Huge Impact on Sullivan's Island

Sullivan's Island Town Council has called a special Town Council meeting for Thursday, January 29th, to brief residents on The Atlantic, a high density mixed- use project that would have a tremendous impact on Sullivan's Island. The project would be located just across the Ben Sawyer Bridge, on the old Channel 4 site.  The Atlantic would be similar to the controversial Boulevard apartments on Coleman Boulevard.

Current plans call for 246 residential units and 14,000 SF of retail space, on 15 acres of land. (That amounts to 30 units per acre!) The Town of Mount Pleasant is recommending that a new roundabout be constructed on Ben Sawyer Blvd, at the driveway to the project.  

Only imagine the bottleneck that will create in the summer months! And what if an emergency vehicle needs to get through? And how would a project of this magnitude impact overall congestion and traffic on Sullivan's Island? What about the impact to SI's already strained infrastructure? The proposal also calls for the removal of a number of live oaks on the site.

Here is the link to the development application for The Atlantic, including comments on the project from the Town of Mount Pleasant planning staff.  Although this information was only made public around January 15th, Mount Pleasant Town Council is expected to vote on the project in early February. 

It is indeed interesting that SI Town Council is only just now informing residents about this significant development right on our doorstep, that has the potential to seriously impact the quality of life for all Sullivan's Island residents.

Has SI Town Council ever communicated any concerns about the project to the Town of Mount Pleasant? Has SI Town Council ever asked for consideration from Mount Pleasant Town Council or from the project owners? Project owners are shown on the application as Middle Street Partners, located at 2113 Middle St., Suite 309, Sullivan's Island.

The traffic study that was done does not take into account the strong increase in beach traffic in the summer months, nor have there been any studies on the impact of this project on Sullivan's Island.

Why is the Town of Mount Pleasant in such a big rush to approve this project without fully assessing the impacts on the surrounding neighborhoods, and without fully informing the residents that would be affected? That vote should be delayed or deferred, pending more information.

Please make plans to attend the meeting tonight night if at all possible!

The meeting is at 6:00, at SI Town Hall, 2050 Middle Street.

For more information about what is happening on Sullivan's Island and the impact on the entire community, go to sicommunityimpact.com.