Image by Flickr user OldOnliner
It's really been quite remarkable just how long cleanup and improvement of the 214 acres of polluted former industrial land on Charleston's Neck has continued in hopes of building the massive "mini-city" Magnolia Development despite the collapse of the market.
Plug away since 2007 it did, cleaning up nasty chemicals in the ground, making nice with the neighbors, and securing $9.8 million to build a now-bridge-to-nowhere.
Not all hope is lost for the millions of square feet of new space and 4,400 homes that was seen as a game changer for Charleston's urban style. The Post and Courier has a nice rundown on the situation and its candle of hope; read it here.
But this seems to be a good time to take a trip down memory lane of massive Charleston developments that have been pitched in recent years but have yet to materialize:
- The 1,500-unit Promenade to sit on the lower east side of the neck atop an old landfill near the Cooper River Bridge;
- The $155 million "Horizon Redevelopment Project" near the downtown ballpark backed by Medical University of South Carolina and South Carolina Research Authority;
- The 43-acre urban living project that was due to come in just north of Park Circle's Old Village;
- The little-engine-that-could Noisette project in North Charleston;
- And the massive 1,800-acre Ingleside Planatation development for North Charleston is still floating out there somewhere.
Still, there is hope: The downtown city-backed Concord Park project is coming back to life, the Federal Building project seems alive again, and we've been hearing good things about the long-dreamt Midtown project for Upper King Street.
Which dreams are yet to be, we will see.
