[Updated, 7 p.m.] It was a big deal — err, or big deals — that sent shockwaves Tuesday across the Lowcountry. Two huge real estate transactions could dramatically change the faces of Charleston and North Charleston:
- Union Pier sale. Local billionaire Ben Navarro will buy the 70-acre Union Pier site, the last large piece of undeveloped historic property in downtown Charleston, from the S.C. State Ports Authority (SPA).
- WestRock sale. In turn, the SPA will buy the WestRock paper mill in North Charleston, a 280-acre industrial waterfront site, to expand its shipping footprint.
Charleston Mayor William Cogswell called the Union Pier deal a once-in-lifetime opportunity. SPA Chairman Bill Stern later said that a deal with a local buyer would positively impact the community.
In a 650-word statement late Tuesday titled “Why I’m Trying to Buy Union Pier,” Navarro said the reason was “because in my view, this project needs a long-term steward, not an out-of-town developer.”
Sales prices not yet clear
Financial details for both deals are not yet available. But at present, future redevelopment plans for Union Pier being crafted by the city of Charleston, College of Charleston and local advocacy groups are unclear.
“This is a once in a lifetime opportunity for Charleston,” Cogswell said in a statement this afternoon. “The city controls much of the process going forward. While this will no doubt be a complicated plan, I’ll ensure it is grounded in reality and is an amenity that every resident in Charleston can enjoy.
“This can and should be a project that makes all of Charleston proud, and I look forward to working with Beemok and Mr. Navarro on making this resident-focused vision a reality.”
In a separate statement to the City Paper, Stern said through a spokesman that the agency has had the shared goal for two years “that a future buyer would redevelop the site, and we have engaged extensively with the community throughout that time. We are now thrilled to have Ben Navarro as the local buyer of the site.
“It was important to us and to the city to have a local buyer who is both invested in the community and has a desire to develop something everyone is proud of. Ben calls Charleston home and actively invests in making our community a better place to live. We are confident that this path forward will enable city leaders and the community to work directly with a local buyer in shaping the future of Union Pier.”
In his statement, Navarro said he wanted to be considered a steward, not a developer, who he said were “truly some of the most talented, driven, entrepreneurial people I have known … But developers at their core are economically driven, thinking in terms of maximizing the financial value of a given piece of property. A developer’s perspective is how we ended up with the original plan for Union Pier.”
A steward, however, has additional values: “A steward would care every bit as much about the long-term legacy of Union Pier as about the economics. Does this development enhance the quality of life of all Charlestonians? “
WestRock deal’s impact is clearer
The port’s new deal for property adjacent to the Don Holt Bridge along Interstate 526 was approved unanimously today by the SPA board. Ports officials say they hope to close the transaction quickly, according to a news release.
“The tremendous backing from our state and an excellent partnership with WestRock allows us to make investments today that will support our state’s economy and create opportunities for future generations of South Carolinians,” SPA President and CEO Barbara Melvin said in the release. “We are adding significant port capacity to support growth in South Carolina and throughout the Southeast.”
Gov. Henry McMaster praised the expansion deal for the part, saying, “Every time we invest in port infrastructure, we see significant success at port-dependent businesses and new, good-paying jobs for our people. Our state’s investment in the expansion of North Charleston Terminal will yield dividends and create opportunities for future generations.”
The industrial waterfront property also is adjacent to SPA’s North Charleston Terminal, which will offer a natural extension of its container terminal and allow local ports to handle more cargo for port-dependent businesses.
“S.C. Ports will continue to focus on our core mission of keeping freight moving for the thousands of livelihoods, businesses and communities that depend on our port system,” Stern said.
Union Pier site in flux in recent years
Meanwhile in Charleston, the future of Union Pier continues to be in flux. But Cogswell said he has been clear since taking office in January that the future of Union Pier needed to consider residents first, as he described in a statement:
“Based on what I found to be clear feedback from residents throughout the previous process and echoed more recently with the [College of Charleston’s] Riley Center initiatives, I laid out my expectations for this site in a letter to the Ports Authority: significant public access to the waterfront, more green space than previously proposed, lower height and density so that it is more in keeping with the historic district, elimination of the cruise terminal, meaningful affordable housing component, and for them to work with a local buyer.
“I remain committed to these key tenets and look forward to proactively working with Mr. Navarro to ensure these conditions are met as he moves forward.”
The city of Charleston gave the land to the ports authority in 1947 to be used for port and shipping purposes. But in 1994, the city waived its right to reclaim the land if Union Pier was not being used for port operations. For about 30 years, the SPA made multiple promises to make something of the site, with little to show for it.
Then in 2020, the ports authority engaged a private developer, Lowe, to redevelop the land along the Cooper River south of the International African American Museum and Charleston Maritime Center. That plan included more than 20 blocks of chunky buildings out of character with historic Charleston, which led to a major public outcry about high-rise building proposals and inappropriate mixed-use development.
Last year, the SPA hit the pause button on the Lowe redevelopment plan and eventually fired the company.
“Last summer’s reset of the Union Pier process was born out of the community’s valid interest that Charleston develops Union Pier responsibly, with a community-first, values-driven approach,” said Brian Turner, president and CEO of the Preservation Society of Charleston. “We were proud to be a voice then and expect close engagement with the city and the buyer as their vision comes into clearer focus.”
The SPA joined a coalition of organizations and planners that vowed to draft a new redevelopment plan that was more inclusive and respectful of the site’s history and future in the Lowcountry. Led by the city of Charleston, the College of Charleston’s Joseph P. Riley Center for Livable Communities and local advocacy groups, the still-not-unveiled plan has included months of community input — an element missing from the previous version of the project by the SPA.
For the new iteration of the plan for Union Pier, the lead development firm Sasaki, a Boston-based company, and Nelson Byrd Woltz Landscape Architects, which is focused more on the ecological and cultural aspects of the site, worked with other project leaders to host two public workshops in 2024. Hundreds of attendees give thousands of notes on what they want — and don’t want — to see on Union Pier.
Those attending sessions wrote in big, bold letters that they wanted public access to the waterfront, plenty of greenspace, affordable housing options on-site and more. Ali Moriarty, assistant director of the Riley Center, told the Charleston City Paper in February there was also consensus around making sure the history of the site is honored in some way — from historical markets to living monuments to programming on-site.
Ahead for Union Pier
Navarro outlined nine basic principles for Union Pier’s future:
- Seeking to eliminate the cruise ships;
- Turning the terminal into a bustling waterfront location;
- Significantly reducing overall density versus the previous plan;
- Providing public access to the waterfront;
- Creating a sense of place that feels like Charleston;
- Including plenty of open space;
- Developing a resiliency plan to deal with flooding and rising water levels;
- Ensuring that the development is aesthetically pleasing and is built to last; and
- Working to become part of the solution for affordable housing.
“I don’t yet have all the answers to the many questions the community will have,” Navarro said.”But I can tell you this: I will always have the interests of the residents of Charleston in mind and the humility to be a good listener as we move forward with adding this critical missing piece to the peninsula.”
This is a developing story.
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