Walk into the Townsend model on a bright Summerville afternoon and the first thing you notice is light, ten-foot ceilings, five windows in the master bedroom, and a 20-foot vaulted great room that makes the whole house feel twice its square footage. This is Brookfield Residential's soft opening in Nexton Midtown, and it's a different animal from the spec-home subdivisions popping up across Berkeley County. You're not picking from three paint colors and calling it custom. You're choosing tile, fixtures, flooring, ceiling heights, and whether you want that wraparound porch on a corner lot. It's a semi-custom approach in a community people already know for golf carts, lagoon pools, and a laid-back South Carolina lifestyle that doesn't involve wildfire evacuations or traffic nightmares.

Brookfield is a Virginia-based builder new to the Summerville market, and they're setting up shop on Model Row in Nexton Midtown, the same stretch where other builders are rolling out new product lines to meet demand from relocating buyers. The Townsend is their flagship model here: a 2,600-2,700 square foot master-down floorplan with four bedrooms, three and a half baths, and a two-car garage. Prices start in the $500s for the builder's lineup, but if you want to replicate the Townsend as shown, with all the upgrades, the ten-foot ceilings, the wood flooring upstairs, the KitchenAid smart appliances, and that corner-lot wraparound porch, you're looking closer to $700,000. That's not a number pulled from thin air; that's what it costs to build this house the way I walked it, with every bell and whistle the model displays.

This is not a first-time buyer product. It's for second, third, fourth-time homeowners who want input on finishes and are willing to pay for that control. If you're relocating from California or the Northeast and you're used to having a say in what goes into your house, this is your lane. If you need a spec home you can close on in 60 days, keep scrolling, Brookfield doesn't have specs here yet. You buy the lot, pick the floorplan, choose your upgrades, and wait for them to build it. Let me walk you through what that looks like, what it costs to live here, and who this product is really built for.

Table of Contents

• Nexton Midtown: Golf Cart Lifestyle and Amenity-Center Living
• The Townsend Model: Layout, Upgrades, and What You're Actually Buying
• True To-Be-Built Product: Customization, Pricing, and the Upgrade Path
• Annual Costs: HOA, DIT, and Berkeley County Property Taxes
• Who This Home Is For: Semi-Custom Buyers and Larger Lot Sizes
• Nexton Midtown vs Other Summerville Communities
• Conclusion

Nexton Midtown: Golf Cart Lifestyle and Amenity-Center Living

Nexton Midtown sits in Summerville, South Carolina, and if you've spent any time researching Charleston-area suburbs, you've heard the name. This is the neighborhood people move to for the amenity center, a lagoon-style pool, pickleball courts, basketball courts, tennis courts, fireplaces, fire pits, a clubhouse, and a playground that keeps kids busy while parents decompress. It's one of the hottest amenity centers in all of Summerville, and it's directly across from Model Row where Brookfield just opened the Townsend.

People are moving here for the golf cart lifestyle. You can cruise to the pool, the parks, the common areas, and feel like you're on vacation without leaving your zip code. It's a laid-back South Carolina vibe that appeals to relocating buyers tired of wildfires, traffic, and the cost of living in places like California. I've got to be honest, if you're even thinking of staying in California, you need to rethink it and give me a call. South Carolina has alligators and the occasional hurricane that comes up the coast, but that's pretty much it. And it's not that bad. The lifestyle here is fantastic. If you like sunshine, and today it's hitting me right in the face while I'm getting my vitamin D in, this is where you want to be.

Nexton Midtown is golf cart friendly, and the larger lot sizes mean you can add a pool or spa if the community amenities aren't enough. The homes here don't all look identical, which is a selling point for buyers who don't want to live in a vinyl village where every house is the same elevation with the same three paint choices. Brookfield uses HardiePlank siding, which is required in Nexton, and the semi-custom feel sets this product apart from the tract-style communities that dominate other parts of Berkeley County.

The Townsend Model: Layout, Upgrades, and What You're Actually Buying

The Townsend is a master-down floorplan, which means the primary bedroom is on the first floor and the other three bedrooms are upstairs. Walk in through the front door and you're greeted by ten-foot ceilings, crown molding, and casement windows that let in a ton of natural light. There's a half bathroom right off the entry, and then an open-air office space that's huge, not set up like a dining room, but big enough that you could use it as one if you wanted. It opens right up to the stairwell going upstairs, so the whole first floor feels connected.

