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The maritime agency today hired an engineering firm 
to develop a more detailed scope of work and cost estimate for the effort. The plan will see the SPA’s cruise operations moved to a converted 100,000-square-foot building north of where they’re currently located at Union Pier.
By Daniel Brock
dbrock@scbiznews.com
Published Sept. 7, 2010
The S.C. State Ports Authority is wasting no time laying the groundwork for a new $25 million cruise passenger terminal after announcing plans to move forward with the project last week.
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| The Carnival Fantasy was docked at the Port of Charleston during the Labor Day weekend. (Photo/Ryan Wilcox) |
The maritime agency today hired an engineering firm to develop a more detailed scope of work and cost estimate for the effort. The plan will see the SPA’s cruise operations moved to a converted 100,000-square-foot building north of where they’re currently located at Union Pier.
The authority’s board selected Meridian, Colo.-headquartered CH2M Hill to “further analyze the improvements to the wharf, building and surrounding site necessary for a modern, appropriate and efficient cruise facility,” according to a news release. A contract for the work, not-to-exceed $250,000, also was approved by the board.
CH2M Hill’s work will build on previous site analysis conducted during a yearlong planning process and will serve as the basis for request for proposals that the SPA will send out for architectural design services this fall, the agency said.
Port officials say the project will reduce traffic at Union Pier, remove 200 cargo ship calls a year, eliminate daily rail activity and make the 63-acre property’s southern end available to the public.
BMW Co. traffic would also be shifted under the plan.
“We’ve heard great support for the plans to relocate cargo operations and to convert the existing building for cruise operations,” said Jim Newsome, SPA president, in a release. “This is the next step along that path.”
The agency’s collaborative actions included the formation of the Cruise Neighbors Advisory Council, which represents neighborhoods most affected by the Union Pier Terminal.
The SPA has kept the door open for revamping its existing cruise terminal, should the plan stall.
The SPA will solicit design plans for the redevelopment in the coming months and begin the design phase early next year. That stage should be finished about a year from now, with construction set to begin in late 2011.
If all goes well, ships will be calling on the new terminal in the third quarter of 2012. The SPA would then start master planning for non-maritime properties at the terminal, which could include projects such as a park around the Bennett Rice Mill facade.
Reach Daniel Brock at 843-849-3144.
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