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agarrobo@beaufortgazette.com
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Excluding occasional sniffs by interested parties, the Port of Port Royal remains quiet, locked and dormant — a reminder of the four-year process to find a port buyer.
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To counteract the current state, in the past three months the Ports Authority has taken steps to push the sale. It now possesses some of the due diligence, studies and research, such as detailed costs for demolition, from the former buyer, and continues to pursue permits for the marina that would be part of the port redevelopment. That is expected to be completed in the next several weeks, said Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller. An ad was placed in the August edition of Southeast Real Estate Business, and NAI Avant, which is promoting the property, continues to make direct calls.
"It's a beautiful piece of property, and there's continued interest," Miller said. "We'll continue to press ahead and hope we find a buyer."
If the Port of Port Royal sells for the $27 million asking price, it would be the largest sale of state-owned property in five years. The largest is a 2006 $20 million sale by Clemson University of 257 acres in Myrtle Beach, according to the S.C. Budget and Control Board.
But there are at least two indicators — its bumpy past and a bumpier commercial market — that it will not sell soon.
In November 2007, a $25.97 million contract was signed for the port, which was on the market since the state legislature directed its sale in 2004. That contract fell through March 18 when Port Royal Harbour LLC said it was unable to secure funding. Columbia-based marketing firm NAI Avant was rehired to find a buyer.
A slowdown at the state and local level in commercial real estate also means the buyers are not coming forward.
"From a statewide perspective, commercial real estate has seen some slowdown but not as much as residential or the coastal markets," said Nick Kremyda, the chief executive officer of the S.C. Association of Realtors.
"The commercial market in Beaufort is anemic," countered John Trask III, a Lowcountry Realty commercial broker and developer. "The Ports Authority made some strategic blunders, no question about it."
In the seven months that the 51 acres of high ground, 316 acres total, went back on the market, there have been a few tours of the site and reviews of the town's plans for the redevelopment of the shuttered shipping port, town manager Van Willis said. But there have been no offers yet.
"(The port property) is still up in the air, still on the market," he said.
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