Clemson Outlines North Charleston Campus: University Envisions Restoring Buildings on Former Navy Base
Clemson University wants to lure private businesses to the former Charleston Naval Base and restore two of its most historic buildings as part of a 30-year plan for a Lowcountry restoration institute.
On Tuesday, Clemson officials told the Redevelopment Authority board that they would model their proposed North Charleston campus on the school's International Center for Automotive Research in Greenville, a campus focused as much on economic development as education.
Jan Schach, dean of Clemson's College of Architecture, Arts and Humanities, said that the university wanted to become a world leader in environmental science, materials technology and urban redevelopment.
"The Lowcountry is the ideal location," Schach said. "You have the Charleston peninsula, which has one of the largest inventories of historic buildings in the country. Down the road is the ACE Basin, one of the largest unspoiled natural habitats on the East Coast. And here in North Charleston, you have one of the largest urban redevelopment projects in the country."
The proposed $35 million Clemson campus has come under fire from state officials in part because The State newspaper claimed the entire cost of the institute was more than one-third of the "nearly $100 million" cost of "preserving and promoting the Hunley submarine."
Schach said the RDA presentation had been scheduled long before The State's accusations but told board members she hoped to "correct the record. There are some misperceptions on many fronts."
According to Clemson and the institute proposal, only $2.4 million would go to the Hunley. But since The State's articles, a group of lawmakers has requested a Legislative Audit Council review of the Hunley project's cost. Already, one lawmaker is withdrawing his request.
"I was under the impression that it was costing nearly $100 million in state money, but my understanding is that the state money is around $4 million and the last of that was in 2002," said state Rep. Jeff Duncan, R-Laurens. "I don't think we need to spend $100,000 or $200,000 (on an audit) to look at $4 million in spending that we did four years ago."
Clemson officials say the audit request has not slowed their plans.
"It's brought up questions, but that gives us the opportunity to share our plans," Schach said.
Those plans are far from final. Gov. Mark Sanford and Comptroller General Richard Eckstrom, two of five voting members of the Budget and Control Board, which has to give the campus final approval, have questioned the wisdom of another college campus in the state. Schach said the campus would include graduate programs in preservation, something now unavailable in North Charleston.
The university also hopes to take a crack at $1.6 trillion in infrastructure repairs backlogs nationwide by developing techniques to make metals stronger and more durable. That, materials science professor Mike Drews said, is where the Hunley comes in.
As part of the deal, the Hunley Commission would turn over the Warren Lasch Conservation Center as the first building in the Restoration Institute campus. In return, Clemson would spend $2.4 million over three years restoring the submarine, which will then be moved to a museum. That work is designed to help Clemson create a niche.
"Our vision is, if it's big metal, it's going to come here to be preserved," Drews said.
Schach said Clemson experts have looked at the historic Navy Chapel and the old Coast Guard office on the Navy base and are making plans to restore both buildings to their former glory - a sticking point among RDA, North Charleston and Noisette officials. But that, Schach said, will take money.
Clemson wants to start work on its campus by the fall. Tuesday, Schach suggested the RDA would be asked for help - both financially and with its expertise - sometime in the future. RDA Chairman Jim Bryan said the board will take Clemson's request on a case-by-case basis.
"I'm sure in the future there will be action we'll have to take, but for now we just need to pay attention," Bryan said.
Contact Brian Hicks at 937-5561 or bhicks@postandcourier.com.
