Farr Street update

The City of Charleston Planning Commission (CPC) has approved the extension of Farr Street on Daniel Island, connecting it with Grand Council Street and Seven Farms Drive, and the separation of a swath of property alongside the new stretch into three parcels. The project was up for discussion and a vote at the CPC’s meeting on March 15.

One of the parcels will be the site of a planned new senior apartment community known as “The Overture.” A second parcel has been set aside for future development and a third smaller parcel has been designated as open space near the Bishop England High School baseball field. Plans for the apartment complex are still “in progress,” stated Daniel Island Neighborhood Association President Clyde Rush, who attended the recent CPC meeting. That project went before the City’s Technical Review Committee last month, at which time Greystar, the developer of the complex, was asked to revise and resubmit the plan to the TRC along with a construction activity application, a comprehensive stormwater pollution prevention plan, and a stormwater technical report. According to Rush, the project has not yet been placed on an upcoming TRC agenda.

“The Overture project needs only Daniel Island Architectural Review Board approval, TRC approval, and a City of Charleston building permit,” added Rush. “None of these provide for a public forum.”

Approval is not needed from the City’s Design Review Board, continued Rush, because that applies only to projects having frontage on specific named streets or corridors. On Daniel Island, those streets are Fairchild Street, Seven Farms Drive, Island Park Drive, and River Landing Drive.

“Since the Overture project is on Farr Street, Design Review Board approval is not required,” said Rush.

However, the Overture developer has asked the City’s Board of Zoning Appeals – Site Design, scheduled to meet on April 5, to allow the removal of four grand trees and to reduce the impervious setback for three grand trees. The public will be permitted to comment on this request, noted Rush.

Several Daniel Island residents attended the March 15 CPC meeting to offer feedback on the project. Their comments were heard but were not part of the decision process, added Rush, since the item being voted on by CPC members was the road extension and not the Overture complex itself. After several Daniel Islanders expressed concerns last December about the design of the complex, the developer made extensive adjustments to the plan, including relocating the placement of the buildings and realigning the Farr Street connection based on feedback received. According to Robert Morgan of Greystar Real Estate Partners, construction on the new complex is slated to begin later this year.