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Development of Research Hub to Take Years, Partners Say |
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David Slade, The Post and Courier
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Sunday, 07 December 2008 |
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City Council to Vote on Financing Plan
A neglected section of Charleston's West Side is about to become the
focus of a sweeping redevelopment plan aimed at creating a biomedical
research hub, public amenities, new homes and stores.
The partners in the $155 million initiative — the city, Medical
University of South Carolina and South Carolina Research Authority —
all say redevelopment won't happen right away, but the city will take
the first step Tuesday when City Council holds a preliminary vote on a
financing plan.
"Whether we're able to break ground next year or the year after next,
the economy and the state's finances will determine that," Mayor Joe
Riley said. "It will be a matter of when, but not if."
Dr. Ray Greenberg, president of MUSC, said the development "will unfold over years, if not decades."
"Obviously, we're trying to deal with unprecedented cuts in our state
funding," he said. "We, as an institution, don't have resources to
build new facilities right now."
Last month, MUSC announced it would furlough 1,200 of its 5,000
employees for four days and lay off 10 employees to help absorb nearly
$17 million in state budget cuts.
"While it may seem ironic, in a time of economic downturn, to be
thinking about growth, we want to position ourselves for the future,"
Greenberg said Friday.
Officials hope the redevelopment plan, in addition to improving a city
neighborhood, will attract new companies that commercialize medical
discoveries at MUSC. Typically, research universities license their
discoveries and profit from their successful commercialization.
What's happening Tuesday is a step toward laying the groundwork for the
redevelopment, with a plan to finance things such as new roads,
utilities, parking garages and sidewalks. The city's concept for the
area calls for extending Horizon Street between Hagood Avenue and
Lockwood Drive, essentially creating a new road running from Fishburne
to Spring streets.
Much of the targeted area is publicly-owned vacant lots and surface
parking lots that sit atop former landfill on the west side of Hagood
between Fishburne and the Crosstown Expressway.
"The redevelopment would really focus on the areas that are
underutilized," said Michael Maher, director of the city's Civic Design
Center. "We're trying to make it a place, and hopefully a vibrant
place, with a lot of creative energy."
The large expanse of open land near the Ashley River is an easy walk
from MUSC, Riley Park, Brittlebank Park, Burke High School and The
Citadel. Adjacent properties include several hotels and government
buildings, a public housing complex and a few streets lined with
private homes. There is no plan to take privately-owned property for
the redevelopment.
The city, MUSC and the South Carolina Research Authority all own land
along the west side of Hagood Avenue, including a large city-owned
parking lot at Hagood and Fishburne. Redevelopment plans would include
parking garages to replace the surface parking that's heavily used for
sporting events and other purposes.
The initial financing mechanism would be a tax increment financing
district. In a TIF district, the city declares that an area is blighted
and needs public assistance to encourage redevelopment. Then the city
can issue bonds for infrastructure work such as new roads and utilities
and later pay off the bonds with property tax income generated by the
redevelopment that follows.
Charleston County, the Charleston County School District and other
local entities that collect property taxes would have to agree to
create the TIF. The city has created TIF districts previously to
develop Waterfront Park and to help redevelop the Neck Area and the
land where the old Cooper River bridges used to stand in the East Side
neighborhood.
Much of the redevelopment area would have to become privately owned in
order to help fund the TIF bonds because publicly owned property is
tax-exempt.
In other city redevelopment projects, Charleston has decided what sort
of development it would like to see, then essentially auctioned off the
right to build it. At Concord Park, for example, developers paid $16
million for the right to buy the land and build the sort of mixed-use
development favored by the city.
In this case, the city doesn't own all of the property involved, and
Riley said there's been talk of creating a redevelopment authority to
oversee the initiative.
Bill Mahoney, chief executive officer of the South Carolina Research
Authority, said the roles and responsibilities of the different
partners have not been defined, but the authority likely will
contribute assets and be involved in planning and perhaps project
management.
"We share the vision," he said. "The challenge is, it looks like a
longer-term horizon on when we will have things happening. We're all in
a different financial position than we were when we conceived it."
The redevelopment builds on an initiative announced earlier this year
in which the city, SCRA and MUSC teamed up to create a biotech business
"incubator" building, where fledgling businesses could get lab space
and affordable rent while trying to market new technologies developed
at MUSC.
In that deal, the city agreed to lease a decrepit factory building at
645 Meeting St. to SCRA, which agreed to spend $5 million to transform
it into research and laboratory space that would be available for
limited periods of time to start-up companies.
"I think what really gave this (redevelopment plan) momentum is the
impetus of the Mattress Factory as an incubator," Maher said.
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