the color scheme of your furniture? Then choose from a variety of colors, materials and finishes for tile in the kitchen and bathrooms, as well as variations of the standard granite countertops and hardwood flooring.

A previous blog post covers the Siematic cabinets in depth. Click here to view.

Charleston Dominates Travel + Leisure’s “America’s Favorite Cities”

CigarFactoryTeam — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 19:28:23 +0000

Travel + Leisure readers have voted in their annual “America’s Favorite Cities” list, and Charleston took the #1 spot in a few categories and made the top 5 in several other categories. Overall, Charleston ranked #1 for holiday travel, #2 for trips and #5 for hotels!

Other cities competing for these rankings include: Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Cleveland, Dallas/Fort Worth, Denver, Honolulu, Houston, Kansas City, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis/St. Paul, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix/Scottsdale, Portland, Providence, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Santa Fe, Seattle, St. Louis and Washington, D.C.

According to visitors, Charleston ranked #1 in B&Bs/Inns and Thanksgiving travel. On the other hand, residents ranked Charleston people #1 in attractiveness and friendliness, as well as #1 for a romanic escape, #1 for historic monuments/sites, #1 for Thanksgiving travel and #1 for B&Bs/Inns. I guess there’s no dispute that Charleston has the nation’s best B&Bs and Inns!

Charleston also ranked in the top 5 in several categories in the visitors survey, including:

People- attractive #3, friendly #3 and stylish #5
Type of trip- romantic escape #2 and relaxing retreat #3
Hotels- B&Bs/Inns #1 and stylish boutique hotels #4
Culture- historic sites/monuments #4
Shopping- antique/vintage shops #2
Food and Dining- farmers market #5
Quality of life & visitor experience- noteworthy neighborhoods #2, peace and quiet #2 and safety #3
Holiday travel- Thanksgiving travel #1 and Spring break #4

There were quite a few differences between what visitors and residents thought about Charleston. Here are the top 5 winners according to residents:

People- attractive #1, friendly #1 and stylish #3
Type of trip- romantic escape #1, relaxing retreat #2, family vacation#5 and cultural getaway #5
Hotels- B&Bs/Inns #1 and stylish boutique hotels #5
Nightlife- cocktail hour #2
Culture- historic sites/monuments #1
Shopping- antique/vintage shops#2 and independent boutiques #3
Food and Dining- farmers market #3
Quality of life & visitor experience- noteworthy neighborhoods #2, peace and quiet #2, safety #3, cleanliness #4 and people-watching #5
Holiday travel- Thanksgiving travel #1, Summer vacation #3 and Spring break #5