Charleston is putting $1 million on the table to turn a disputed stretch of waterfront into a public park, reviving a fight over Longborough Park that has dragged on for nearly two decades. The city wants to acquire a large portion of the property and convert it into a park accessible to everyone.
The Longborough Owners' Association currently owns the park property and would be responsible for subdividing part of it and transferring that land to the city in exchange for the $1 million payment, according to the Post and Courier. Malena Dinwoodie, the city's real estate management director, laid out the arrangement at the Oct. 26 Committee on Real Estate meeting. Longborough Park is the subject of the city's offer.
Earnest Money and a Six-Month Clock
As part of the deal, the city would hand over $25,000 in earnest money to the homeowners association. Per Dinwoodie, that money could partly cover survey work needed to redraw the critical property line, which the association intends to use to build a dock on its own side of the divided parcel. The city could claw back that $25,000, Dinwoodie said, if the deal falls apart because the association fails to secure subdivision-plat approval within six months or can't obtain a necessary private-dock permit.
State regulators, not the city, hold the keys to that permitting question. The South Carolina Department of Environmental Services says its Bureau of Coastal Management has direct jurisdiction over permits for alterations in coastal waters, tidelands, beaches and beach-dune systems statewide, a category that covers docks and piers. The evidence does not establish whether a specific Longborough permit has been filed, approved or denied.
A Dispute Nearly Two Decades in the Making
The fight over who controls this patch of waterfront has lasted close to 20 years. The Longborough Owners' Association sued the Beach Company in 2006, claiming the developer had told the association the park was private while the association was the one paying property taxes on the site, the same Post and Courier reporting notes. Former mayor Joe Riley has described a verbal agreement between the city and the Beach Company.
Charleston City Council voted in 2016 to pursue the park through eminent domain, according to the paper's archived coverage. The association placed a “no trespassing” sign at the park entrance in 2017, underscoring how contentious access to the site had become.
A 2019 Proposal
In 2019, Charleston considered a public/private dock partnership with the homeowners association. The proposal called for a walking trail, pier and dock for public use, according to Live 5 News. The report said City Council might consider the proposal and that approval was conditional.
Cost estimates for the dock varied across coverage at the time. Live 5 News separately reported the city pegged construction of the Longborough dock at $700,000 and approved $43,000 for a project design, citing the roughly $475,000 to $525,000 the city had spent on Higgins Pier in West Ashley as a comparison point.
The Latest Offer
The city has offered $1 million for a large portion of the property, renewing its effort to make the site publicly accessible.
