Council OK's agreement for Central Mount Pleasant

Mount Pleasant Town Council passed final reading of a development agreement that would create a mixed-use plan in the heart of Mount Pleasant. The town last week had agreed to defer final reading on the Central Mount Pleasant project until today at the developers’ request for more time to complete the development agreement.

Central Mount Pleasant is a 110-acre project proposed by Mount Pleasant-based McAlister Development Co. and joint venture partner Greystar Real Estate Partners. The development would include a master-planned downtown area with mixed residential uses, shops and restaurants, a new Whitesides Elementary School along with parks, lakes and canals.

The planned development is on a tract between Hungryneck Boulevard and Rifle Range Road and would have about 719 residential units, including apartments and single-family homes, with about 34 acres reserved for commercial use. The development agreement included annexation of 100 acres along Hungryneck Boulevard south of the Isle of Palms connector.

Keane & Co. is the urban planning consultant for the project, which is based on New Urbanism concepts that create walkable communities with less impact on roads and residential space above retail and office space.

The development would include an extension of Hungryneck Boulevard, which Mount Pleasant had budgeted for two years ago. According to an amendment to the development agreement, the town will save $1.6 million by letting the developer build the road and will contribute $4 million to the road extension.

Councilman Billy Swails and Mayor Harry Hallman voted against the development agreement. Paul Gawrych abstained because of a conflict of interest.

By Kathleen Dayton and Lindsay Street , Staff Writers - Charleston Regional Business Journal