Latest Charleston New Terminal news...

[bguppies]

From this morning's Charleston Post and Courier....

 

 

A new 'front door'

 

Plan includes water views, relocation of cruise terminal, removal of eyesores

 

By Allyson Bird

 

The Post and Courier

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

 

 

A new development plan for Union Pier Terminal would restore Charleston's "historical front door," according to a consultant who described the current configuration as "making a garden and then putting all this junk in front of it."

The concept unveiled Tuesday calls for demolishing most of the aging buildings on the property, opening up some 50 acres of valuable waterfront land for public use and redevelopment. Also, it would relocate BMW's local port operations and shift cruise ship passengers from the dated terminal near the end of Market Street to an existing cargo building at the pier's north end.

 

Jaque Robertson, whose New York-based urban design firm was hired by the State Ports Authority as a consultant to evaluate the property, called the redevelopment proposal "one of the half-dozen most important urban projects in the U.S."

More than 200 people came to an afternoon presentation by port officials and Robertson's company inside the existing passenger terminal, which would be razed under the new plan. The new master plan also would shift Charleston's cruise business into a larger building that's now used to handle other cargo, possibly within three years.

The plan also moves cruise traffic away from the Market Street bustle by directing ship passengers onto the terminal site to park. A redrawn map of the area shows a series of rundown port buildings would be removed to create space for new parks, streets and unspecified real estate ventures.

 

He said the SPA could transfer its cruise operations to the new terminal site by mid-2012 at earliest. Newsome said the project likely would involve a public-private partnership but said it was too early to share any cost estimates.

The master plan comes after a series of community forums and feedback sessions with neighborhood groups and businesses. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley said the redevelopment would, in effect, extend Waterfront Park to the north. Any decisions based on the plan would change the city forever, he added.

"I think if you do a measurement of great cities around the world ... you measure the degree of community interest and engagement, and the higher that is, the greater the city," Riley said.

The proposed changes call for the removal of about 8 acres of existing dock space at Union Pier. The plan still allows for a single-berth cruise terminal that the SPA anticipates would handle no more than two 2,000-person ship calls a week.

 

Erin Mellen, president of Charleston Convention and Group Services, said the plan works better for departing tours she organizes from the cruise terminal but that older passengers might need shuttle service to reach the popular City Market area from the new embarkation site.

 

 

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2010/feb/10/a-new-front-door/

 

For the entire article, with all the boring details about moving BMW's pier to North Charleston to make room for this.

[salty dingo]

Yea! More cruises from Charleston means more choices and less flying for me!

 

I would like to see a return of the Charleston to Bermuda run, with as many days in Bermuda as possible! I just loved being docked at St. George's for three and a half days!