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Berkeley County revives vacant Kmart building
By Rachel Pleasant
Contributing Writer
One piece of Berkeley County’s development—the long-abandoned Kmart building on U.S. Highway 52—is slated to be open for business as the county’s new government seat come May.
“It’s such an innovative and efficient design,” says Al Kennedy, county public information officer. When finished, the decrepit big-box, which sat vacant for nearly nine years, will be what architect Dennis Ashley describes as “heavenly.”
A bronze statue of patriot Francis Marion and two murals depicting scenes from Berkeley County’s history will greet visitors to the building.
Kmart’s floor was ripped out to make way for new plumbing and is being replaced with interlocking stone pavers.
“It’s going to be like walking down a street,” says Ashley of Summerville’s DA Architects. “It’s going to be people-friendly. You’re going to come in and see the story of Berkeley County.”
Keeping with the building’s retail roots, county departments will be arranged to resemble storefronts with pull-down metal grates for entrances. Customers in need of permits or tax information will walk up to windows, rather than wandering a labyrinth of office suites. Additionally, the facility will house a new, 18,000-square-foot county library.
The revamped, 84,000-square-foot building will feature the Berkeley County Council Chamber, which will be up front. County administrators will occupy offices in the building’s rear.
“Business will be conducted in the full view of the public,” Ashley says. “The symbolic significance of that is the essence of democracy.”
Though the architecture of the building is what excites Ashley, the community of Moncks Corner may most appreciate and benefit from the revitalization at the U.S. Highway 52 and U.S. Highway 52 Bypass intersection.
“It’s the new entrance for the town,” Kennedy says, adding that businesses might be more attracted to this community in the future because of the county government building improvements—and others like it in the works. A nearby Food Lion will also get a boost, he says, simply because county employees will be so close and are likely to shop there.
The impact of empty big boxes is detrimental for both large and small areas, says Chris Bender, communications director for the Washington, D.C., deputy mayor’s office. Bender worked to fill the Woodies Building, a multi-story building in downtown Washington, which sat vacant for many years.
The fact the Moncks Corner Kmart is being filled is a success, Bender says, considering there are hundreds of such facilities sitting vacant around the country.
“When there’s a vacant store, you do have the physical deterioration and it’s a source of urban blight,’’ Bender says. “That leads to poor social conditions and it breeds social problems. Plus, a lot of people discount this, but people take pride in their community and their shopping centers and when they sit vacant, there’s a loss of pride.”
Office space is just one of the uses communities around the country are finding for their abandoned big boxes. Others include churches and low-income housing. Some communities are also lucky enough to fill those spots with other retailers, Bender says.
The Kmart project will cost $8.5 million but the county is making money in the process; the county will collect $46,000 per year from Food Lion supermarket, which agreed to lease the space from the county.
Taking advantage of low interest rates, the county is using a $25 million bond issue to pay for the Kmart project.
Though the Kmart project is no doubt getting a lot of attention, it’s really just the beginning for the county. With money left over, the government plans a slew of development.
A closed Piggly Wiggly Store on Highway 52 in Goose Creek will become a county satellite services center. There will be a new airport terminal, and new county libraries in Sangaree and Daniel Island. There will also be a new county EMS station in the New Hope community and on Daniel Island. The county jail may also be expanded.
It all adds up to what Kennedy calls a time of pure excitement for the area.
“Most of it is out of necessity,” he says. “It’s aesthetically appealing and we’re doing all this very efficiently. It’s very positive.”
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