The kitchen is the centerpiece. Dovetail Aristocraft cabinets with soft-close drawers, gold matte-finish hardware, upgraded KitchenAid appliances with smart home technology, a 32-inch gas cooktop with a vented hood, and a backsplash with bold colors that pop against the quartz counters. There's a pantry tucked behind the kitchen so you don't have a giant door sitting in the middle of your sightline, and the whole space flows into a breakfast nook and a formal dining area that seats ten comfortably.

The great room has a 20-foot vaulted ceiling with a little window at the top, tons of windows along the back wall, and a gas fireplace that actually puts out heat, not one of those electric flame-look units that don't do anything. I like that. Tasha would like that. There's an eight-foot sliding glass door that opens onto a screened-in porch, and the porch is big enough for a ten-person table. Step down, don't fall like I did, and you've got a concrete pad area for your smokers, grills, and cookers. Don't put your smoker under the screen porch. Don't be that guy. The porch is wired and braced for a ceiling fan, which is a nice touch.

The master bedroom is off the great room, and it's huge. Five windows, tons of natural light, space for a king bed and two really good-sized side tables. The windows are double-pane argon gas filled, so they're cool on the inside and hot on the outside, much better for energy efficiency. You've got not one but two walk-in closets, his and hers, with wire shelves that you could upgrade to a custom system if you wanted. The master bath has quartz counters, a soaker tub, a frameless glass shower door, soft-close drawers, and a privacy water closet. You can pick out your tile, your shower tile, your fixtures, this is a true to-be-built product, so you have a lot of options.

Upstairs there's a loft at the top of the stairs with an open cutout to the downstairs, three secondary bedrooms, and two full bathrooms. The bedrooms are bigger than typical kids' rooms, 12 by 14 instead of 10 by 11, which means you can fit a queen or king bed in there and your kids won't outgrow the space by the time they're twelve. One bedroom has an ensuite with a full shower and tub, quartz counters, and a comfort-height toilet. The other two bedrooms share a secondary bathroom with the same finishes. There's also a finished storage space at the top of the stairs for Christmas decorations, Halloween stuff, all the things you don't want cluttering your garage.

True To-Be-Built Product: Customization, Pricing, and the Upgrade Path

This is not a spec home. Brookfield doesn't have specs coming up in Nexton Midtown yet. You have to buy the lot, pick the floorplan, and choose your upgrades. That means you're starting with a base price for the home, then adding the lot premium, then layering in every upgrade you want, ten-foot ceilings, wood flooring upstairs, tile in the laundry room, upgraded appliances, crown molding, whatever. The builder told me their home prices start in the $500s, but the Townsend as shown, 4-bed, 3.5-bath, 2-car garage, 2,600 to 2,700 square feet, with all the bells and whistles, is closer to $700,000.

That's a big jump, and it's something you need to understand before you fall in love with the model. The model is designed to show you what's possible, not what's standard. Standard is nine-foot ceilings. Ten-foot is an upgrade. Standard is no wood flooring upstairs. Wood flooring is an upgrade. The KitchenAid smart appliances, the frameless glass shower door, the soft-close drawers in the master bath, all upgrades. The builder didn't have a standard options list or lot premiums available at the soft opening, so I can't give you the exact breakdown of what's included in the base price versus what costs extra. But I can tell you that if you want to replicate the Townsend as it sits today, you're looking at $700,000.

That's not a bad price for what you're getting, a semi-custom home in a golf cart community with a lagoon pool and larger lot sizes, but it's also not a budget-friendly option for first-time buyers. This is a product for second, third, fourth-time homeowners who are ready to pick things out and willing to pay for that level of control. If you're someone who wants to choose your tile, your fixtures, your flooring, and you don't want to settle for whatever the builder decided to put in a spec home, this is your lane. If you need something you can close on quickly and you're not interested in the upgrade process, this probably isn't the right fit.

Annual Costs: HOA, DIT, and Berkeley County Property Taxes

Living in Nexton Midtown comes with a few annual costs you need to factor into your budget. The HOA is $850 a year, which covers access to the amenity center, the lagoon pool, the pickleball courts, the basketball courts, the tennis courts, the clubhouse, the playground, all of it. That's a pretty good deal for what you're getting.

On top of the HOA, there's a district improvement tax, or DIT, which is $896 a year. That's separate from your property taxes, and it's specific to Nexton Midtown. Not all of Nexton has this tax structure, North Creek Village, for example, doesn't have the same kind of tax, so if you're comparing neighborhoods within Nexton, make sure you're clear on what the annual costs are.

Berkeley County property taxes are relatively inexpensive compared to other parts of the Charleston area. For a home in the $700,000 range, you're looking at somewhere between $2,600 and $2,800 a year in property taxes, plus the $896 DIT. So your total annual tax bill is going to be in the mid-$3,000s, let's say $3,500, and then you add the $850 HOA on top of that. All in, you're looking at around $4,350 a year in HOA and taxes, which is manageable for a home at this price point.

