North Charleston breaks ground on new $42 million Public Works complex

City of North Charleston officials broke ground today on a new $42 million Public Works complex off of Vector Avenue. The new complex features a state of the art design on a 38 acre multi-building campus to streamline Public Works functions and places the facility centrally within the City.

When the Charleston Naval Base closed, the City acquired off-base property at the intersection of Remount Road and I-26, where for years, a municipal court annex and several city departments operated. Additional property was later transferred to the City by the US Air Force. After the completion of the new city hall in the fall of 2009, all city departments were consolidated, except for public works. The consolidation allowed for the demolition of the former annex, freeing a large tract of land for a new public works facility.

On June 14, 2012, City Council approved the bond issuance to fund the construction of the new public works facility. With design, planning, and site preparation completed, building construction is set to begin.

The Public Works complex will consist of a multi-building campus, plus sheds for equipment and storage, spread across 38 acres. Its centralized location allows access to major thoroughfares and I-26. Construction is scheduled to be completed in April 2015.

Public Works is currently located at 1023 Aragon Street in a facility built in late 1975. At the time of construction, it was located very near the center of the City with room for expansion. After nearly forty years of growth, both in population and geographic area, the City has outgrown the now small, crowded facility.



“With our population now over 100,000, the replacement of our public works facility is long overdue,” said Mayor Keith Summey. “The new complex positions North Charleston for the next fifty years of growth, and ensures that citizens of North Charleston receive efficient and cost effective services.”

“North Charleston’s Public Works Department has come a long way since its formation in the early 1970s,” said Public Works Director Jim Hutto. “Starting with a used dump truck and a two man crew to fill pot holes, Public Works now employs nearly 200 and oversees a wide variety of services for the citizens and businesses of North Charleston. The new facility is ideally positioned to provide our employees the appropriate space to serve the people of our city.”

North Charleston’s Public Works Department is responsible for engineering, street and sidewalk maintenance, stormwater maintenance and utility, solid waste disposal, traffic signs and signals, landscaping, city facilities maintenance and repair, fleet maintenance, and construction contract administration.

MWV announces $9.3 million investment for new technology center

MWV Specialty Chemicals, a division of MeadWestvaco Corporation, will expand its existing operations in North Charleston. The $9.3 million investment in innovation is expected to support the division’s local workforce and growing global business.

MWV Specialty Chemicals will open a new technology center near its existing headquarters, located on Virginia Avenue in North Charleston. The new facility will serve as an innovation center for the company to expand its capabilities in automotive emissions control and sustainable chemicals in the oilfield, road construction and adhesives global markets. The center is expected to begin operations in early 2015. 

“The new facility will enrich our technical innovation capabilities positioning our division to serve important global growth businesses in rapidly changing and competitive markets. The center will support our existing North Charleston operations as we continue to expand our product offerings around the world,” said Ed Rose, president of MWV Specialty Chemicals.

“MWV Specialty Chemicals will expand upon its long history of providing top-quality, well-paying jobs in North Charleston with the investment to establish a new facility within its current footprint,” said North Charleston Mayor Keith Summey. “MWV has continued to innovate, develop, and deploy chemicals and products from sustainable sources that are used around the world. With MWV’s global stature, top-notch employees, and community stewardship, I am certain the company and its economic impact will remain a fixture in North Charleston for many, many years.”

“MWV Specialty Chemicals is a world-class company, and it speaks volumes that they decided to put this high-tech expansion here in South Carolina,” said Gov. Nikki Haley. “We celebrate the company’s commitment to invest in innovation.”

MWV Specialty Chemicals is among the top 50 chemical companies in the U.S., approaching $1 billion in sales annually. The division employs around 450 people in the Charleston area and more than 1,200 worldwide.

“South Carolina has a long history in the chemical production industry, and MWV Specialty Chemicals remains a strong member of our state’s business community,” said Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt. “We appreciate the division’s continued commitment to the Palmetto State and we know the technology center will have an impact on high-tech growth in Charleston County.”

“I am excited to see another one of our fine existing companies looking to grow in Charleston County,” said Charleston County Council Chairman Teddie Pryor. “MWV Specialty Chemicals’ new facility will be an innovation center to grow their global business. A global leader in safety and sustainability, we see their products in everything from asphalt to activated carbon products for the automotive industry, and to adhesives products. We are proud to have them call North Charleston as home for their division headquarters.”

Anyone interested in job opportunities with the company should visit the MeadWestvaco careers page atwww.meadwestvaco.com/Careers/.

The Coordinating Council for Economic Development approved job development credits.

MWV Specialty Chemicals manufactures, markets and distributes specialty chemicals derived from sawdust and other by-products of the papermaking process in North America, Europe, South America and Asia. For more information about the company, please visitwww.meadwestvaco.com/SpecialtyChemicals/.

Groundbreaking on newest community facility improvements

The City of North Charleston began facility improvements at the Murray Hill Community Center with a groundbreaking on Friday, October 4, 2013.

The improvements include a new press box and concession stand with restrooms to accompany the existing multipurpose baseball/softball/football field at the location. The project will enhance the ongoing Recreation Department athletic programs at the Murray Hill Community Center.

The $375,000 project is expected to be completed in March 2014.

Red Cross breaks ground on new facility by City Hall

Today, the American Red Cross and Mayor Keith Summey joined Owner, Mall Drive 2424 LLC and Lender, National Bank of South Carolina as they broke ground on their new building that will be the future home of the Red Cross in the City of North Charleston.

