Albert Heyward, the man who bought the disused Plantation Square shopping center in Goose Creek, is a big step closer to his goal of giving the abandoned property a much-needed facelift by converting it into a storage facility.
The Goose Creek City Council approved the second and final reading to rezone the recently annexed property as general commercial property at its Nov. 12 meeting.
Heyward said he was pleased with the work of city staff and board members. He added that in his 35 years in the warehouse industry, he has never seen such a wonderful group.
Before the meeting, Heyward was required to make two presentations to the Goose Creek Architectural Review Board within two months. The second case occurred on Oct. 21 at a meeting for what Heyward called “Storage Solutions at Plantation Square.”
“Do employees feel like all of our problems are being solved?” asked ARB Chairwoman Sharon Clopton.
“Our biggest concern is the landscaping between York Street and these duplexes,” said Sarah Hanson, Goose Creek planning director. “The outdoor landscaping is fantastic, but the regulations require all fences to be planted. . . We have to find a way to buffer this fence.”
Heyward said four condenser units will be shielded in a fenced area at the rear of the building. He said the building will be painted all around and there will be planter boxes as buffers.
Clopton asked for a color sample for the back of the building. Heyward had all but one of the paint samples with him at this meeting.
“We want it to look good,” Heyward said. “We want it to be something you can be proud of.”
Hanson told The Gazette that this is a big project for the ARB and provided numerous details to the city. She said renovating an existing building to comply with code often requires more care than approving plans for a new building.
In the case of Plantation Square, the property was annexed to the city this summer after previously being an enclave of Berkeley County. County regulations are not as strict as city regulations.
The property is now located in the city's downtown business district or overlay district, which has different requirements. This is the area in the triangle between North Goose Creek Boulevard, St. James Avenue and Old Mt. Holly Road.
The ARB approved the terms of the renovation project, including:
• The exterior side walls of the proposed RV storage building must be fully enclosed on both the front and rear sides. Walls must be painted with the proposed mastic paint in the color “Desert Tan”.
• All existing stucco must be cleaned, repaired and repainted as submitted.
• The additional access and parking area for the RV park must be paved.
• The entire parking lot needs to be repaired and resealed.
• All fencing must be the proposed Belmont black aluminum decorative fencing.
• The mechanical equipment and dumpster area, both located at the rear of the building, shall be protected by black vinyl wire mesh fencing with vertical slats.
• The back and left side of the building need to be repaired and repainted.
• At least two trees shall be added to the proposed landscaping and a sufficient number of trees shall be planted along the front of the mobile home storage building to provide a privacy screen for the front of the building.
• Park islands need to be replanted.
• Landscaping must be provided along the front fence line opposite the parking lot by providing planter boxes with small trees, shrubs and additional plants as needed.
• A comprehensive sign approval package should be submitted to the City for Board review and approval.
The permits only applied to the first phase of the renovation.