City of Charleston acquires land for Lowcountry Lowline

The City of Charleston announced the acquisition of over a mile-and-one-half of railroad right-of-way from Norfolk-Southern Corporation. The purchase of the land was made possible through a public private partnership with Friends of the Lowcountry LowLine (LCLL).

The purchase price of $4.6 million was split between LCLL and the city. LCLL credits a number of donors for its share of the cost, including the Speedwell Foundation and Evening Post Industries, each of whom contributed $500,000. Individual donations came from Frank Hagood and Ray Weeks. South State Bank provided an important bridge loan of $1 million, which will be paid off with future donations. The repayment of the bridge loan is well on its way: The Darla Moore Foundation has made a commitment of $250,000, while The Greystar Corporation has pledged at least $100,000. Greystar’s new headquarters on Meeting Street will border on the LowLine. A number of developers and businesses along the line have expressed willingness to contribute toward the bridge loan repayment.

The land immediately was put into ownership of the City of Charleston. LCLL anticipates a full partnership with the City in developing and managing the park. LCLL will spearhead a major philanthropic effort to fund the repayment of the bridge loan, community outreach, design, construction, administration and programming of the park. “We hope this park heals some of the divisions in Charleston created by the railroad and by the construction of I-26, and we will not move forward with any design until we have brought the neighborhoods into the conversation,” said Winslow Hastie, LCLL Board President. Hastie was also recently appointed Executive Director of Historic Charleston
Foundation.

Friends of the Lowcountry Low Line is a South Carolina-registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization formed to negotiate the transaction and to plan for its use in the city.

The city will now work with LCLL on the planning and design of the urban linear park.

Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg said, “When complete, the LowLine will be a great asset for our city, providing new opportunities for recreation and mobility, and new alternatives for drainage and flooding improvements along the spine of the peninsula.  I’d like to thank Friends of the Lowcountry LowLine for their partnership in this important project.”