Mount Pleasant Town Council has approved a $28.5 million settlement that will turn more than 129 acres of waterfront land along the Wando River into a passive public park, while capping future home construction on the rest of the property at 95 single-family houses. The deal resolves a legal fight over sewer service to the Republic Tract and heads off a scenario that could have brought as many as 1,600 homes to the site.
The settlement, approved by the Mount Pleasant Town Council, provides for the purchase of approximately 129 acres with more than two miles of waterfront, according to a Town of Mount Pleasant announcement. That land will be restricted to use as a passive public park through a deed restriction, conservation easement, or both. The property owner will retain roughly 56.25 acres, which will be annexed into Mount Pleasant and limited to no more than 95 single-family homes, while the town and the owner split the cost of building a public access road from Highway 41 to serve both the park and the new homes.
The dispute traces back to a legal battle over the Republic Tract, a 185-acre property along the Wando River and S.C. Highway 41 next to the Rivertowne subdivision, as WCIV reports. The tract includes nearly 105 acres of high ground and is considered one of the largest undeveloped riverfront properties in the East Cooper area, according to the Post and Courier. Developers sought sewer service to build on the property while it remained in unincorporated Charleston County, and the legal dispute over that service began in 2023, per WCIV.
Why the Town Stepped In
Daniel Brownstein said Mount Pleasant and Mount Pleasant Waterworks opposed the sewer plan unless the property became part of the town, according to WCIV's report. Without the settlement, he said, sewer installation could have allowed more than 1,600 homes on the land — a figure that matches the town's own estimate that the tract could have supported up to 1,600 residential units if it received county sewer service while staying unincorporated, per the town's announcement. Brownstein also argued that the potential development would add traffic along Highway 41, a corridor the town and the South Carolina Department of Transportation have already flagged as a top priority for improvements, according to a separate notice from the town.
“We really did not want a large-scale development in this spot, especially because it's such a beautiful property right on the water,” Brownstein said, per WCIV's reporting. The site in question sits near Clements Ferry Road, an area WCIV notes is already seeing growth across the Wando River. Leaders in that area have previously said the population along Clements Ferry Road is expected to grow to about 80,000 people within the next decade, according to a separate ABC News 4 report, with the current development plan for the Cainhoy Peninsula allowing for at least 12,000 new homes.
Who's Paying, and What's Next
According to WCIV, the Town of Mount Pleasant could use existing tax revenue to pay for the land, and a Charleston transportation sales tax could also help fund the purchase if voters approve it. Brownstein said that sales tax proposal includes money for greenbelt projects. The purchase still faces a 90-day due diligence period and other closing requirements, and town officials expect to close on the property as early as April 2027, according to the town's announcement.
The deal marks the second time Mount Pleasant has tried to secure this land. The town previously attempted to purchase the entire property in 2022 for roughly $21 million, but that bid was rejected, the Post and Courier reports. The tract changed hands again when Highland Resources purchased it for $37.5 million in March and later took the previous owners' place in the lawsuit, according to the same Post and Courier account.
Some residents have suggested adding a boat landing to the future park in comments on the town's Facebook post, per WCIV. Brownstein said a boat landing could be considered, but there are no current plans for one, and he noted that sediment at the site could make it difficult to use for that purpose because dredging would be required.
The preservation effort echoes conservation work already happening elsewhere in the region. Berkeley County officials have said the county has protected more than 2,000 acres of land in the area through its Greenbelt program over the past couple of years, according to the earlier ABC News 4 report on Clements Ferry Road growth. Charleston County separately approved $5 million for Greenbelt projects preserving more than 1,781 acres, per a different ABC News 4 account.
