COASTAL OBSERVER

In the dead of winter, with its paper mill closed for good and its steel mill sitting idle, there were signs of green shoots that could one day emerge along the Georgetown waterfront from the redevelopment of its former state port.

Four teams of Clemson University architecture students showed what could emerge in a presentation to local officials this week, the product of a semester spent in the studio and an $80,000 federal grant Georgetown County received last year.

“It’s exciting. It gives the project energy,” Georgetown Mayor Carol Jayroe said as she looked over models and drawings created by the students.

The port was turned over to Georgetown County by the state in 2023. A ship hasn’t docked there since 2016.

Along with the 45 acres on the harbor and a tract for dredge spoils along the Sampit River, the state provided $2.5 million for repairs and cleanup at the site.

An environmental analysis commissioned by the county found some cleanup will be needed, but it won’t qualify as a “brownfields” site, County Administrator Angela Christian said.

But the work will take time. The county plans to use the ideas generated by the Clemson students to draft a request for proposals from firms to create a development plan for the site.

“I wanted this to be the start of the conversation in the community,” Christian said after this week’s presentations.

She thought that the 13 students, a mix of undergrads and post-graduate students, captured a key element. “They talked about the uniqueness of the site,” Christian said.

The student teams were led by Dan Harding, director of Clemson’s Community Research and Design Center. Their work was based on a 2016 report from the Urban Land Institute, which was asked by the city, county and other groups to evaluate options to redevelop the steel mill and port sites along the Georgetown waterfront. At the time, the mill was closed and the property up for sale.

“That started this idea of what could Georgetown be,” Harding said. “Clearly Georgetown is a resilient place. Its history tells us that.”

The study also emphasized the need to use the property to boost the local economy in a way that mills once did.

All the student teams started with the ULI study’s recommendation that redevelopment provide a connection, either within the community or by connecting the community to the water.

“There’s not many ways for people from the West End to get over to the Historic District,” said Jared Cook, a graduate student.

His team created a Railharbor-Walk that follows the train tracks across the port property then becomes an extension of the city’s existing Harborwalk as it follows the shoreline in front of the steel mill. 

The end of the rail line is directly opposite Francis Marion Park at the water end of Broad Street in the Historic District. “Which we saw as a great way to visually connect those sites across Goat Island,” Cook said.

Ultimately, people would be able to get from Mike Johnson Park in the West End to East Bay Park on Winyah Bay.

Jayroe later told Cook she liked that concept and told him that the city plans to convert the steel mill’s former office building into its city hall.

Picking up on the rail theme, Cook’s team included “boxcar businesses” in their design for the mixed-use development that would grow up along the site. They envisioned reusing the storage silo for concrete at the port as an amphitheater and converting the salt dome storage building into a museum.

Alyssa High, who is also a graduate student, took the idea of weaving the community together literally. She wove swatches of fabric and yarn to attach to her team’s model. It reinforced the idea of culture, community and connectivity, she said.

The team included a community center with space for a museum that would provide “a warm embrace to the culture,” said Matt Ngango, a graduate student.

All the teams included space for light industry, education,  a marina and parks along with homes and businesses.

Cook’s team also left empty space between some of the proposed uses. That will allow room for growth that designers today can’t anticipate.

“The project evolves with the community,” he said.

County Council Member Stella Mercado said she liked the idea of connectivity, but took it a step farther. The port is also at a pivotal point for roads, rivers and rail that serve the county, so she asked that the redevelopment plan consider broader impacts.

“That’s really cool to hear,” Harding said.

In drafting their plans, the students tried to ensure that they didn’t compete with existing development in the county, he said. 

Harding had already thought about extending the concept of connections built into the port redevelopment to include other waterways, such as the Black River and the state park being developed along its banks.

County Council Member Raymond Newton asked if the teams had determined the potential economic impact of their proposals.

That wasn’t calculated, Harding said, but in looking at the land uses, the students looked at the mix that would maximize the benefits.

Council Member Bob Anderson asked if the proposals accounted for flooding and sea level rise.

“It’s something that’s woven into the design,” Harding said.

That also  addressed a concern of the council chairman, Clint Elliott.

“Parking, I think, is going to be our biggest issue,” he said.

There will be space under the buildings, Harding said. One team included a parking garage under  a mixed-use building.

Clemson is due to distill the student designs into a final report to the county.