City seeks public input on future of former Sam Ritt/Old Towne Piggly Wiggly site
The only thing deader than the old Piggly Wiggly at the intersection of Old Towne Road and Sam Rittenberg Boulevard is the idea of replacing it with a mega-gas station.
Last year, the city acquired the nearly 2.5-acre triangular site and earlier this year had the moribund grocery store flattened and scraped bare. What had been a dead commercial spot for years was transformed into a blank slate.
Last month, the city’s Planning Division held a two-day public planning forum at The Schoolhouse event venue on Magnolia Road to discuss future plans for filling the former grocery site.
One businessperson whose office was across the street from the former grocery was glad it had been razed, because they had been staring “at an empty building for the past five years.”
Eric Pohlman, the city’s newly-hired West Ashley project coordinator for the department, welcomed members of the public to the event and invited them to submit what they would like to see there.
Unlike recent planning forums, this one was run totally by city staff, and did not rely on outside, hired consultants.
Pohlman, who had worked recently for the Town of Mt. Pleasant, then posted those submissions on a long wall: “welcome center … visitors center … community event space … public swimming pool … multi-purpose arts facility… park.”
The majority of the submissions called for a public space of some sort to become the new “welcome mat” into West Ashley, keeping with what city government has been pushing for.
There were a few calls for commercial uses, like a hotel that could transform the Northbridge area in the same way Charleston Place sparked the peninsula’s revival decades ago.
There were also several calls specifically for “no gas station.” The city had earlier received a proposal to place a mega-gas station on the lot, and many in government and in the public had complained that such a project would be a waste of an opportunity.
Luke Morris, a local architect who walked from his home in the Avondale area, attended the forum and submitted his two cents worth.
“I think the correct move would be to use the land for the public good,” says Morris, who is a regular attendee at West Ashley Revitalization Commission meetings. Additionally, he would like to see easier walkways crossing the two major roads that intersect there for pedestrians.
“My biggest concern is how the city acquired the property, because if it was through eminent domain, then they are required to use it for a public use and wouldn’t be able to sell it on for profit,” says Morris.
Pohlman and his boss, Planning Division director Christopher Morgan, said the city purchased the land for $3 million, but have no plans to sell it for commercial use at this time.
One retiree peered up and down at the wall of submissions and wondered out loud why the city was holding this forum at all, as whatever goes there will be shaped by what the county plans to do with the “suicide merge” intersection in the coming year.
Charleston County has already identified that it wants to substantially improve the intersection leading to the Northbridge with local half-cent sales tax revenues. Some possible plans include rerouting that end of Sam Rittenberg so that it intersects at Old Towne at a traditional stoplight.
The county is planning to host its own public forum on the intersection later this fall.
Both governments have stated their plan to improve pedestrian and bike accessibility to that area, via improved crosswalks and the like, to create a paradigm more akin to the success being enjoyed by the Avondale area.
That same retiree railed against erecting a “too-modern” facility, saying it would be out of character for Northbridge. Another attendee, considerably younger, said a contemporary building would attract younger, more affluent people.
So, not everything is worked out. Yet.
ABOUT THE COVER ARTIST
West Ashley native John Pundt has been a force in the local art scene for the better part of two decades. Even if you think you’re not familiar with his work, chances are you’ve seen it — at an art show, on a light post, or a bumper of a car. The Middleton High grad is behind several iconic characters that can be seen around town, including the creepy three-eyed Piggly Wiggly-esque “Prok” pig image. So when writing about the city’s efforts to resurrect the “Dead Pig” site, it was only logical to get Pundt to do the image for this month’s cover.
A graduate of Savannah School of Art & Design (SCAD), Pundt is now working in the movie industry. According to IMDB, Pundt is credited for doing graphic design work on several major productions, including the horror movie Oculus, Nicholas Sparks’ films Safe Haven and Dear John, and the Mena Suvari show South of Hell. Currently he’s in Atlanta working on Doctor Sleep, based on Stephen King’s follow-up to the horror classic The Shining.
