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New town part of long-term vision for East Edisto tract
By Kathleen Dayton
Staff Writer
MeadWestvaco Corp.’s preliminary master plan for the 72,000 acres of former timberland it owns along the Edisto River may put a new town on the state’s map in two or three decades, company officials said.
According to the company’s draft plans revealed on March 25 at the North Charleston Convention Center, 75% of the tract now referred to as East Edisto will remain green, with parks, lakes, a network of trails and large tracts of land protected under conservation easements.
“We intend to make sure, contractually, that it stays green in perpetuity,” said Ken Seeger, president of MeadWestvaco’s community development and land management group.
The paper company last spring announced it would craft a conservation-driven plan to develop part of the property it has owned for roughly 80 years while also preserving the pristine nature of some of it.
Development of the area will impact a number of towns and communities, including Ravenel, Ridgeville, Summerville, Givhans, Clubhouse and other neighborhoods along the eastern shore of the Edisto River in Charleston and Dorchester counties.
“We have a really unique opportunity here,” Seeger said. “We have one of the largest contiguous pieces of land in the United States owned by a single landowner, which allows us the flexibility that no individual developer would have in terms of planning open spaces.”
Business parks and nature trails
MeadWestvaco and its planning partners, which include the San Francisco-based land planning firm EDAW, expect to develop the land in phases. Work could begin within three years and buildout could take 40 years or more.
Preliminary plans call for the creation of two to three villages and a business park during the next 15 to 20 years in the area west of Summerville along U.S. Highway 17-A. The villages would be similar in size to The Ponds, a 2,000-acre community being developed near Summerville that contains a large tract of conserved natural habitat. The company also will establish an interpretive nature center near Parkers Ferry.
“During the first phase of development, in the next 15 to 20 years, East Edisto will remain predominantly green and outdoor recreation will become a major focal point,” Seeger said.
“We’re planning miles of paths for walking, jogging and horseback riding, offering public access to these lands for the very first time.”
The first phase of development, he said, would also include a community college and a business park. Trident Technical College is interested in a 40- to 50-acre campus. ArborGen, the Summerville-based biotech, may employ as many as 120 at a facility in the business park.
Long-term plans for more development 20 to 30 years from now could mean the development of a new town between U.S. Highway 17-A and S.C. Highway 165, roughly in the middle of the East Edisto tract, company officials said. That’s where MeadWestvaco and its partners are predicting a natural path of future growth for the Charleston region.
“We’ll set aside land there for a college or university and it would have potentially more civic functions,” Seeger said. “Education will be a bedrock principle.”
Market-driven growth
Seeger and other MeadWestvaco officials have said the company wants to be a part of the region’s growth solution.
East Edisto, Seeger said, will not develop any faster than the region does.
“This is not about ‘Build it and they will come,’” Seeger said. “Overall, East Edisto will absorb 10 percent to 15 percent of the regional growth projected by the (Berkeley-
Charleston-Dorchester) Council of Governments during the next 30 to 40 years.”
The company has a vision for walkable, sustainable communities where residents will not have to travel far to jobs, schools, shops and services, he said. Emerging villages will have their own unique character modeled after such places as historic Summerville. Surrounding areas, which Seeger termed “rural districts,” will have deed restrictions limiting density where farms and equestrian properties will dominate, affording a “country lifestyle,” Seeger described.
“A very critical part of the plan will be making sure the public has access to the out of doors, to the rural lands,” Seeger said. “We think the beauty of a new urbanist community is that you have everything in a walkable distance, but you also have the ability to walk out of the village and be on the rural lands very quickly.”
MeadWestvaco began its planning process last summer with a series of public meetings in communities that would be affected by the development in Charleston and Dorchester counties. Among area residents’ key concerns were preservation of the rural character of the land and protection of the Edisto River. Residents also worried about increased traffic, housing costs, availability and quality of schools and tax increases.
“The preliminary plan we are presenting is consistent with the principles we established at the beginning of this process and reflects the extensive public input we gathered at numerous public meetings throughout the community,” said John A. Luke Jr., MeadWestvaco chairman and CEO.
Plan’s support growing
Opal Baldwin, mayor of Ravenel, said community residents were initially apprehensive about MeadWestvaco’s development plans but now support them. Baldwin, along with Hollywood Mayor Jacqueline Heyward and Meggett Mayor Grange Coffin, met March 27 with Charleston County officials and collectively approved the East Edisto plans.
“We need growth out here in this area,” Baldwin said. “By this design, I think we’re going to set a precedent for the entire country. They have been real receptive to us with their plans for the business park, providing jobs we desperately need.”
Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. attended the presentation of MeadWestvaco’s draft plan even though none of the land that will be affected by development is within Charleston city limits.
“Charleston will always be shaped by the region, just as we also shape the region,” Riley said. “In terms of regional planning, everyone should be interested. I think they’ve done a very good job so far. Their commitment to the rural nature of this area is very important.”
Jack Pratt, a commercial real estate agent with ReMax Professional Realty and a Summerville resident, also likes MeadWestvaco’s focus on conservation.
“What we need in this area is to set an example for the kind of development we can all get behind,” Pratt said. “It’s balanced growth as well as a well-thought-out plan.”
Summerville resident Lucy Anne Cathcart, who attended the March presentation, said she liked the fact that MeadWestvaco officials said they wanted to remain good stewards of the land.
“I’m thrilled especially about the idea that the Trident Tech campus might be built within the first five years,” Cathcart said. “That’s what Dorchester County needs, and they seem to have great respect for natural resources and the way of life here.”
Kathleen Dayton is a Business Journal staff writer. E-mail her at kdayton@scbiznews.com.
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