Hardeeville housing boom: What does the ‘fastest growing city’ in SC look like?
For decades, Hardeeville has been a place that millions of people pass through each year, but few people live in.
Now, Hardeeville leaders want to change that by building homes — and lots of them.
Developers broke ground this month on a new master-planned community off of U.S. 278 which is expected to create 3800 homes to attract first-time homebuyers to Hardeeville.
Called Carolina Station, the new community will also include parks, trails, and recreational areas. Developers are also setting aside land for commercial use, which Hardeeville leaders hope will attract retail shops and restaurants.
Hardeeville was named the fastest-growing municipality in South Carolina last year, jumping from 7,000 residents in 2020 to over 13,000 in 2024, according to the U.S Census Bureau.
Driving along U.S. 278, it’s easy to see why: clear-cut land and bulldozers seem to be everywhere. Several other planned unit developments, apartment complexes, and even a Buc-ee’s are in the works close to Carolina Station.
Hardeeville leaders hope the booming development will bring growth and prosperity to what’s historically been one of the poorest counties in South Carolina. Beyond building houses, Hardeeville leaders hope to improve roads and schools and attract retail and commercial development to make the city an attractive place to live.
What does Hardeeville look like now?
Tuucked in the crossroads of I-95 and U.S. 278, Hardeeville currently has all the wonders of any other highway town in America: billboards, truck stops, gas stations, and budget-friendly hotels.
Most of Hardeeville’s commercial development lies along Whyte Hardee Boulevard, which intersects with I-95, then bends eastward and runs parallel to I-19. It’s the closest thing the city currently has to a downtown, and its most prominent features are a row of old brick buildings and several Mexican restaurants. Single-family residental areas are woven throughout Hardeeville’s center, with mostly modest-sized ranch-style homes.
Hardeeville’s zoning map reveal a bigger vision for the future of downtown Hardeeville: a downtown “mixed use” area that will run along Main St between I-95 and Whyte Hardee Boulevard. The street currently has a library, a fire station, and a number of ranch-style homes.
Travel northwest along John Smith road, and you’ll start to see the future of Hardeeville: rows of newly constructed, nearly identical homes, squeezed together as tightly as possible.
3,800 homes to replace old timber lot
Carolina Station is being built on what was formerly known as the Morgan tract, which Charleston-based developer HIC Land purchased in 2023 from John and Harry Morgan.
The 2,600-acre property, located just west of Latitude Margaritaville, has been in the Morgan family for generations and was previously used for timber. Hardeeville itself was once primarily a logging and railroad town before the railroad shut down in 1956.
The project is a partnership between HIC and DR Horton, a national homebuilder. HIC will prepare lots and sell them to DR Horton, who will build the homes and sell them to buyers. They expect home prices to start at $300,000.
Developers are hoping to attract first-time home buyers and families, according to HIC President Stefan Hoyer. In that market, Hoyer says DR Horton brings “a lot of muscle to the game.”
“They’re so efficient that they build them at a cost where a lot more people can afford them,” said Hoyer.
HIC and DR Horton broke ground on the project on Oct. 16. Once completed, Carolina Station will have more than 3,800 new homes, as well as retail shops, restaurants, parks and trails. The homes will be a mix of single-family homes, townhomes and duplexes.
The project is being rolled out in phases. Phase one will include 380 lots. It will take about ten years to develop all 3,800 lots, according to Hoyer.
To keep home prices low, Hoyer said HIC is “trying to develop the site as economically as possible.”
That isn’t easy to do — developers that take raw, undeveloped land like HIC must not only cut down trees but also build roads, sidewalks, lay pipes, electric lines, and stormwater management infrastructure. Engineers need to calculate how much water and electricity the community will use to make sure the infrastructure can withstand what’s being used.
Inflation, tarriffs, and shortages are also putting pressure on home construction costs.
“But once you do it, this is a wonderful place to live, so people are going to want to buy the end product.” Hoyer said.
A ‘holistic’ vision for Hardeeville
Hardeeville Mayor Harry Williams said the city works with developers to plan communities “holistically.”
That means roads with sidewalks and bike paths and reserving at least 10% of land for “active open spaces,” Williams said. Once the community moves in, they can decide whether they want that space to be a playground, pickleball court, or something else.
“So the kids don’t have to get a ride to go enjoy an amenity, and they can take their bikes on the sidewalk and also have commerce nearby,” Williams said.
Williams also hopes that in the future, there will be healthcare and first responders close by to the complex as well. He hopes attracting growth and development will help the city and the county turn over a new leaf.
“Growth will bring jobs,” Williams said. “Jobs will bring high levels of prosperity for a county that has been one of the poorest counties in South Carolina.”
City leaders expect to see more than 10,000 new jobs created in Hardeeville within the next 10 years. “We hope that those jobs will be taken by people who live in Hardeeville,” Williams said.
Hardeeville has a chance to learn from growing pains of Hilton Head and Bluffton.
Hilton Head also experienced rapid growth in the 1970s and 1980s, but it’s now a place where few people that work there can afford to live there. Bluffton, which saw a development boom in the 1990s and 2000s, has also seen a sharp increase in the cost of living.
Does Hardeeville have good schools?
Leaders of Hardeeville hope the new development will attract families. Whether an area has good schools is one of the first things families with children will want to know.
The South Carolina Department of Education releases a “Report Card” for public schools and school districts annually. In the 2023-2024 school year, the state gave Hardeeville Elementary School an “Average” rating, while Hardeeville Junior-Senior High School received a “Below Average” rating.
Both schools are a part of the Jasper County School District, which was taken over by the state earlier this year after a state investigation found potential ethical and criminal infractions committed by the former superintendent.
New interim superintendent, Laura Hickson, hopes to pull the district out of crisis, increase transparency, and improve student performance.
Hardeeville also has a charter school: Royal Live Oaks Academy, which specializes in arts and sciences education, received a “Good” rating from the state. Enrollment in charter schools in South Carolina is determined by lottery, and spots are limited: the school enrolls 666 students.
Private schooling is also an option but can mean long bus rides for kids and high costs for parents. Annual tuition for a high schooler at Hilton Head Christian Academy, which is located in Bluffton, costs upwards of $19,000.
This story was originally published October 29, 2025 at 12:33 PM.
