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Panel to name Hunley choice
BY SCHUYLER KROPF
copyright 2004 The Post and Courier
Officials are expected today to name which city gets the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley museum, with North Charleston the favorite.
Members of the state Hunley Commission are scheduled to meet this afternoon in Columbia to make a final choice, although any recommendation still would have to be approved by the Legislature.
Most indications give North Charleston the edge over Charles-ton and Mount Pleasant, with the decision hinging on money.
North Charleston has offered the most cash -- a minimum of $13 million -- to fund a state-of-the-art potentially $40 million museum on the banks of the Cooper River featuring the Hunley and its eight-man crew.
The offer made jointly by Mount Pleasant and the Patriot's Point Naval Museum has dropped from $8 million to $1 million after town officials tired of the 2-year-old search and pulled money off the table.
Members of the Hunley Commission, which is made up of state officials and appointees, have said the city of Charleston is probably out of contention because it scrapped plans for a solo Hunley museum on the waterfront and instead offered to display the sub in the Charleston Museum.
Some described the change as a dealbreaker.
North Charleston's $13 million offer may be too good to pass up, officials said, even though the city is less of a tourism draw than its two competitors.
"It is a very enticing offer," said Hunley Commission member Randy Burbage, who declined to name his top choice Wednesday. "If we go anywhere else, we're going to have to justify it to the people of South Carolina."
The Patriot's Point Naval Museum site is still in contention, Burbage said, but he added he was concerned about that financial offer.
Hunley Commission member Chris Sullivan also refused Wednesday to name his top choice but said he expects the full commission to endorse whichever site is named by the search committee today. Both bodies meet in succession at the Statehouse complex.
"We have at least two strong and good proposals," Sullivan said, adding, "I would expect the full commission to act on that recommendation."
State Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, who is chairman of the state Hunley Commission, could not be reached Wednesday. But in the past, he has said North Charleston's money offer is a significant indicator of a commitment.
"In tight times, you've just got to have money, and $13 million said a lot," McConnell told The Post and Courier in January.
"With grants, we could be looking at $20 million, which is halfway to the finish line. I love Patriot's Point, and it would have been a great location, but you can't ignore the commitment and design team North Charleston has. It's an overwhelming offer, especially if we could get some of the (Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority) money," he said at the time.
Other Hunley pursuers say the upfront money shouldn't be the only determining factor. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley has repeatedly said the city's built-in tourist base should give Charleston the edge because its tourist visits are measured in the millions.
Mount Pleasant officials say the state already has a viable naval museum at Patriot's Point and contend it would be a waste of money to build another a few miles up the Cooper River.
"We seem to be a state of twos," said Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry Hallman. "We've got two medical schools, we've got two law schools now, and if this thing were to go to North Charleston, we'll have two naval museums."
North Charleston's plan includes making the 40,000-square-foot Hunley museum a focal point of the Noisette redevelopment project of former U.S. Navy property on the Cooper River. It would be centered at Pier Alpha, at the base's north end.
The museum, designed by Ralph Appelbaum, would combine the story of the Hunley, the world's first successful attack sub, with the history of the Civil War at sea through interactive displays and thousands of artifacts. State and private sources would have to be tapped to help covere the project's cost.
Today's Hunley meeting is set to begin at 2 p.m., in room 105 of the Gressette Building in the Statehouse complex in Columbia.
BY SCHUYLER KROPF
copyright 2004 The Post and Courier
Officials are expected today to name which city gets the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley museum, with North Charleston the favorite.
Members of the state Hunley Commission are scheduled to meet this afternoon in Columbia to make a final choice, although any recommendation still would have to be approved by the Legislature.
Most indications give North Charleston the edge over Charles-ton and Mount Pleasant, with the decision hinging on money.
North Charleston has offered the most cash -- a minimum of $13 million -- to fund a state-of-the-art potentially $40 million museum on the banks of the Cooper River featuring the Hunley and its eight-man crew.
The offer made jointly by Mount Pleasant and the Patriot's Point Naval Museum has dropped from $8 million to $1 million after town officials tired of the 2-year-old search and pulled money off the table.
Members of the Hunley Commission, which is made up of state officials and appointees, have said the city of Charleston is probably out of contention because it scrapped plans for a solo Hunley museum on the waterfront and instead offered to display the sub in the Charleston Museum.
Some described the change as a dealbreaker.
North Charleston's $13 million offer may be too good to pass up, officials said, even though the city is less of a tourism draw than its two competitors.
"It is a very enticing offer," said Hunley Commission member Randy Burbage, who declined to name his top choice Wednesday. "If we go anywhere else, we're going to have to justify it to the people of South Carolina."
The Patriot's Point Naval Museum site is still in contention, Burbage said, but he added he was concerned about that financial offer.
Hunley Commission member Chris Sullivan also refused Wednesday to name his top choice but said he expects the full commission to endorse whichever site is named by the search committee today. Both bodies meet in succession at the Statehouse complex.
"We have at least two strong and good proposals," Sullivan said, adding, "I would expect the full commission to act on that recommendation."
State Sen. Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, who is chairman of the state Hunley Commission, could not be reached Wednesday. But in the past, he has said North Charleston's money offer is a significant indicator of a commitment.
"In tight times, you've just got to have money, and $13 million said a lot," McConnell told The Post and Courier in January.
"With grants, we could be looking at $20 million, which is halfway to the finish line. I love Patriot's Point, and it would have been a great location, but you can't ignore the commitment and design team North Charleston has. It's an overwhelming offer, especially if we could get some of the (Charleston Naval Complex Redevelopment Authority) money," he said at the time.
Other Hunley pursuers say the upfront money shouldn't be the only determining factor. Charleston Mayor Joe Riley has repeatedly said the city's built-in tourist base should give Charleston the edge because its tourist visits are measured in the millions.
Mount Pleasant officials say the state already has a viable naval museum at Patriot's Point and contend it would be a waste of money to build another a few miles up the Cooper River.
"We seem to be a state of twos," said Mount Pleasant Mayor Harry Hallman. "We've got two medical schools, we've got two law schools now, and if this thing were to go to North Charleston, we'll have two naval museums."
North Charleston's plan includes making the 40,000-square-foot Hunley museum a focal point of the Noisette redevelopment project of former U.S. Navy property on the Cooper River. It would be centered at Pier Alpha, at the base's north end.
The museum, designed by Ralph Appelbaum, would combine the story of the Hunley, the world's first successful attack sub, with the history of the Civil War at sea through interactive displays and thousands of artifacts. State and private sources would have to be tapped to help covere the project's cost.
Today's Hunley meeting is set to begin at 2 p.m., in room 105 of the Gressette Building in the Statehouse complex in Columbia.
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