Mount Pleasant Magazine May/June 2019

67 www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.BestOfMP.com | www.ReadMPM.com feature which boasts 40,000 square feet on the first floor and another 27,000 square feet on the second. When the renovation is complete, the road leading up to the building will be lined with palm trees, a long-neglected pond to the north is to become a pleasant place for people to eat lunch or simply enjoy the company of their coworkers or fellow tenants and a courtyard behind the building is to be available for games, picnics, cookouts and other activities. And, once the brush on all sides of the building is cleaned up, Beresford Creek will again be visible from the building, and people will be able to stroll all the way to the creek. “My aspirational goal is to have a kayak dock down there,” White said. “You can’t even enjoy the live oaks now. We are returning the beauty and splendor of the Lowcountry and putting our tenants in touch with it.” White has grander plans for the 11.6- acre property, which includes a 280-space parking lot. He would like to develop a half-acre plot on the east side of the property, possibly with a smaller office building, a restaurant or an urgent- care facility. Meanwhile, he’s confident that a structure that once housed large vats of ice that helped cool the main office building could eventually become home to a taco bar. In addition to 146 Fairchild, White has a stake in the commercial parts of 225 Seven Farms Drive; one suite in 245 Seven Farms Drive; most of 259 Seven Farms Drive; and 20 Fairchild St., home of a Starbucks and Bin 526, White’s wine bar. A graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, White served on active duty until 1988. After a stint in the Reserves, he was assigned to the Pentagon during Operation Desert Shield, working with a team that studied satellite imagery, looking for Scud missiles the Iraqis were lobbing into Israel and Saudi Arabia. When they found the missile launchers, they sent in Air Force and Navy bombers to eliminate them. White spent most of his career in military intelligence, where he developed many of the attributes that have helped him succeed in the world of industrial real estate. “I learned to be organized — my work ethic and discipline,” he explained. “I like to work in an organized fashion.” “And I have a continual curiosity about all things business,” he added. Mike White looks at the courtyard that eventually will be available for games, picnics, cookouts and other activities. A long-neglected pond will be a pleasant place for people to eat lunch or simply enjoy the company of their co-workers or fellow tenants. A dead tree has been replaced by a flagpole topped by Old Glory and a yardarm flying flags representing each of the building’s 11 current tenants.