S.C. port authority looks to relocate HQ

The South Carolina Port Authority has a “for sale” sign on its downtown Charleston headquarters and wants to build a new office adjacent to the Wando Welch container terminal to move corporate personnel closer to port operations.    The South Carolina Ports Authority, driven by a desire to move corporate personnel closer to port operations, has put its headquarters building in downtown Charleston up for sale.
   The port authority board of directors announced the decision at last month’s meeting to solicit offers for the 1.5 acre site, which is located on prime waterfront real estate facing the Cooper River ship channel. A small adjacent plot where a restaurant currently operates is also available.
   Several office buildings have sold in the business district for between $20 million to $24 million in recent years, but none of them have waterfront views. The SCPA property is expected to draw interest from hotel operators and investors.
   Proceeds from the sale will be used to build a more modern office with adequate conference rooms, technology and other features on property adjacent to the Wando Welch container terminal, which is a 15-to-20-minute drive from the current site. The SCPA has worked from the existing office since 1972.
   “We’re mainly a container port and I think our headquarters needs to be close to our business and close to our people” so managers can feel the pulse of the port, Executive Director Jim Newsome said in an interview Tuesday.
   The interview took place in a conference room at the SCPA building, which is likely to be razed by any new buyer and replaced with a new structure.
   The Concord Street headquarters is next to the Port of Charleston’s cruise terminal, but cruise represents a tiny portion of the port’s portfolio. It’s core business is containers. Today, port officials have to jump in a car and drive to the Wando Welch, North Charleston, and Veteran’s (breakbulk) terminals whenever they need to deal with issues at those locations or take interested parties on tours. Officials even drive to the close-by Columbus Street Terminal, which handles breakbulk cargo and vehicles.
   “We want to get closer to the rest of our organization. When customers come, they want to see a port,” Newsome said.
   Offers for the SCPA property are due by April 15, along with a $250,000 deposit. A decision is scheduled to be made by May 1, according to 176ConcordStreet.com, a website created to provide information to potential buyers.
   If the SCPA doesn’t receive proper value for the property it will stay put, Newsome said.
   Moving the headquarters fits with the overall strategy to modernize the Port of Charleston and would come during a busy period for the port authority, which is working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the harbor to 52 feet to handle ultra-large container vessels, refurbishing the Wando Welch terminal, developing a new container terminal at the old Charleston Navy Base, and pursuing other upgrades.