Council voted 6-2 for an outside study and townwide public input on its 38-acre Faison Road tract, after a YMCA pitched a 60,000-square-foot center there.

Mount Pleasant will ask residents what they want on its 38-acre tract on Faison Road before it seeks proposals to build there.

Town Council voted 6-2 on Oct. 13 to hire an outside firm for an economic feasibility and land use study of the property. The study is to include a townwide public input process to find the land’s “highest and best use” for public benefit, including economic impact. The vote is recorded in the draft minutes of the meeting, posted this week.

The land

The tract sits on the west side of Faison Road in Carolina Park, south of Oceanside Collegiate Academy. The town’s parcel map lists it as 38.29 acres of vacant commercial land owned by the town. The recorded sale price is $6,490,440, with a deed dated Nov. 19, 2021.

Council member Laura Hyatt noted at the meeting that council had originally agreed to develop only 11 to 12 acres of it.

The YMCA pitch

The question came back to council after a presentation to its Economic Development Committee on Oct. 5. The committee’s draft minutes record the pitch.

Adam Ferrara, managing partner of Buist Contractors and Vulcan Property Group, proposed a 60,000-square-foot YMCA with an Olympic-size pool and seating as the anchor. Around it, he described:

  • small shops
  • medical offices
  • attainable homes
  • open green space
  • a community amphitheater
  • walking trails

David Byrd, chief executive of the YMCA of Coastal Carolina, presented the YMCA’s side.

The committee then voted unanimously to recommend that council issue a new request for proposals, so other ideas could be weighed alongside the YMCA’s.

What council decided instead

Staff brought that plan to council on Oct. 13. A request for proposals would have asked developers for a site plan, a mix of uses, community benefits such as recreation and attainable housing, and a budget and deal structure.

Council member John Iacofano moved instead for an independent study with public input in place of developer proposals. Council member Daniel Brownstein seconded it. He said the community had never been asked what it wants for the property.

The vote was 6-2:

  • For: council members Brownstein, Hyatt, Jake Rambo, Mike Tinkey, Alex Crosby and Iacofano
  • Against: council member Kathryn Whitaker and Mayor Pro Tem Howard Chapman

Whitaker opposed paying an outside firm. She said staff could run the public input, and that inviting the YMCA presentation first was the “cart before the horse,” the minutes say. Chapman backed the committee’s plan for a request for proposals.

Town Administrator Eric DeMoura told council the money for such a study is in the annual budget. He said staff would come back to council at checkpoints.

Two residents spoke about the land during public comment. One asked council to consider rental workforce housing there for young workers and town recruits. Another asked that the YMCA be the anchor, that the town keep the land through long-term leases, and said he did not support attainable housing on the site.

What it means for you

  • Nothing will be built on the tract yet. No developer has been chosen and no plan approved.
  • A townwide public input process is coming. The town has not yet named the firm or set dates.
  • The YMCA proposal is not dead, but it is now one idea among many, not the starting point.

We will report the dates for public input when the town sets them. For Carolina Park itself, see our Carolina Park neighborhood guide.