Spotlight on
Noisette Urban Redevelopment Project
North Charleston, South Carolina
Park and Open-Space Planning for 2800-Acre Urban Community
“The Noisette Project will serve as a national
benchmark for smart growth,” says Mayor Summey. “We
will offer an intelligent alternative to urban sprawl; we will
demonstrate that renewal without gentrification is possible;
and we will make the city’s waterfront accessible to every
North Charleston resident.”
Project: Noisette
Urban Redevelopment Project, North Charleston, encompassing
over 2,800 acres of the historic City Center and old Naval Base
Complex on the Cooper River South Carolina
Client: The Noisette
Company; The City of North Charleston
Program
As the nation’s largest sustainable redevelopment project,
Noisette will open the Cooper River waterfront area to the residents
of North Charleston by creating a 200-acre urban park surrounding
Noisette Creek, a new waterfront park along the Cooper River,
and greenway connections within a new urban open space system.
The planning team anticipates 7,000 new housing units, 3,000
rehabilitated housing units, and six to eight million square
feet of commercial space built when this project is finished.
Concepts/Approach:
Viridian Landscape Studio is working as landscape architects
and environmental consultants on the master planning team. One
of the first elements of the Master Plan was the development
of a new urban park and open space system. Viridian Landscape
Studio defined the extent the Noisette Creek Preserve by mapping
existing tidal wetlands, Army Corps of Engineers and OCRM delineated
wetland lines, potential tidal wetland restoration areas, as
well as assessing properties for easements or acquisitions.
In addition, greenways with multi-use trails will link the Preserve
to the new Cooper River waterfront park, existing neighborhoods
and proposed development areas. These greenways begin to restore
a healthy functioning watershed ecosystem.
Large-scale interventions include daylighting existing stormwater
pipes into newly wooded stream corridors and vegetated swales.
Small-scale interventions may include infiltration beds on individual
house lots, restoring woodland buffers, and alternatives to
lawn.
Developing the Noisette Creek Preserve involved
the mapping of existing tidal wetlands. Given ongoing disturbance
to the wetlands, an Initial Protection Plan for protecting the
wetlands now with a new City Ordinance was recommended. Existing
City lands that could become part of the preserve were assessed
next. Additional private parcels were then reviewed for park
acquisition or easement feasibility. Potential tidal marsh restoration
areas were delineated, giving a larger context to the proposed
Waterfront Park. The historic landscapes in the Naval Yard were
also noted as potential parkland areas. Finally, multi-use trails
connect the community to the preserve and the Cooper River Waterfront
Park.
Status:
Master planning
Noisette Preserve Plan:
135 Acres
Estimated Cost: $22 Million
Click on a Spotlight Project Below
to view project details and photos.
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Bayada Plaza
Nursing Education Building Project |
Noisette Urban Redevelopment
Project |
Sisters, Servants of
the IHM Project |
Bartram's Garden Master
Plan |
