News

Sep 09, 2023

Charleston to preview Piggly Wiggly site plan options

The site of the former Piggly Wiggly at the intersection of Old Towne Road and

The site of the former Piggly Wiggly at the intersection of Old Towne Road and Sam Rittenberg Boulevard will get a major makeover designed to make it a popular place for locals. Grace Beahm Alford/Staff

Charleston residents will have a chance to review three proposals for the redevelopment of a former Piggly Wiggly site in West Ashley on June 8 that the city bought in 2017 with the intent to redevelop.

The city's hope is to use the redevelopment project as a catalyst for the growth in the area along Sam Rittenburg Boulevard where vacant commercial spaces are commonplace.

"City governments have to be the ones to take that first big bold risk," said Charleston's West Ashley Project Coordinator, Eric Pohlman. "Commercial real estate investors are going to be nervous about doing something new and big if they are not going to get that big return ... This shows the city is confident that that this is the best way to go."

Pohlman likened the project to the city's role in drawing Charleston Place to downtown in the 1980s. The luxury hotel and retail development is largely seen as the spark that ignited downtown Charleston's revitalization into the retail, restaurant and tourism hub that it is today.

Although the city has been collecting feedback on proposals for the Piggly Wiggly site for the past few years, several Charleston City Council members began to get cold feet on the original proposal for the property when they saw its price tag in April.

As a result, city council voted 7-3 to delay approval of the proposal for the site and instead request additional proposals from the development and design teams hired by the city, Landmark Enterprises and Liollio Architects.

Those will be revealed to the public for the first time June 8. City Council is expected to give the OK to one of the proposals at its next meeting June 20.

At 5 p.m. members of the public can view the proposals on display at the West Ashley Stage Pearl Theater at 1401 Sam Rittenberg Boulevard, Suite 11.

At 6 p.m. city staff and members of the development team will give a presentation about the three design options for the property.

"Public input is critical to ensuring that the Sumar Street project meets our citizens’ high expectations," said Mayor John Tecklenburg in a press release June 1. "This meeting will allow us to gather community feedback, so that when complete, this project is a true reflection of what West Ashley residents want and deserve."

The original proposal includes an underground parking garage, a civic center and two mixed-use commercial buildings.

Council members in April originally had reservations about the $45 million price tag for the underground parking garage included in the original proposal.

Partnering with Landmark, the Piggly Wiggly project is currently expected to cost about $75 million in total, which the developer will pay up front.

The city would fund its portion of the project, a civic building and the underground parking garage, with a $45 million bond. That bond would be pursued and paid off using revenues from a special taxing district that was established for the Sam Rittenberg corridor in 2016. If all goes to plan, the city can contribute its portion of the deal without dipping into the main city budget.

Landmark would cover the remaining $30 million needed to build two mixed-use commercial buildings on the property.

While some City Council members see the expense as a necessary investment in West Ashley, others are skeptical that it is the best use of the taxing district funds which are designated for a large swatch of the Sam Rittenberg Corridor, not just the Piggly Wiggly site.

Although few details are available about the two alternative proposals yet, Pohlman said one will include an above ground parking garage and the other will include traditional surface parking.

Both options would require the development to scale back on its other offerings to accommodate space for the parking but they may result in a smaller price tag for the city-funded portion of the project. Pohlman said the underground parking would have two advantages. It would free up more land for the mixed use and civic spaces and it would serve as back-up flood prevention during major storms.

As proposed, it would be designed to drain itself using a pump system. During a major storm, parking could be closed off and cars evacuated so that the pump could release some water back into the garage. It would designed to drain about 6 to 9 inches of water. That water would be collected in addition to the water the the city requires the development collect through the traditional storm water management infrastructure on site.

It would not be the first of its kind in Charleston. Six other underground parking garages are currently located on the peninsula, Pohlman added. The redevelopment proposal for the cruise ship hub, Union Pier, in downtown Charleston, includes underground parking as well.

The June 8 meeting will not address another proposed development next to the Piggly Wiggly site that is coincidentally happening around the same time.

The neighboring property which includes a Publix and a row of retail buildings is privately owned by Charlotte-based developer, Faison. That developer has plans underway to move the Publix to the opposite end of the property and put an apartment complex in its current location. The city does not own any portion of the property and is not involved in the crafting of any development plans for the site.

Reach Emma Whalen at 843-708-5837. Follow her on Twitter @_emma_whalen.

Emma covers the city of Charleston for the Post and Courier. Previously, she covered city hall and general assignments for newspapers in Houston and Austin. She is a Boston-area native, former student athlete and graduate of The University of Texas.

The first public meeting in 18 days of a conference committee trying to work out a budget deal between the South Carolina House and Senate showed no sign of getting closer to a deal on the state's $13 billion spending plan set to start July 1. Read moreSC House, Senate lawmakers say they're still working on deal as budget clock ticks

Five men have been convicted in the heist. As part of their sentences, the men have been ordered to collectively pay back the $1.7 million that's still unaccounted for. Read moreNorth Charleston armored car driver who staged his own robbery gets 18 months in prison

SC for Ed, once one of the state's potent political forces in terms of teacher advocacy, announced June 5 it will "indefinitely pause" its efforts. Read moreOnce it was state's most powerful teacher voice. Now SC for Ed calls it quits.

The National Park Service granted $8 million to S.C. from its Historic Preservation Fund. More than half that money will go to rehabilitating the auditorium building of Booker T. Washington High School, which now serves as a class and administrative building for the University of South Carolina. Read moreUSC receives lion's share of $8M grant to SC for civil rights historic preservation