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Property in negotiations
By Molly Parker
Staff Writer
Attorney Mark Mason and general contractor Phillip Smith recently rejected a first offer from Mount Pleasant on more than 43 acres of waterfront property the two own on Shem Creek and a nearby piece of land off Coleman Boulevard.
Negotiations began in August between the town and the businessmen on the coveted parcel.
Town Council met in late August, mostly in executive session, before voting publicly to direct the town attorney to continue negotiations with Mason and Smith. If they do not reach a deal with the town, the business partners plan to build condominiums on the site of OK Tire Stores, and a 24-slip marina near what is commonly referred to as the Bailey Docks.
Town administrator Mac Burdette declined to discuss the amount offered, citing the ongoing negotiations, but said that council was likely to meet again to offer a counterproposal.
Mason also declined to discuss the offered price.
“While I respect the fact that (Mason) is a businessman and a property owner, I hope somewhere along the way he sees perhaps an opportunity to serve the public by working with the town so we can get a fair price on that,” Burdette said.
Mason said he and Smith are asking only for the appraised value of the land, and are willing to forgo the $6 million profit from their proposed condo and boat-slip development. Their readiness to walk away from such a lucrative business deal is serving the public, he said.
An appraisal conducted about four months ago valued the one-acre OK Tire site, which has waterfront views, at about $4.5 million. Based on comparable sales of dock slips in Mount Pleasant, Mason said, the nearby boat slips collectively would range in value between $3 million and $5 million after construction. That would bring the properties’ collective total value to as much as $9.5 million, Mason said.
Of the 43.5 acres the two own on Shem Creek, about 3.5 acres are highlands.
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