S.C. Public Railways expands redevelopment efforts at Navy base
April 6, 2012
Buildings being razed after years of neglect
COLUMBIA, SC – April 5, 2012 – South Carolina Public Railways todayannounced demolition plans of old, unsafe buildings located on theformer Navy base.
“In an ongoing effort to clean up and promote redevelopment efforts onthe former Navy base we have begun demolishing buildings that are eitherunsafe or unsightly to those who work on and visit the base,” said JeffMcWhorter, president and CEO of South Carolina Public Railways.
Since acquiring a majority of the Noisette property on the former Navybase in 2010, South Carolina Public Railways continues to invest ininfrastructure and improvements to help spur additional economicdevelopment activity on the base.
Demolition work is currently underway at the former Navy base securityheadquarters building and the federal credit union offices located nearthe old McMillan Avenue gate in North Charleston. The securityheadquarters building has been razed, and demolition work will startsoon for the credit union building. Total cost of the demolition projectis roughly $30,000.
“South Carolina has to set the table for economic development success.Commerce helps cities and towns improve their product and is doing thesame by way of our division of Railways,” said Commerce Secretary BobbyHitt. “Inventory, such as buildings and sites for economic development,and making way for improvements that will support progress, are vitallyimportant.”
In March 2011, Public Railways received a federal grant of almost$249,000 to improve the alignment of existing rail and the safety oftrain operations. The realignment will enable Public Railways to safelyaccommodate larger rail cars on the Navy base. These changes will betterserve businesses on the base, including Clemson University’s new windturbine drivetrain testing facility. These upgrades could also createadditional economic opportunity for others considering a location on thebase.
“Improvements to the rail ‘S-curve’ will enable Clemson to provide thebest service possible to customers of its wind turbine drivetraintesting facility under construction on part of the former Navy base inNorth Charleston,” said Clemson University Vice President for EconomicDevelopment John Kelly.
Public Railways recently completed a $1.5 million renovation on one ofthe base’s most prominent buildings at Quarters H and I. This building,like much of the property on the base, has been neglected and vacant formore than 10 years. Railways has found a tenant for the building.
South Carolina Public Railways is currently developing a $126 millionsingle Intermodal Container Transfer Facility (ICTF) on its NorthCharleston site on the former Navy base. The ICTF will provide equaldual rail access at one site, which will ensure competition among theClass 1 railroads, and will benefit all shippers using South Carolina’sport facilities. Other benefits include reduced truck traffic andhighway congestion by creating efficient freight rail transportation.
About South Carolina Public Railways
South Carolina Public Railways, established in 1969, promotes theeconomic viability of the State of South Carolina by providing safe,efficient and cost-effective rail solutions to facilitate the movementof freight and to support economic development efforts. Public Railwaysalso provides technical assistance and consulting services in railroadmatters to state, local and municipal governments. Public Railways is adivision of the South Carolina Department of Commerce and operates threecommon carrier railroads. The Port Utilities Commission of Charleston(PUCC) and the Port Terminal Railroad (PTR) provide switching servicesto the terminals of the State Ports Authority, interchanging with CSXTransportation and Norfolk Southern. The East Cooper and BerkeleyRailroad (ECBR), a short line railroad, located in southern BerkeleyCounty serves BP Chemical and Nucor Steel. In addition, severalindustrial sites are available for development adjacent to the railroad.For more information, visit www.scontrack.com.
About S.C. Department of Commerce
As South Carolina’s leading economic development agency, the Departmentof Commerce works to recruit new businesses and help existing businessesgrow. Commerce received the Silver Award from Business Facilitiesmagazine, placing second in the 2011 Economic Development Deal of theYear competition. Commerce has been part of recruiting world-classcompanies to South Carolina such as Boeing, Bridgestone, Continental,Monster.com, Heinz, ZF Group, BMW and Google Inc. Commerce also supportssmall and existing business, rural development initiatives and offersgrants for community development. For more information, visit www.SCcommerce.com.
