COASTAL OBSERVER

Work began last week to demolish dilapidated buildings at the former port of Georgetown. It’s part of a cleanup effort that began when Georgetown County took ownership of the property on the Sampit River from the State Ports Authority last year.

The county is now seeking a federal grant to hire staff and students from Clemson University to help determine the best uses for 45 acres at the former port.

“A big part of this particular grant deals with getting together the various stakeholders, having outreach meetings, public input from those folks as a part of ‘what could it be?’ And also what it can’t be,” County Administrator Angela Christian said.

The $80,000 Rural Business Development Opportunity Grant from the USDA would be used to hire the Clemson’s Community Research and Design Center to help determine “the highest and best use of the property,” according to the grant application. The work is expected to take a year and start in July if the grant is approved.

A decision on grant will be made by June 30, said Tim Ellis, the rural business and community services director for South Carolina. The is $1.1 million available and the agency usually approves 10 to 20 grants a year, he said.

The grant doesn’t require a cash match, but the county and the university will provide in-kind contributions of staff time and facilities, bringing the cost of the planning to $93,600.

State Rep. Lee Hewitt introduced legislation in 2022 to transfer 250 acres on the Sampit River from the ports authority to the county, including dredge spoils sites farther up the river. Along with title to the property, the county got $2.5 million to repair or demolish part of the aging port facility on the Georgetown waterfront. Consultants identified 13 structures to demolish. Another 14 structures need significant repair.

The county also completed an environmental impact study of the site and has started planning to dredge portions of the Sampit River to restore the channel to a navigable depth. The channel also provides access to the county’s 948-acre Pennyroyal Industrial Park farther upstream, which is being promoted as having access to barge traffic.

The last vessel unloaded cargo at the port in 2016, 57 years after the state opened the Georgetown terminal. The decline in traffic as shipping shifted to container cargo at other ports meant federal funds were no longer available to dredge the port and the channel through Winyah Bay to the Atlantic Ocean.

“Visitors arriving from the south on Highway 17 are greeted by the closed port, which looks like an abandoned industrial site,” the county’s grant application states. “This plan will set the stage for a newer, more welcoming entrance to Georgetown and future prosperity.”

Christian called the proposed Clemson study “the transitional step” before the county hires a consultant to develop a master plan for the site.

“Georgetown residents and businesses are aware that this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and many have their own opinions as to what should happen with this property,” the application notes. The county realizes “that handing this process to a developer would remove many stakeholders from this important decision.”

The process will begin with community engagement through “visioning meetings and pre-design sessions” that will determine the scope of the project.

A 2016 study of the waterfront by a team from the Urban Land Institute already identified a mix of uses suited to the waterfront property that would reflect the community’s character and boost the county’s economy. Those are expected to develop over 20 years or more.

The staff and students at the Clemson center would develop and design concepts for the port, bringing them back to the community for review.

“This plan will serve as a road map for development, with visual renditions of the future encouraging the private investment necessary for the port to realize its highest and best year,” the application states.