The State Ports Authority has received two new bids for its Beaufort County marine terminal, but the maritime agency isn’t saying whether they meet the minimum price of $14.82 million it was seeking.
Erin Dhand, spokeswoman for the SPA, said Wednesday the authority has “already begun the internal review process of those offers (but) we can’t provide details about the offers at this point.” The most recent deadline to submit bids for the waterfront property in Port Royal was 5 p.m. Tuesday.
The SPA recently lowered its minimum price for the site by $600,000 after another deal fell through a few weeks ago. That lower price applies if the property is purchased in its entirety. The three distinct development parcels are available for sale separately at higher rates totaling about $17.4 million, according to the commercial real estate company marketing the site.
The former Port of Port Royal has about 52 acres of high ground, about 265 acres of marsh and a mile of waterfront on Battery Creek near the Beaufort River, The last purchase offer of $15.42 million from Furman Co. Investment Advisory Service was terminated in late April when the Greenville-based buyer ran out of time to complete its analysis and meet other deadlines.
It was the fourth time that a deal to sell the land has fallen through since 2006. It also was another disappointing turn for Port Royal business owners and residents who want the deepwater site to be redeveloped into homes, commercial space and a marina to boost to the area’s economy. The former port will go on the auction block if the SPA can’t secure a buyer by June 30 under legislation that Gov. Nikki Haley signed in 2014.
A lawsuit filed by business owners against the SPA, claiming failed efforts to sell the marine terminal have cost local governments more than $7 million in lost property tax revenue, was withdrawn last month to make a sale easier to accomplish. “The case was withdrawn to not hinder any potential sale of the property between now and the June 30 deadline,” Nancy Vista, one of the business owners, said. “The case can and will be refiled if necessary.”
The Charleston-based maritime agency operated a small cargo terminal on the property starting in 1958. The General Assembly ordered the port closed more than a decade ago and directed the SPA to sell the site. The original deadline was the end of 2009.
