Daniel Island resident Jimmy Letton came away feeling better
than he expected after a face-to-face meeting last week with Gov. Mark
Sanford and the State Ports Authority.
Letton is among dozens of property owners who, under threat of
condemnation, sold their land along Clements Ferry Road to the SPA as part
of the proposed but ill-fated Global Gateway shipping terminal.
When public opposition torpedoed that project, the authority offered to
resell most of those parcels back to their previous owners at the original
sale price.
But the SPA kept seven tracts south of Interstate 526 - a strip of land
linking its 1,300-acre Daniel Island property with the highway. Without
that access route, agency officials have said, the larger site would be
partially sealed off, decreasing its value and marketability in the event
of a sale.
Now, the process to sell the SPA land is in motion, which brought
Sanford to the island Monday to discuss how property could and should be
developed. At that community meeting, Letton told Sanford he wants to buy
back his waterfront parcel, which he sold for $210,000. His remarks led to
a one-on-one meeting with the governor and SPA Chairman Bill Stern
afterward.
The short answer to his request: A qualified maybe.
Originally, the land in question was needed for a bridge and road that
were supposed to handle the truck traffic to and from Global Gateway. Last
week, SPA officials said they are awaiting the results of a study to
determine whether it's economically feasible for a private-sector
developer to pay for that kind of access. The agency's land planning
consultant, Mark Baker of Wood + Partners Inc. of Hilton
Head, seemed to think it would be too costly and time-consuming, given the
environmental hurdles.
If that's the case, Stern said, the SPA won't need those parcels
anymore and would offer them back to the previous owners at cost.
"I'm happy with that if it works out," Letton said.
Separately, and not surprisingly, Monday's community meeting seemed to
attract as many real estate developers as residents.
Among the firms represented were the Beach Co., Centex
Homes, Clement Crawford & Thornhill, the Ginn
Co. and the Daniel Island Co.
School support
When representatives from the Magnolia urban-revitalization
project hear from the public about a financing agreement with North
Charleston this week, they won't have to worry about opposition from at
least one party.
The Charleston County School District recently dropped its
objection to the creation of a tax-increment finance area for the former
Roper North hospital and surrounding property, because the
developer has agreed to set aside land in the area for an elementary
school.
Under a tax-finance plan, new taxes raised from development within
Magnolia LLC's 87-acre Ashley River Center would help pay
for public improvements in that area, such as streets, landscaping,
drainage, utilities and parking.
County school officials said they initially "did not concur" with the
arrangement because plans for the former hospital did not include a school
site. Demographic projections found that 800 children could live in the
area in the future, according to the district.
The future K-8 school, which currently has no funding, would be next to
a proposed park site. A preliminary agreement between privately held
Magnolia and the school board calls for the developer to explore future
business partnerships with the district and establish reading rooms in
nearby neighborhoods to help improve literacy.
A public hearing on the financing matter is set for Thursday at 6:45
p.m. in North Charleston City Hall.
The Magnolia project encompasses about 450 acres on the
Charleston-North Charleston line.
Reach John McDermott at 937-5572 or jmcdermott@postandcourier.com.