The Beach Co.’s Dan Doyle reflects on South Carolina growth

Twenty-two years ago, Dan Doyle received a job offer that, little did he know, would make him a key part in the rapid change that came to one of the fastest growing states.

As the population, tourism and infrastructure have grown in South Carolina, Doyle, now president and chief operating officer at The Beach Co., has been a front-row player in the changes that have shaped the region — especially Charleston — into the destination it is today.

Beginning with an architecture degree, followed by a master’s in business, he launched his career in his home state of Michigan, working in real estate management. With The Beach Co.’s offer, he decided to pack up his family and head south.

“At the time, it was not an easy decision to make. Charleston was nowhere near what it is today,” Doyle said. “Looking back, it was probably one of the best decisions I ever made.”

Doyle defines The Beach Co. as a “vertically integrated developer, operator and acquirer of multi-family, mixed-use and master-planned communities around the Southeast.” That definition includes office, retail, for-rent residential and for-sale residential.

When offered the job with the The Beach Co. team, he was part of an initiative to help the company expand into new markets of the Southeast as well as different project types. Slowly, he took on more responsibility and began to develop a team.

The headquarters office in Charleston has a team of more than 100. Everything is operated out of the Charleston office, including taking over developments in other states.

Since its founding in 1945, The Beach Co. has expanded to properties across the Lowcountry, Midlands and Upstate, as well as markets in Alabama, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia.

“While we were a big player in this market for a very long time, we started to see others come in and start to compete,” Doyle said. “For us, it was important to go out and diversify in the markets outside of Charleston. That was a key part of our strategy, and it remains a key part of our strategy today.”

Doyle said it was important to the team to have a presence in markets outside of South Carolina, as a hedge against weakening economic conditions in the Palmetto State.

The company operates in places people want to live and typically where there is plenty of job growth. When beginning a project in each new region, a plan for the site is developed around what is expected to be in highest demand for that specific market and its residents.

On the flipside, Doyle said being in those robust markets means there are often challenges with backlash from people who don’t want to see an influx in population.

“You can’t really stop people from moving to a new area or businesses relocating; that’s part of the ongoing evolution of a community and having a sense of place,” Doyle said. “While some people may look at it as a negative, my guess is most people will look at it as a positive.”

For Doyle, the company is not positioned to be a problem creator, but rather a problem solver.

“We oftentimes are having to bear the criticism that we are building new communities and it’s going to create more flooding or generate more traffic or whatever the topic of the day is,” Doyle said. “I think it’s important to highlight and for people to recognize those things.”

Even so, he said it remains a challenge to create great places for people to live and work while still cherishing the natural qualities that make that place what it is, especially in one of the fastest growing states and regions.

In that initiative, The Beach Co. has instituted sustainability efforts and an annual sustainability report. Doyle said a statement the company commonly uses is “making the world better one thoughtful place at a time.”

The company’s sustainability report has won a national award over the past three years, Doyle said, encouraging the continuation of the program.

“It’s really our way to show the community, ‘We do the right thing, and we do the right thing because it is the right thing to do,’” Doyle said.

Remaining active in the Lowcountry community, Doyle serves on the board of the Charleston Regional Development Alliance, Operation Home, the Charleston Metro Chamber of Commerce and its executive committee, and past chair of the Chamber’s Developer’s Council.

In total, he has over 30 years of real estate industry experience, with the majority spent in the multi-family residential development and management sectors.

To someone following a similar path, Doyle advises working hard, persevering and being dedicated, but there are no shortcuts.