Jewelry stores in North Charleston, SC

NORTH CHARLESTON — A large mixed-use development valued at more than $100 million will bring a slew of new construction projects to the Centre Pointe area near Tanger Outlets.

The area has been a magnet for retailers, hotels and dining establishments since it opened nearly 20 years ago, and plans presented to state environmental regulators show hundreds of thousands of square feet in new buildings along International and Tanger Outlet boulevards where land clearing is underway for a new Topgolf center that was announced earlier this year.

The Uptown North Charleston development includes plans for a 175-room hotel, a 100-room hotel, 300-unit apartment building, three-level parking deck with 483 spaces next to Topgolf and five-story office building of 110,000 square feet.

Also planned are a 2,400-square-foot coffee emporium, three restaurants and four small retail sites.

A proposed 32,000-square-foot bowling venue has been scrapped and a second parking garage with more than 500 spaces that would be owned by the city is being considered for the site along International Boulevard, according to Lenn Jewel of the development firm RealtyLink.

Two smaller parcels west of Centre Pointe Drive at International Boulevard are set aside for other developments. They include apartments for corporate clients called Waterwalk and a retail facility.

Jewel valued the entire project at more than $100 million with different venues taking shape over the next few years.

Nearly 30 acres of the proposed project includes wetlands between Tanger Outlets and McCall Center, a retail site at International and Tanger Outlet boulevards that abuts the planned Uptown project.

Developers received approval last year from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fill the site and offset the loss by acquiring 780 acres in Berkeley and Dorchester counties for remediation. A land-preservation easement with the Lord Berkeley Conservation Trust was finalized in May.

The Coastal Conservation League endorsed Uptown a few years ago as the project focused on an urban infill site rather than new “greenfield” development.

As part of the project, the city is poised to approve a special district for the site by the end of September that would direct half of the increased tax revenue from the completed development to help pay for roadwork, infrastructure and the planned garage. The rest of the money would go to Charleston County School District.

The city is not committed to the parking deck yet, but it is exploring the idea, Mayor Keith Summey said.

North Charleston also is exploring the idea of adding a second garage with 2,000 spaces near its coliseum and convention center complex by using Uptown’s tax revenues.

“It’s just too valuable a property to have asphalt on it,” Summey said.

At the Uptown site, vertical construction on the new Topgolf facility will begin in January, Jewel said. It’s scheduled to be completed in December 2022.

Work on restaurants, a hotel and apartments, some of which could open as early as 2023, will be underway next year as well.

“All of that stuff will be under construction, but it all won’t open at the same time,” Jewel said.

RealtyLink has been working on the Centre Pointe site for the better part of two decades. It includes Walmart, Sam’s Club, Tanger Outlets and numerous restaurants and retailers.

“We have a lot of retail out here,” Jewel said. “What we don’t have here is a lot of rooftops. We are creating this entertainment district tied to the coliseum and convention center.”

The developer’s aim is to create gathering places for people to attend before and after events at the two venues across International Boulevard and to offer amenities for the apartment renters.

“It would serve clientele that are here for happy hour and dinner after work or a place where you could tailgate before a hockey game or get a drink or a bite to eat later,” Jewel said.

Both Jewel and Summey expect the Topgolf attraction to be a major draw for the development. Summey said he was impressed when he visited the company’s existing facility in Myrtle Beach.

“It’s a very busy place,” he said. “It’s something that caters to all people.”

Jewel said the Uptown project is more vertical and dense than existing nearby development and some of it will be upscale.

“It will look more urban and more downtown,” he said.

Summey called the new development “a huge plus” for the city.

“It’s tax money for the future, and we are developing what we can and keeping it centralized by adding new life to what is already there,” the mayor said.

One part of the project that had been on the drawing boards for several years is no longer there.

A proposal to put a pedestrian bridge across International Boulevard has been axed because the ramps would have cut into the parking lot.

