Charleston, South Carolina – The Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) is just one approval vote away from establishing a new cancer care and research facility on the peninsula.
The first reading was accepted by the City Council at its meeting on Tuesday. Dr. David Cole, president of MUSC, predicts that cancer rates in South Carolina will rise by 30-40% during the next 15-20 years. As a result, he and others believe this is a critical opportunity to bring world-class cancer care to the state.
“This is a real positive for, not just the city, but the region,” Charleston Mayor William Cogswell said. “We already have families sending their loved ones who are being treated for cancer to other places. So this would put it right in their backyard. So it’s a terrific thing for the community, and, by the way, MUSC is the city’s and region’s largest employment.”
To do this, MUSC would need to establish a Medical District Overlay Zone, which would require 60 acres of property and the ability to raise buildings up to 250 feet. Something that some residents, such as Lisa Jones of the Historic Charleston Foundation, dislike.
“We continue to ask that the height increases be moved away from the neighborhood near Calhoun, Ashley, and Rutledge, and closer to the Children’s Hospital on the western side of the peninsula,” Jones said the crowd. “In addition, 250 feet is too tall for the peninsula and we request that the height be limited to 200 feet.”
However, they argue that a staggered elevation would reduce the building’s perceived height from the ground.
“When you’re coming out of your home, if you’re in a residential that borders the overlay district, you’ll be looking at most at a five-story building,” Cogswell informed me. “The taller structures would be at a 100-foot setback from that façade. It would be in the heart of campus that the neighborhood would be protected.”
Residents were especially concerned about stormwater management and how this could complicate matters. However, MUSC states that they are dedicated to making financial commitments to address the issue.
The second reading will take place during the city council meeting on Tuesday, October 14, at 5 p.m.
