Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2010

S.C. proposes new cruise terminal

Port authority eyes BMW building as new structure

CHARLESTON -- The State Ports Authority unveiled plans Tuesday to create a new cruise terminal and open another half-mile of Charleston's historic waterfront to the public as the cruise business grows in South Carolina.

The authority plans to renovate an existing building used by BMW for its port operations as a terminal to replace an aging cinderblock structure now almost 40 years old.

The building, farther up the waterfront, has room for parking and dropping off passengers, avoiding snarls that sometimes occur when cruise ships call.

This spring, Carnival Cruise Lines will permanently base its 2,056-passenger Carnival Fantasy in Charleston. There will be 67 cruise calls in the city this year.

Jim Newsome, the authority president and chief executive, hopes the new one-berth terminal can be operating in about two years.

"BMW is a strategic customer for us, and we will take care of their needs," Newsome said, adding the operation will be relocated. "We're working actively with them. They've been very helpful."

Newsome said he didn't yet have a price tag.

"We've seen some numbers, but I'm not convinced they're the right numbers," he said, adding that renovating an existing building is less expensive than building from scratch.

Besides the terminal, the plan for 63 acres on the waterfront calls for more public water access.

The entire plan, which could take decades to complete, was developed by Cooper, Robertson & Partners, the planning firm that designed Charleston's Waterfront Park and its Visitor Center.

If completed as suggested, the plan would allow one to walk about four miles down one side of the Charleston peninsula and up the other and, with few exceptions, always see the water.

The effort "is probably one of the half-dozen most important urban projects in the United States," said Jaquelin Robertson, the planning firm's founding partner.

Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. called it "a great plan and a wonderful opportunity."

Despite the recession, the cruise industry grew last year and will grow this year as well, according to Cruise Lines International Association, an industry trade group.

"The demand has always exceeded capacity," said Michael Crye, the association's executive vice president of regulatory affairs.

This year, an estimated 14.3 million passengers are expected to take cruises - an increase of about 855,000, or 6.4 percent, over 2009, according to the association's Web site.

"If you can put a homeport in a location where there is a reasonable drive-up market - with all the hassles associated with flying - people would prefer to drive up," he added.

Charleston, with its history and other attractions, would be attractive to people driving, Crye said.

A study commissioned by the Ports Authority and released earlier this month showed cruises will mean $37 million to the South Carolina economy this year.