“It didn’t fit in a practical manner,” Jewel said. “It raised more concerns than it solved.”

In its place, a planned new intersection with traffic lights will be built.

A new street called Veras Way will intersect with International west of McCall Center while a second new street called Topgolf Way will begin off Centre Pointe Drive and end at Tanger Outlet Boulevard between McCall Center and a new parking deck next to Topgolf.

NORTH CHARLESTON — Councilwoman Virginia Jamison carefully walks the thin shoulder that runs beside ditches along Deerwood Drive.

The residential road, used often by commuters as a cut-through, lacks sidewalks. Jamison thinks not only about her safety but also the safety of her constituents, such as the students who use the road to access school buses.

“If they had sidewalks, they’d be on the sidewalks and not in the street,” Jamison said.

The lack of sidewalks is prevalent throughout North Charleston’s older communities. Many of the neighborhoods, like Deerwood, were built long before 2000, which is when the city began requiring new development to include sidewalks. The city is making an effort to address the issue. It plans to use $25 million worth of proceeds from a recent bond sale to finance infrastructure improvements. New sidewalks are top priority for many council members, though pedestrian crossings and drainage improvements have also been discussed.

Some community leaders are glad to see progress on the horizon, though they also urge the city do more to address neighborhoods’ infrastructure needs.

The money will be split into $2.5 million for each of North Charleston’s 10 City Council districts. Plans are still in the early stages. The city doesn’t know yet how many square footage of sidewalks the project will entail. Planning and public works staff are meeting with council members to discuss infrastructure improvement options. The city also hasn’t consulted yet with S.C. Department of Transportation, which owns many of the roads in the city. The city will need permits from DOT for sidewalk installation on state-owned roads.

DOT said North Charleston efforts align with the agency’s Complete Streets policy. The policy requires DOT to work with regional transportation partners to include walking needs as part of regional plans.

“DOT looks forward to working with the North Charleston leaders to improve pedestrian accommodations within their city,” said spokesman Pete Poore.

What’s important is that the funds are in place, said Mayor Keith Summey.

“The money is there,” Summey said. “That’s always the key factor. We’re meeting with City Council members now and looking at projects they want and getting a cost analysis on those projects.”

Increasing connectivity

The money isn’t enough to to cover an entire community with new sidewalks. That’s why the city planners have been looking mainly at increasing connectivity throughout neighborhoods by filling in existing sidewalk gaps.

″(Council members) don’t have enough money to do a whole neighborhood,” said Deputy Planning Director Megan Clark. “During discussions, we were focusing on proximity to corridors, bus stops and schools. ... As we create options for (council members), that’s an opportunity for them to go back to neighborhood meetings and talk about options and what is the overall best interest of the neighborhoods.”

Having sidewalks that lead to schools should be a top priority for council members, Summey said.

The mayor said the city has maintained sidewalks and created new ones as best as it can as funds have been available. This has been a challenge. Summey pointed out that the city in the 1990s annexed a number of neighborhoods that had seen little investment, such as Union Heights, Accabee, Dorchester Terrace and Dorchester Waylyn.

The communities, which are predominately Black, lack sufficient number of pathways to properly accommodate pedestrians.

Some of these neighborhoods can’t accommodate sidewalks. In Union Heights, for example, there isn’t enough right of way around the neighborhood’s slim streets. Sidewalk installation would require use of private properties. In Union Heights, the city will likely focus on other improvements, such as fixing drainage issues, Summey said.

But wherever feasible, the city should address the need for walkable paths, said Omar Muhammad, executive director of the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities.

Not only do sidewalks provide people a safe path to move about in their neighborhoods, but the infrastructure also promotes healthy lifestyles, Muhammad said. Health disparities often exist in neighborhoods that lack pathways that safely accommodate walkers and cyclists, he said.

“You see (health disparities) existing in those communities because of the lack of that type of infrastructure,” he said.

