Still image by Flickr user The Truth About…
Updates at the bottom
State Rep. Shannon Erickson is reporting that the sale of the Port of Port Royal has
passed the state Budget & Control Board with a 3-2 vote, despite Gov. Mark Sanford's
request of 45 days for more bids.
The move allows a proposed $16.75 million deal for the 51 acres of waterfront land to continue, a deal that has also faced debate about how much park land should be included in the development.
You can watch a recording of the meeting over here, and see the sale agenda for the meeting here.
There will, undoubtedly, be more reporting on this one, we'll keep you connected.
Updated 8:30 p.m.: Port Royal Town Councilman Joe Lee has passed a note along via email to area residents regarding today's approval of the port sale. Here's what the email says:
This afternoon in a drawn out session of the Budget and Control Board. Council was on hand in the form
of the Mayor and Councilman Lee, along with town manager, Van Willis.
Business interests were represented by P Squared owners Jeff Picnkney
and Richard Poore, residents were well represented by Tom and Mary
Klein, Tom spoke on behalf of the residents and the need for the
development to go forth. This has been a long and drawn out adventure
but now we can proceed with the blessings of all involved. I will alert
you when I know the next step. Joe
Updated 9:50 p.m.: Starting to see print media reports come in.
Concerns persist about what phased development (and payment) for the land and how not having to necessarily sacrifice 10 acres of land for a park will affect the apparent value of the land, and thus whether the developer's bid is really the fair market value required by law.
The Post and Courier has a nice report about the deal and the tensions that surround it; read it here. And The Island Packet has a report about the vote with some various local leader commentary; read that here.
Update October 2: Just a quick note about an aerial shot of the port site I spotted at the Charleston Regional Business Journal, really gives you the idea of just how massive the site of the former port is. That inspired me to trace the land tract on a Google map; see it up top or over here.
Updated October 4: The Island Packet has a writeup on how Port Royal residents and this Save us a Slice group plan on keeping an eye on the developer and development to make sure everything moves along smoothly. No big surprises here. You can read the full writeup at The Island Packet.
