Real estate lovers, get your remotes ready. A new home design TV show set in Charleston will debut Oct. 18.
“Anything But Gray” is a six-episode, one-hour series following Gray Benko as she transforms homes across the Lowcountry. Benko, a Summerville native and interior designer, previously hosted “Happy to be Home” on HBO Max. The show followed Benko, her father, Joe “Grumpy” Highsmith, and then-husband, Mike Benko, as they renovated historic Flowertown homes.
On her newest reality show, Benko is joined once again by her dad, along with her design partner Chelcie Eastman to surprise homeowners with makeovers. Redesigns will be in Benko’s style of bold colors, whimsy and imaginative design — similar to her Summerville home she sold earlier this year.
“Design doesn’t have to be about perfection. It should be fun, soulful, and full of personality,” Benko said. “Working with my dad and Chelcie, we have so much creativity and love for our craft fueling every project, and we love having these opportunities to bring so much life and color into people’s homes. I can’t wait for viewers to see how we turn the unexpected into something truly magical.”
The show is executive produced by Chip and Joanna Gaines, who shot to fame with their HGTV show “Fixer Upper” and now run the Magnolia empire in Texas.
New episodes of “Anything But Gray” will air weekly on Magnolia Network beginning Oct. 18 at 1 p.m. and stream the next day on HBO Max and discovery+.
Magnolia Network is a media joint venture between the Chip and Joanna Gaines and Warner Bros. Discovery.
Move in day
A Mount Pleasant commercial property is gaining a new tenant from the artificial-intelligence field.
Alita, an AI-focused health care technology company, announced it is establishing operations at the Harbor Entrepreneur Center at 11 Ewall St.
The company, co-founded by CEO Matt Rosa and chief products officer Landon Feuerstein, recently graduated from the center’s Accelerator Program — a 16-week mentorship program designed to help early-stage founders get their businesses off the ground.
Alita is now ready to bring its product to market. With the move, Rosa and Feuerstein anticipate creating 17 new jobs.
New to the hive
The busy Bees Ferry Road corridor in West Ashley could gain another neighborhood.
Tony Berry, principal of TBC Development in Mount Pleasant, has submitted a request to the city of Charleston to rezone a parcel at the corner of Bear Swamp Road into a new townhome community.
Bees Ferry Towns would include 100 three-bedroom units for sale with a maximum height of three-stories.
Pricing is expected to start in the mid-$300,000 range.
Of the units, 15 will be restricted for buyers earning no more than 120 percent of the Charleston County area median income. The so-called attainable homes come with a 75-year deed restriction and limits on future resales.
If approved, the project would be one of several residential communities coming to the West Ashley area. The Long Savanna community, 20 years in the making, will add about 4,500 homes spread among 10 neighborhoods. Beazer is also constructing 57 townhomes in the Ashley Walk Townes community on Sanders Road while the Toll Brothers continue with 101 single-family attached homes in Verdier Pointe.