For Councilman Michael Brown, safety is the top concern. He has hopes to add sidewalks in Accabee and Dorchester Terrace.

“When folks are walking in a lot of these areas, they’re walking in the streets,” Brown said. “That’s a safety issue.”

‘Tale of two cities’

Not all neighborhoods lack sidewalks, particularly the city’s newer communities. The Wescott community off Dorchester Road includes sidewalks that provide safe pathways to subdivisions and a shopping complex.

“We all know when it comes to sidewalks, we have a tale of two cities,” said Councilman Ron Brinson said.

The funds are a step in the right direction, but more can be done to improve quality of life in older neighborhoods, Jamison said.

Deer Park, created in the 1940s, today is populated with over a thousand homes. The neighborhood, like all others, could benefit from a North Charleston livability study, Jamison said.

Such a study would survey residents in all of the city’s neighborhoods to determine the communities’ needs, she said. It would also that no neighborhood is ignored, Jamison said.

“Deer Park has been left behind in so many ways,” Jamison said.

Brinson is concerned about how growth is impacting North Charleston neighborhoods in Dorchester County, an area that’s been one of the fastest-growing sections of the city. The Wescott community has seen increased cut-through traffic. Commuters use Wescott and Patriot Boulevards, originally built as neighborhood roads, to avoid gridlock along Dorchester Road.

Brinson fears the problem will worsen as a number of road projects loom on the horizon, including Charleston County’s Palmetto Commerce Interchange.

“We’ve got to do the best we can to protect the neighborhood ambiance,” he said.

As North Charleston moves forward with its infrastructure plans, Muhammad thinks the city should also engage with residents about why the infrastructure improvements are needed.

Particularly in low-wealth areas that haven’t seen significant investment, improvements could raise concern about gentrification, Muhammad said.

“I like that the city is allocating some funds towards infrastructure improvements,” he said. “But concurrent with that work, they need to reach out to the community to lessen concerns around gentrification.”

Meanwhile, the city will work to help ensure its neighborhoods have safe paths to walk and run.

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCBD) – The Charleston Area Regional Transportation Authority (CARTA) will begin a new initiative that helps cyclists and pedestrians looking to cross North Bridge in West Ashley.

Free connections are set to begin October 3^rd, allowing free transportation between stops on either side of North Bridge for cyclists and pedestrians. The new initiative also allows bicycles to be taken on the bus from one side of the bridge to the other for free.

North Bridge does not currently have amenities for cyclists and pedestrians, however, CARTA’s new initiative also allows cyclists to bring their bicycles on the bus in between stops.

“CARTA is committed to connecting the region by providing safe and reliable transportation to anyone who needs it,” says Mike Seekings, CARTA Board of Directors Chairman. “This new offering will help bridge the safety gap that currently exists so that everyone, regardless of socioeconomic ability will be able to safely cross the North Bridge.”

North Bridge is a section of Route 32 which covers hourly connections between North Charleston and West Ashley through the bridge with stops in North Charleston Superstop, Ashley Landing Mall, and Citadel Mall.

Route 32 service will be doubled, and wait times will be cut in half once the enhanced service begins in October, and will happen every half-hour Monday through Saturday, every hour on Sunday.

According to SCDOT, there have been nine pedestrian/bicycle/motor collisions on the bridge between 2014 and 2017, with three pedestrian/bicycle/motor fatalities reported since 2018.

“Increasing the frequency of Route 32 and allowing bikes on the 32 bus as needed are important and appreciated steps toward a better, more accessible North Bridge crossing for all,” says Charleston Moves Executive Director Katie Zimmerman. “These improvements will offer more safe crossing opportunities to work, appointments, and visiting family.”

The needed structural improvements to North Bridge are underway through the Better North Bridge Project.

The Better North Bridge Project is a collaborative effort between Charleston County, Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments, and Charleston Moves that aims to provide a permanent, standalone bike and pedestrian crossing between North Charleston and West Ashley.