The new building will be centrally located in the City of North Charleston at 2424 City Hall Drive and will provide the Red Cross with over 10,000 square-feet of office, educational, training and storage space to better serve its clients across the Lowcountry. The new building is scheduled to open in December 2013.

“The new facility will be a place for our volunteers to come together and learn,” said Mason Holland, board chair, American Red Cross, Carolina Lowcountry Chapter. “The opportunity to expand our volunteer base and their knowledge will increase our capacity to support our Lowcountry 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through lifesaving education and response. The centralized location in North Charleston will allow for a more efficient response to disasters across our region and will allow us to better serve our community.”

The Carolina Lowcountry Chapter serves Beaufort, Berkeley, Charleston, Colleton, Dorchester, Hampton and Jasper counties and is part of the Palmetto SC Region. The Red Cross provides food, shelter and emotional support after disasters, assists members of our armed forces and their families, teaches lifesaving skills and supplies about 40 percent of the nation’s blood.

The American Red Cross shelters, feeds and provides emotional support to victims of disasters; supplies nearly half of the nation's blood; teaches lifesaving skills; provides international humanitarian aid; and supports military members and their families. The Red Cross is a charitable organization — not a government agency — and depends on volunteers and the generosity of the American public to perform its mission. A financial donation can be made by sending a check to the American Red Cross, Charleston, SC Region, 8085 Rivers Ave., Suite F. North Charleston, SC 29406 or by calling (843) 764-2323 ext. 368. For more information or to make a secure online donation, please visit www.LowcountryRedCross.org.

City of North Charleston breaks ground on 20th community center

The City of North Charleston broke ground on its newest community center located adjacent to Doorway Baptist Church on Thursday, September 15, 2011.

Dorchester Road Community Center will become North Charleston’s 20th community center.  The center will be utilized for neighborhood association meetings, afterschool programming, senior activities, and will be a summer camp site.

Mayor Summey stated, “We are proud to begin construction on the latest addition to our inventory of community centers that dot the City.  This center is a terrific expansion of recreational and civic services offered to the citizens of our city and will help us meet the needs of the growing population of the upper Dorchester Road corridor.”

The 4,400 sq ft facility is expected to be completed in the Spring 2012.

Officials Break Ground on Consolidated 9-1-1 and Emergency Operations Center

On Tuesday, July 26, officials from multiple jurisdictions in Charleston County gathered for a groundbreaking ceremony for the future building planned to house the County's Consolidated 9-1-1 Center and Emergency Operations Center. The new structure, which is scheduled to open in the spring of 2013, will enable the full consolidation of 9-1-1 and emergency dispatch operations in Charleston County, and will also serve as the new location for the County’s Emergency Operations Center.

An Intergovernmental Agreement signed in January 2008 joins all local jurisdictions within Charleston County in the plan toward consolidating 9-1-1 and dispatch services. Steps toward consolidation have already been taken, with some jurisdictions opting for early consolidation into the current center located in the County’s Lonnie Hamilton, III Public Services Building in North Charleston. The remaining jurisdictions plan to transition their dispatchers to the new Consolidated 9-1-1 Center once it is completed.

“Consolidation benefits the public by providing dispatchers the ability to talk directly to each other as they are handling emergency calls requiring multi-jurisdictional response, ultimately reducing response times and saving lives,” said Charleston County Consolidated Dispatch Board Chairman Jon Zumalt, who is also the North Charleston Police Chief.

The early consolidation of some jurisdictions into the current 9-1-1 center was a move fully supported by the Consolidated Dispatch Board. Consolidation is already proving to offer many benefits, including:

• New efficiencies allow a call taker to remain on the line with the caller to gather more information and to provide additional scene safety or medical instructions while responders are being sent by a separate dispatcher.
• Faster response times are documented.
• Interoperability and cooperation among response agencies is enhanced.
• Delays and dropped calls due to the transferring of calls to other agencies are reduced.

“The new Consolidated 9-1-1 Center will have many advantages, including the latest in 9-1-1 technology and a better working environment for the Call Takers and Dispatchers that will help them continue providing excellent service under increasing responsibilities,” Lake said. “This building has also been designed for potential growth.”

In addition to 9-1-1 and emergency dispatch operations in Charleston County, the new center will be the location of the County’s Emergency Operations Center (EOC), which is also currently located at the County’s Lonnie Hamilton, III Public Services Building in North Charleston. During large, complex incidents, the EOC assumes a coordination role. As an incident expands in size or increases in complexity, central coordination is needed and is provided by the EOC.

“Information from incident commanders is relayed from the Consolidated 9-1-1 Center to the EOC following the occurrence of a disaster, so having both functions under one roof will result in increased efficiency,” said Jason Patno, Charleston County’s Emergency Management Department Director. “Also, staff mandated to work during an emergency incident, such as a hurricane, will benefit from the safety component that the new building will offer.”

FACTS ABOUT THE NEW 9-1-1 AND EMERGENCY OPERATIONS CENTER:

• Location: 8500 Palmetto Commerce Parkway, North Charleston, S.C.
• Size: approximately 38,000 square feet.
• Estimated opening date: spring 2013.
• Facility: two-story structure with backup electrical, water and sewer to ensure continuous operation.
• “Green” features: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) silver certification goal, rainwater collection, water efficient landscaping and use of recycled materials.
• Approved budget: $26,780,000.
• Safety: the building is designed to be occupied during disasters, with the ability to withstand winds of 191 mph and resist earthquake forces. The first floor will be at elevation 49 feet, which is outside of the 500 year flood plain.