Offer expected soon for Port of Port Royal

Offer expected soon for Port of Port Royal


Monday, 28 September 2009
By Mike Fitts and Molly Parker
mfitts@scbiznews.com

PORT ROYAL -- The S.C. State Ports Authority is expecting “within days” to receive an offer for its Port Royal facilities, according to Gene Green, COO of NAI Avant Commercial Real Estate Services, which is listing the property.The offer is expected to come from an experienced South Carolina developer, which Green declined to name. If the SPA were to accept the offer, there still would be numerous steps before a deal could close, including contract negotiations and the securing of financing, Green said.The SPA has been attempting to sell the property for a few years. The Port of Port Royal went back on the market in March 2008 after Port Royal Harbour LLC backed out of a $26 million bid to buy it. The plan was to build a residential community surrounding shops and restaurants on the Beaufort River. In a statement released at the time, the corporation’s principals, David Staley and Scott Schmidt, said the sale collapsed because of the instability of the financial market. Also making headlines around that time was Gov. Mark Sanford’s role in the proposed sale. Critics accused him of inappropriately trying to steer the SPA toward another developer.The port restructuring bill that lawmakers passed into law last session prompts the authority to sell the land by the end of 2009. At the authority’s September board meeting, port officials reported to Sanford that the sale process was moving along and generating interest. The SPA was recently awarded a permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for a 225-slip boat marina, said SPA spokesman Byron Miller. “That adds significant value to the property, greatly enhancing its attractiveness now and into the future,” Miller said. “It certainly helps the value of the land.” Miller also declined to name any potential buyers. Port of Port Royal Mayor Samuel Murray said it is his understanding that negotiations are underway with a group of people that are interested in the property, as opposed to a single developer. Because plans have looked promising before and then fallen apart, Murray said he is cautiously optimistic that a deal will be finalized. “I don’t jump up and down until I see the signature on the dotted line,” he said.