Locals can see full route details and bus tracking in the Transit App which is available to download from the App Store and Google Play.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The head of the South Carolina Ports Authority delivered what he called his 13th and final State of the Port address Monday afternoon.

SCPA President and CEO Jim Newsome announced he plans to retire from his position at the end of June 2022, extending his current contract which was set to end this December.

He said the port’s board named Barbara Melvin, who currently serves as the ports’ chief operating officer to be the Ports Authority’s next leader effective July 1.

He said he would be an executive advisor for one year after his retirement.

“While the global supply chain remains under tremendous pressure, SC Ports has strategically invested to ensure efficient operations, providing retailers with the capacity and fluidity they need, particularly as we head into peak season,” Newsome said.

SC Ports moved 205,008 twenty-foot equivalent units at Wando Welch Terminal, North Charleston Terminal and Hugh K. Leatherman Terminal in September, setting a record for the month. This is a 5% increase year-over-year.

Fiscal-year-to-date, SC Ports has handled 684,517 TEUs at its container terminals, up nearly 18% from the same time a year ago.

“Capacity is the new port currency, and SC Ports has the right capacity at the right time to meet retailers’ and companies’ needs,” Newsome said. “We have built the best infrastructure in the U.S. port industry.”

SC Ports is the only port in the country with new terminal capacity, Newsome said, adding that the $1 billion Phase One of Leatherman Terminal opened in March, adding a berth and 700,000 TEUs of capacity to the East Coast port market, ensuring speed-to-market for customers.

“Companies with global supply chains want to locate near well-run ports. Port growth creates jobs and investments,” Newsome said. “SC Ports generates a $63.4B annual economic impact and creates 1 in 10 jobs in South Carolina.”

Gov. Henry McMaster proclaimed this week as South Carolina Ports Week throughout the state.

“I encourage all South Carolinians “to recognize our maritime community for its successful endeavors in international maritime trade and the impact it makes on our great state,” McMaster said.

McMaster made the proclamation just before Newsome’s State of the Port Address.

Copyright 2021 WCSC. All rights reserved.

A North Charleston man will be competing on national television for the heart of elementary school teacher and former finalist of “The Bachelor” Michelle Young on the upcoming season of “The Bachelorette.”

Alec, 29, is an engineer from North Charleston who will join 29 other men on Season 18 of the ABC program. None of the bachelors are identified by their last names in a series of bios posted by the show on Sept. 27.

On fan site Bachelor Nation, he’s been identified as Alec Barrett Thompson. Thompson’s Instagram page confirms with a Sept. 27 photo of his bio picture with the caption “Hereeeee we go.”

According to ABC representatives, contestants aren’t available for press interviews until they have been eliminated from the show, or until the season ends if they are a finalist.

Alec’s bio reads:

“Alec lives to make the most out of every day. After his first marriage ended, Alec learned a lot about the value of commitment and what it takes to truly make love last, so he is not here to waste anyone’s time. He is dependable, emotionally intelligent and values integrity above all else. Alec is hoping to find a woman who appreciates how much his career means to him but will also make him want to be sentimental and bring out the fun side of him. He is true a believer in that old-school, head-over-heels unconditional type of love and is ready to find that with the beautiful Michelle.”

His fun facts include that he loves to read GQ Magazine, doesn’t think bowling makes for a romantic night out and his favorite thing to eat for breakfast is cottage cheese.

His Instagram page also mentions he was a former football player and model for Select Model Atlanta.

“The Bachelorette” was casting eligible bachelors in the Lowcountry in December 2018.

At that time, talent scout Alyx Anne Wilson told The Post and Courier she was eyeing Charleston for potential recruits.

“I’m looking in Charleston specifically just because (the show) hasn’t had a recruiter in this area,” Wilson says. “I pitched the idea since I think we have some great guys.”

The new season of “The Bachelorette” will premiere on Oct. 17.