A large-scale park on Daniel Island's south side: It's a grand idea, but is it feasible?
What are the chances of a grand, large-scale park being set aside on Daniel Island’s southern tip for generations to enjoy? Depends on who you ask. Last week, in an op-ed piece, Rep. Mark Sanford re-championed an idea for a Central Park-style amenity on Daniel Island that he first introduced in 2006, while serving as Governor.
“Let’s do something remarkable,” Sanford wrote. “...That fits with the magnificent area we call home.”
The Daniel Island land Sanford is referring to is currently owned by the State Ports Authority (SPA), or as he puts it, the South Carolina taxpayers. Sanford, who now represents South Carolina’s First Congressional District, has long advocated for preserving green space in the fast-growing Charleston metro area, as other cities around the world have done, to leave places for respite and recreation amidst surrounding urban sprawl.
“As a community, we want to close our eyes and imagine what we want our tri-county area to look like 100 years from now,” said Sanford, while on a visit to The Daniel Island News office last week to discuss his park plan. “I think when you do that, it changes one’s perspective...I would argue that quality of life is a point of competitive advantage for the Lowcountry.”
“I fully support Rep. Sanford’s idea for a grand park,” stated Berkeley County Councilman Josh Whitley, a Daniel Island resident. “It’s a prime example of what we need to do more of - thinking big and thinking about the future...I wholly support it.”
“I think the basic idea is great,” added Daniel Island Neighborhood Association President Glenn Williman. “The more green space and park land we could have in Charleston would be highly desirable and would be a real plus for Daniel Island.”
“Overwhelmingly, it would be a really great thing to have, something like that in Charleston, that is of that magnitude, because we don’t have anything like that,” said Charleston City Councilman and Daniel Island resident Gary White, who admitted, however, that there would be challenges in pulling it off.
“It was a great vision that then Governor Mark Sanford brought to the table,” added Daniel Island Company President Matt Sloan. “The timing was great as the possibility of a port on the island was still under discussion. We were very grateful to him for thinking out of the box.”
But the plan, he continued, was never feasible due to soil conditions and access.
“It would have needed its own roadway out to Thomas Island as Daniel Island Drive was not designed for large scale visitor traffic,” added Sloan, who has worked for a number of years with SPA officials, legislators, and other local representatives to come up with a good outcome for the property. “Further, the bulk of the land is unstable dredge. The economics would have been overwhelming.”
The SPA currently holds about 1300 acres of property on Daniel Island, bordering Charleston Harbor and the Wando and Cooper Rivers. The parcel, which encompasses some of the last available waterfront property in the heart of the Charleston metro area, represents a unique opportunity, said Sanford.
“Given the fact that the taxpayer has already procured this,” he continued, “I think that what we shouldn’t do as a community is pave and build on every square inch of land in the tri-county area. I think from a traffic standpoint, from a quality of life standpoint, to do so would be a mistake...There is no other spot that’s (available) on the water. None. Zero. Nothing. There is nothing of this scale.”
Sanford supports setting aside several hundred acres on the property’s Wando River side as a starting point for a park. The rest could be developed over time, he said.
But according to Kelsi Childress, external affairs coordinator for the SPA, almost all of their Daniel Island property “has been earmarked for dredge disposal or other uses affiliated with harbor and port operations.”
“The port’s dredge disposal requirements are constant and long-term with anticipated use into the next 50 to 100 years and beyond,” stated Childress. “...Under our current plans and conditions for virtually all of our acreage, the park would not be feasible.”
Childress said the SPA has been working with local legislative leadership on an ongoing basis for disposition of the property that will not be used for dredging. But that land is minimal. Approximately 50 acres on the northwest side of the parcel has already been set aside for a long term lease to South Carolina Parks, Recreation and Tourism department, said Childress.
Sen. Larry Grooms and Rep. Jim Merrill, both of Daniel Island, have been working with port officials over the years to come up with a plan for the property. When it comes to determining what to do, Sen. Grooms said it’s about “dealing in the world of what’s possible.”
“Ever since I was able to get the legislation passed that made the (building of a new Global Gateway) port off limits to Daniel Island, the ultimate goal was first to make sure there was no commercial construction on that property,” added Grooms. “And number two was to make the land available for public use.”
According to Grooms, a main creek on the island’s western side that existed prior to 1938 has been filled over the years as port spoil. Several spoil sites are expected to remain in place and used for harbor deepening and maintenance, he said, but for the rest of the property he and others are working to develop a 134-acre saltwater mitigation bank. Last Friday, the Army Corps of Engineers announced that public comments are now being accepted on that project, which would provide in-kind compensatory mitigation, or credits, for authorized impacts to aquatic resources located within the Cooper River, Stono River, Santee River and Bulls Bay watersheds (see article on page 20 for additional information).
“That’s how you make it a public park,” Grooms continued.
As part of the mitigation bank plan, some areas could be reserved for biking and hiking trails, and perhaps a couple of small fishing piers, he said, but not an active, large-scale amenity.
“Most will be returned to its natural state,” Grooms said. “...What (Rep.) Sanford unveiled when he was governor, that’s not possible...Biking, hiking and fishing is all that’s possible there, and that 250 to 300 acres gets restored to what it was prior to 1938 when the main creek that went through the channel was filled in...That’s what’s possible in creating a mitigation bank, and that’s what we’re trying to do.”
Grooms added that engineering work is currently underway to determine which areas can be safely utilized.
“The whole area has to be completely understood from a geological standpoint,” he said. “...Most of the port properties will remain active spoil sites...We will continue to work with the Daniel Island Company, the City of Charleston, and the State PRT over some high ground areas where there could be soccer fields and other ball fields...There are a number of separate threads, but they need to all be woven together.”
Sanford recognizes that there are obstacles to his plan, noting that “inertia is always a difficult thing.” But he again reiterated that development of a park could be done in stages, as dredging usage gradually declines. He is also not an advocate of selling portions of the property off for development.
“Some people would argue (a park) is not the highest and best use. I would argue it is the highest and best use because the parks of the great cities around the world suggest there is an additional value that comes, and that value can be realized in different forms. You can do cash now. Or you can do equity over a lifetime in a park that pays dividends in the way people live in the community.”
Sanford is confident that when all parties come together, the end result will be something the region can be proud of.
“There is a win-win to be found,” he continued. “And I want to work toward that end...I think that there are a variety of different pots of money that could help facilitate this kind of (project).”
“The (Ports Authority) clearly has a game plan for the use of that land over a period of time,” added Councilman White. “Even if you can get over that hurdle, to do something of that magnitude would be on the cost scale of a Gaillard Auditorium. That’s just a massive amount of money…I would say if that is something (Rep. Sanford) is going to bring forward and has federal dollars to put behind it, that’s wonderful. There would be a lot of hurdles to clear before it can ever become a reality.”
But, with the addition of the saltwater mitigation bank and other land use projects, it appears that some of those hurdles are being removed.
“It’s been one of my Daniel Island ‘bucket list’ items,” added Sloan, who praised both Sen. Grooms and Rep. Merrill for their efforts. “...I can say with confidence that we have arrived at an open space driven solution. Aside from the dredging between the City land that will be transferred to the POA this year and the SPA land already transferred to the State PRT, we will have over 100 acres of recreational opportunities that can be built over time...So at the end of the day, the end result may have strong similarities with Congressman Sanford’s original concept.”
“I think it’s a look into the Christmas of the future,” added Sanford. “What do we want to look like? We’re not going to be able to save all of the Lowcountry and major parts of the tri-county area. But this is an area we can...What I have found in life is where there is a will there is a way.”