Charleston developer scales back plans for Cardinal Newman site

The Beach Co. of Charleston on Tuesday appeared before about 75 Forest Acres residents with a peace offering in hand.

Just last month, residents gave the developer an earful at a planning commission meeting. They explained at length their fears that the mixed-use development planned for the former Cardinal Newman School site would exacerbate traffic problems on the busy, shop-lined stretch of Forest Drive between Beltline Boulevard and Trenholm Road.

This time, at a Forest Acres City Council public hearing, The Beach Co. came with revised plans meant to ease those concerns.

Fliers the developer passed out indicated the size of the planned development, called Forest Acres Village Square, has been scaled down.

The new plan listed 256 luxury apartments, down from nearly 300, and 42,000 square feet of local restaurants and boutique shops, down from 54,000.

The Beach Co. originally estimated the project would add nearly 3,100 cars daily to Forest Drive, which is nearing its capacity of about 30,000 cars per day.

But Tuesday Ned Miller, The Beach Co. development manager overseeing the project, told the crowd the revisions would trim about 650 cars from that estimate. The project’s price tag also dropped, from nearly $60 million to close to $58 million, he said.

“This was not an easy change to make, but it balances the traffic concerns with the goal of making this a thriving part of the community,” Miller said during the company’s presentation.

The proposed changes appeared to help the developer’s cause, though some residents still were conflicted or downright opposed to the plans.

“Minimizing the impact on traffic was a good positive,” Forest Acres Mayor Frank Brunson said. “I think most people in the audience, whether they were pro or con, appreciated that.”

When asked near the end of the hearing, 33 people in the crowd stood in support of the plans. Twenty people stood in opposition, and some remained glued to their seats, apparently undecided.

Pam Collum was among the residents more adamantly opposed. She said she was “absolutely” pleased that The Beach Co. scaled back the project’s size but that she is skeptical of the developer’s traffic estimates.

“They can forecast everything they want with their scientific predictions, but it is all temporal,” Collum said. “We don’t know what will happen until it happens.”

A few residents who spoke, such as Elmira Weston, said they would prefer to see the number of apartment units drop even further, or for the apartment buildings to be replaced by townhomes. Weston said she thought The Beach Co. would have much more support if the plans called for 200 apartments or less.

“I think it’s wonderful, but I have big problems with the density,” Weston said.

Jack Oliver, a Forest Drive business owner, said he is thrilled with the proposed development.

“I’m super excited that a company like The Beach Co. would like to invest this much capital in our community,” Oliver said.

Miller said after the meeting he was pleasantly surprised with the turnout and support. He said he doesn’t expect the plans to change significantly before Forest Acres City Council votes on them next month in the first of two votes needed for them to pass.

This story was originally published February 9, 2016 at 8:36 PM with the headline "Charleston developer scales back plans for Cardinal Newman site."