County focuses on port, but can’t ignore vacant mill sites – Coastal Observer

County focuses on port, but can’t ignore vacant mill sites – Coastal Observer

Georgetown County is creating a master plan for the 46 acres at the former state port in Georgetown, but people who showed up to offer input at a meeting last week were looking at a bigger picture: the 66 acres at the partly demolished steel mill and the 1,600 acres at the shuttered paper mill. Collaboration between the three sites would be ideal, said Lee Gastley, the managing principal at SeamonWhiteside in Mount Pleasant, the lead consultant for the county’s port redevelopment project. “At the moment we don’t have that,” Gastley said to the audience of about 100 people at the Howard Center. A contract for the steel mill expired this fall. One for the paper mill is still pending. River Development Equities, a New Jersey firm, hopes to acquire both sites. Until that happens, the mills are still in the ownership of Liberty Steel and International Paper,  said Kelly Robertson-Slagle, the county’s director of Economic Development. “The future redevelopment decision rest with their respective property owners,” she said. “We recognize that we’re a small piece of a larger redevelopment pie.” Gastley and his team will try to anticipate the redevelopment options for the adjacent sites as they move forward with a plan for the port that they expect to deliver to the county next spring. “We’re not taking our foot off the gas pedal,” Robertson-Slagle said. Terry Johnson Sr. used to work at the steel mill, just like his father. He wants to see a mix of uses at the port property, not just residential development. “I want to see where the whole town benefits,” he said. It’s that mix that will attract business, Johnson said. It’s finding the right mix that is the challenge, said Daniel Pellegrino of Bridge Commercial, which is doing the real estate analysis for the port. His table at the meeting was one of the busiest. “There may be some things that are not realistic,” Gastley said, but he welcomed participants to offer any ideas. Some wanted to see the return of industry to the waterfront. One person suggested docking for cruise ships. Participants received five sticky dots to place on poster-sized photos of potential uses. Those featuring water access and public amenities appeared to gather the most votes. “I’m fully on board with, ‘Build it and they will come,’” said Rebecca Noble of Pawleys Island. “We have a jewel here.” She liked the idea of a boardwalk connecting with the city’s Harborwalk and an amphitheater. “That’ll bring in all kinds of creative, artistic, social things,” she said. A survey of the audience showed that 30 percent of respondents were interested in community character; 27 percent in real estate and economic development; and 23 percent in open space. “A good mix would make a lot of sense for this property,” said Clarissa Tindall, the former zoning administrator for the city.  A poster board made by Bridge Commercial showed 12 uses that could make for a “working, walkable waterfront.”  Those included retail, housing, restaurants, office space, hospitality, event venues, maritime uses and medical facilities. Tindall said she was interested to see the property include public entertainment and gathering spaces. She, along with a few others, also pitched the idea of a branch for Coastal Carolina University and Horry-Georgetown Tech. “That would be really neat,” she said. “I don’t really know how that would work, honestly, but I don’t think anyone does.” That would make the most sense for county-owned property, Noble agreed. “That means it’s public use. It should be all different, fun, public uses,” she said. Gastley said that maintaining the link between the port’s past and its future could include reusing some of the buildings, such as the dome used to store salt. The former wharf on the Sampit River is seen as an ideal marina site. “I’ll be very happy if they incorporate a lot of this,” Tindall, who specializes in the environmental component of development, said of a rainwater park on one of the poster boards. Some also used sticky notes to provide additional ideas. Many suggested a sports complex. Others suggested various arts facilities, such as a film production center or artist sudios. A convention or conference center was proposed. So was an office complex for a large corporation. Boat building facilities and sites for teaching boating, hunting and fishing were also proposed.  “Jobs are a very important component of this,” Gastley said. “That is certainly a very strong desire on the part of the county.”  Robertson-Slagle pointed out that the county also has other property for economic development, including an industrial park farther up the Sampit River and property it recently acquired between Georgetown and Andrews. “Georgetown’s waterfront is a diamond in the rough,” said Beth Martin, who lives at Pawleys Island but has thought about moving to the city depending on what happens with its redevelopment. “There’s so much potential.” The county will take additional ideas through its website, gtcountysc.gov. Johnson said he felt like his opinion mattered.  A second public meeting will be held in January to review the consulting team’s initial concepts. The master plan for the port won’t be the kind of plan people see for a new real estate development. Its goal is to provide information that will attract development partners to the site, Gastley said. The property will prioritize environmental remediation, waterfront access, resilience to flooding and preservation of cultural history of the city. Its development plans to foster workforce development, equitable economic growth and affordable housing and livability, Gastley said. “I just want to manage those expectations,” he said. “It will start to morph over time.”