Those are the costs associated with living in Nexton Midtown. If you're relocating from a high-tax state like California or New York, this is going to feel like a bargain. If you're coming from a lower-cost area and you're not used to HOAs or district improvement taxes, it's something to factor into your decision.

Who This Home Is For: Semi-Custom Buyers and Larger Lot Sizes

I think this product is going to appeal to a specific type of buyer. If you're a first-time homebuyer looking for something move-in ready at a lower price point, this probably isn't the right fit. Brookfield doesn't have specs, and the customization process means you're going to be waiting for them to build your house. If you need to close in 60 days, look elsewhere.

But if you're on your second, third, or fourth home, and you're tired of settling for whatever the builder decided to put in a spec home, this is a great option. You get to pick your tile, your flooring, your fixtures, your ceiling heights, your appliances. You can add a pool or spa because the lot sizes are larger. You can choose a corner lot and get that wraparound porch elevation. It's a semi-custom approach without the full custom price tag, and for buyers who want that level of control, it's worth the extra cost.

The bedrooms are a big selling point. They're 12 by 14 instead of the typical 10 by 11, which means your kids can grow into them without outgrowing the space by the time they're teenagers. If you're someone with kids and you're thinking, "We want our kids to grow in these bedrooms, we don't want to get to the point where they're 12 years old and hate the 10 by 10 room they live in," I totally understand that. These bedrooms are a great size, and that's something you don't see in a lot of new construction at this price point.

The larger lot sizes also mean you have room for outdoor living, pools, spas, outdoor kitchens, whatever you want. But the great part is you already have the amenity center with the lagoon pool, the pickleball courts, the clubhouse, so you're not dependent on building your own pool to have that resort lifestyle. You can if you want to, but you don't have to.

Nexton Midtown vs Other Summerville Communities

Nexton Midtown has a semi-custom feel that sets it apart from vinyl tract communities where every house looks the same. Brookfield uses HardiePlank siding, which is required in Nexton, and the homes don't all have the same elevation with the same three paint choices. If you're someone who prefers not to live in a neighborhood where every single house looks like the one next door, this is going to appeal to you.

The golf cart lifestyle is another differentiator. You can cruise to the amenity center, the parks, the common areas, and feel like you're on vacation without leaving your neighborhood. That's not something you get in every Summerville community, and it's a big draw for relocating buyers who want that laid-back South Carolina vibe.

The trade-off is price. Homes in Nexton Midtown start in the $500s, and if you want the upgrades, you're looking at $700,000 or more. That's higher than some of the other new construction communities in Summerville, but you're paying for the amenity center, the larger lot sizes, the semi-custom approach, and the golf cart lifestyle. If those things matter to you, it's worth the extra cost. If you're looking for the lowest price per square foot and you don't care about customization, there are other options in Summerville that will fit your budget better.

One thing to note: not all of Nexton has the same tax structure. North Creek Village, for example, doesn't have the district improvement tax that Nexton Midtown has. So if you're comparing neighborhoods within Nexton, make sure you're clear on what the annual costs are. The HOA and DIT in Midtown add up to about $1,750 a year on top of your property taxes, and that's something you need to factor into your decision.

Conclusion

The Brookfield Residential Townsend model in Nexton Midtown is a semi-custom product for buyers who want control over finishes, larger bedrooms, and a golf cart lifestyle in one of Summerville's hottest amenity-center communities. It's not the cheapest option in the market, and it's not a spec home you can close on quickly. But if you're on your second, third, or fourth home, and you're tired of settling for whatever the builder decided to put in, this is a great fit. You get to choose your tile, your flooring, your fixtures, your ceiling heights, and whether you want that wraparound porch on a corner lot. The lot sizes are larger, so you can add a pool or spa if you want. The bedrooms are bigger than typical kids' rooms, so your kids won't outgrow them by the time they're teenagers. And the amenity center, lagoon pool, pickleball, clubhouse, playground, is one of the best in Summerville.

If you're relocating to Summerville and you want to see this model in person, or if you want to talk through what it would cost to build the Townsend with the upgrades you actually want, let's connect. I've helped over 200 families move to Summerville, and I can walk you through the builder process, the lot premiums, the upgrade costs, and what it's really going to cost you to live here. The builders pay my commission, so working with me doesn't cost you anything extra, and I can help you negotiate incentives and make sure you're getting the best deal. Call/text 843-226-5535 or book a FREE consultation here. Let's get you into the right home in the right neighborhood.