Analysis Reveals City Benefits from Noisette Collaboration
North Charleston, SC, January 14 – According to a City of North Charleston-approved Noisette Company expenditure analysis completed in late December, the City stands to gain $20,200,000 under separate land purchase agreements for acreage on the former Navy Base. These figures stand in stark contrast to the provisions of the original Noisette Project agreement from March 2001, in which proceeds from land sales on the base would have been paid to the Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority (RDA). Today, these funds are earmarked for the City instead of the RDA.
Everything changed with legislation passed by the South Carolina General Assembly in May 2002 and a revised agreement on the base land transfers in November 2002, largely a product of negotiations by North Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey and state government officials. In addition, the ongoing collaboration between the City and Noisette Company -- to revitalize a 3,000-acre area that includes the former base and surrounding neighborhoods – allowed the City to reap a number of benefits, including collecting tax revenues under the Rural Development Act.
Each development contributed to North Charleston’s current position, in which the City directly benefits from land sales and revenue-generating projects on the former base. The City also receives a number of benefits under the current agreement, including acreage at the base under a provision that was not included in the March 2001 agreement. Elsewhere, there has been a surge in real estate values in Park Circle since Noisette was announced nearly four years ago. After reviewing the analysis, Mayor Summey agreed to disclose the information to the public.
“This analysis dramatically illustrates the point that Mayor Summey is a responsible steward for the redevelopment of the former base,” said John L. Knott, Jr., CEO of the Noisette Company, LLC. “To say that the City does not benefit from the Noisette Project agreement is simply untrue. These results are a product of the leadership, and stewardship, of the City under Mayor Summey, and the collaboration between the City and Noisette. In reality, the City is doing very well, and within a framework of reasonable costs.”
Mayor Summey commented on the analysis, by saying, “The collaboration between the City and Noisette has helped advance dreams of the City for the revitalization of the former Naval Base and surrounding neighborhoods. The ability to have professional expertise at no cost to do master planning cannot be measured in value. We will continue to move forward in revitalizing sections of the City that are our responsibility, while the Noisette Company will push forward in the areas that are their responsibility.”
Summey added: “Together, the changes that come about will affect the quality of life in our City for decades to come.”
The $20 million figure reflects the aggregate amount of separate land sales on the base by the City to Noisette, Neal Brothers, Inc., and Charleston Marine Manufacturing Corporation (CMMC). The analysis also reveals that the Noisette Company has paid the City of North Charleston a total of $1,525,082 as of January 14. On the other end of the spectrum, city payments to Noisette – basically, for fees associated with the ongoing Century Oaks redevelopment and rents for different properties on the base – total $297,548.
A point-by-point review of the expenditure analysis reveals the following:
• Noisette Payments to the City Under the November 2002 agreement now in force, the City has received $1,525,082 from the Noisette Company, which includes releases paid on the land note from July 2003, rent on Building 7 at the base, and legal fee reimbursement for the land transfer;
• Other Payments to the City The current agreement permits the City to benefit from the federal government’s Rural Development Act through September 2004, in the amount of $1,221,725. The Noisette Company deferred taking possession of this property, in order for the City to receive this amount under the provisions of that federal program;
• Land Purchase Agreement The original agreement called for the City-financed appraisal of $9.6 million for the 350 acres – base property designated for the Noisette redevelopment – to go to the RDA. Now, the full amount will be paid directly to the City. Elsewhere, the CMMC agreement on the shipyard, and Neal Brothers pending purchase of buildings 1171, 1173, and 218 on the base, provide the City with an additional $10.6 million. The total amount of all land purchase agreements on the base is now $20,200,000, as outlined in the above text;
• Total Acreage to the City Under the legislation passed by the General Assembly in 2002, the City will receive 278 acres for redevelopment on the former base outside the boundaries of the Noisette Project. The original agreement of March 2001 stated that the City would not receive any property on the base;
• Other Items of Value The Master Plan was wholly financed by Noisette for $2.5 million, at no cost to the taxpayer. The Hunley Museum proposal developed by the Noisette Company design team was donated by the Company to the City, with a value of $155,000;
• City Payments to Noisette To date, the City has paid Noisette $217,000 for fees associated with the Century Oaks project. Another $80,448 in rental payments covering Building 1601B for the North Charleston Police, Building 7, and Buildings 1622 and 1623 bring the total of city payments to Noisette at $297,548.
Other benefits have come to the City as a result of Noisette. “Because of the City-Noisette endeavors,” adds Summey, “we have seen interest in all residential communities surrounding Park Circle, and with that interest a great growth in property values.” A recent survey of the Multiple Listing Service indicates that the average square foot cost for a home in the vicinity of Park Circle increased from $54 in 2001 to $97 in 2004.
Noisette is also cited as a reason that the developers of Mount Pleasant’s award-winning I’On community plan to redevelop a 43-acre site of the former John C. Calhoun housing project for a residential and commercial project in North Charleston. “I can say without hesitation that my company would not have entered the North Charleston market if not for the groundbreaking leadership exemplified by those involved with Noisette,” injects Vince Graham, principal in Graham Holdings, Inc. “Mayor Summey, City Council, John Knott and his team have persevered tenaciously to enable the naval base redevelopment. Their ability to see the big picture will reap benefits for the current citizenry of our region, as well as for future generations.”
“While the short term economic benefits like direct monies to the City can easily be quantified,” Graham added, “the long term benefits are going to be difficult, if not impossible to measure. And, one could argue that they will be infinite.”
Some Noisette-related benefits did not make the ledger sheet. The Noisette Company provides use of buildings and facilities to local, regional, state and federal law enforcement agencies free of charge. A list of these agencies includes the Department of Homeland Security, the North Charleston Police Department (NCPD), US Department of Justice-Drug Enforcement Agency, Mount Pleasant Police Department, Charleston County Sheriff’s Department, Berkeley County Sheriff’s Department, City of Charleston Police Department, Dorchester County Sheriff’s Department, and the US Department of the Treasury. Other agencies include the North Charleston Fire Department, NCPD Bomb Team, NCPD SWAT Team, in addition to the SC Farm Bureau Special Investigations Unit. In 2004, the Noisette-owned facilities were used a total of 95 times for different events by law enforcement.
In evaluating the expenditure analysis, Knott concluded, “The City is in a far better financial position, regarding the Navy Base property, than it was four years ago when the Noisette Project was announced. Undeniably, this is a result of the City-Noisette collaboration, and the Mayor’s negotiations with state government over land transfers at the former base.”
(Attached City Expenditure Analysis Chart January 14, 2005)
