North Charleston's Riverfront Park

[wellington]

http://archives.postandcourier.com/archive...012407270.shtml

I don't know if anyone has been talking about the new Riverfront Park in North Charleston. I was there for the opening ceremony and fireworks on July 4th; although the park is not completed, I must say that I was really impressed. The location is spectacular and this will be a great park once everything is completed!

I also talked with some Noisette Co. officials... the proposed Maritime Museum (housing the Hunley) will be built on the north side of Noisette Creek and will be connected to the park via a bridge/boardwalk. A boardwalk will also extend down the full length of Riverfront Park to a proposed Naval Base Memorial at the south end of the park ($0.5 million has already been raised for the memorial). Future plans also call for shops/restaurants along the river north of the Maritime Museum. The official said that there are also plans for high-rise buildings on the old naval base property. I know that a lot of these projects are proposed and the redevelopment will take 15-20 years, but I would suspect that we will see considerable improvement in the North Charleston area in the near future. The city is already starting work on road improvement in the downtown area -- they are eliminating the diagonal parking and will build new curbs to slow traffic passing through this area. In addition, the new Mixzon and Century Oaks developments will be added additions to the city.

[MikesLogic]

This is a rather large project that has been in the making for awhile now. Below is a cap from the master plan for the on-base part of their redevelopment plans, which labels highrise properties and outlines the urban areas. Infrastructure(road realignment etc.) should be completed by 2008 with large scale development from 2009-2013.

Click image for larger version

Noisette - Charleston, SC

[Spartan]

That is quite the plan! Thanks for sharing that. My only question is how do they plan to incorportate LRT in this? This is essentially a blank sheet here. They can at least leave the space available to do it later.

[Infinite1]

there are multiple existing rail lines into the area now that can be used for future LRT. A station at the eastern edge could accomodate rail to the location.

[wellington]

Port terminal road permits stalled

[wellington]

Photos of Riverfront Park:

Photos of the Admiral's House:

Other photos from the old naval base:

Large oaks dominate parts of the property.

The Dead House.

Panama-style officer quarters.

Building 234

Power Plant

[GSP Tiger]

The admiral's house and the power plant look to be historic. Does anyone know how old those structures are?

[wellington]

I'm not sure about the Old Powerhouse (it was built in the Beaux Arts style). I'm guessing sometime in the early part of the 20th century. The Noisette Co. plans to remove all of the piping, etc. and renovate the building.

I presume that the Admiral's House dates back to the 19th centruy when it was part of Turnball Plantation.

[Infinite1]

if I understand correctly, this land was mostly swamp before the construction of the Naval Base in the early 1900s....I think around 1910. I'd imagine that not may structures would predate that time

[GSP Tiger]

Are plans in the works to restore the admiral's house?

[wellington]

I'm not sure about the Old Powerhouse (it was built in the Beaux Arts style). I'm guessing sometime in the early part of the 20th century. The Noisette Co. plans to remove all of the piping, etc. and renovate the building.

I presume that the Admiral's House dates back to the 19th centruy when it was part of Turnball Plantation.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Actually the land near the Admiral's House and along the Riverfront Park is rather high and so there was not a lot of marshland in this area, which was part of the old Turnball Plantation. However, further south where the navy constructed all the docks was mostly marsh. The city of Charleston actually purchased part of the plantation in the late 1800s and had plans to convert it into a park. I believe they constrcuted a dance hall and other buildings along with trails, etc, but sold the parcel to the government at the turn of the century. In exchange the city got Hampton Park. My initial understanding was that the Admiral's House was part of the old plantation, but it may have actually been constructed by the navy in the early 1900s. The original plantation house is probably long gone, but the dead house definitely predates the navy days (maybe 1700s???).

[wellington]

Are plans in the works to restore the admiral's house?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Noisette is apparently negotiationing with someone who wants to operate a bed & breakfast out of the old Admiral's House along with a couple of other older houses on the property (sort of a historical hotel complex). It would definitely take a lot of work to restore these buildings. However, this is definitely the nicest parcel of land on the old naval base with the all the live oak trees and it would be excellent if all the plans come to fruition. Everything is just on paper at the moment, so we'll all see how things develop.

[Japee]

Just testing. This is another shot of the old navy base - if it works!

Joan

Walk this Way

[Japee]

A couple more shots of the Waterfront park:

I assume this is the grandstand - very impressive.

Joan

Walk this Way

[Spartan]

Welcome to the forum japee! Thanks for sharing your photos.

[westmarinenmb]

Noisette is apparently negotiationing with someone who wants to operate a bed & breakfast out of the old Admiral's House along with a couple of other older houses on the property (sort of a historical hotel complex). It would definitely take a lot of work to restore these buildings. However, this is definitely the nicest parcel of land on the old naval base with the all the live oak trees and it would be excellent if all the plans come to fruition. Everything is just on paper at the moment, so we'll all see how things develop.

[westmarinenmb]

Does anyone know if the area of the admirals house is restricted. What I mean is, are you allowed to look around the grounds.. I know you cant get into them but is it okay to walk around the houses in that area.

[groovetube66]

Sure you can, as well as ride your bike. I do so frequently as there are lots of nice old oaks and azalea and camelia plantings around there.

[westmarinenmb]

Sure you can, as well as ride your bike. I do so frequently as there are lots of nice old oaks and azalea and camelia plantings around there.

Okay great!! I didnt know if the grounds were posted or not and didnt want to get myself in trouble for walking around the houses... I'll be sure to take a closer look at them. I did a drive through the area the other day and it was really peacefull... not to mention a little freaky! I cant believe that the county or city has let them fall apart so bad. There is so much history there, bet you can find all sorts of things in the woods around the area huh?? Thanks for the fast reply

[Charleston native]

The reason why the area looks so bad is it took the Redevelopment Authority and the city literally years to agree on how to redevelop the area. This park is a great addition to the many parks the area has along its rivers. I can't wait to see what this area will look like in 5-10 years!