Charleston, South Carolina – William Cogswell, mayor of Charleston, spoke with News 2 on city officials’ recent European study trip.
The mayor praised the trip as “very, very productive and eye-opening,” as it aimed to shape the Union Pier reconstruction plan.
Representatives from the city, Historic Charleston Foundation, Preservation Society of Charleston, Coastal Conservation League, and Beemok Capital visited London, Amsterdam, and Copenhagen. Cogswell stated that Poundbury, a city near London, provided him with ideas for inexpensive house design.
“They called it a classically built hamlet with social housing, but we call it inexpensive housing. It was extremely intriguing to see how it was all mixed in with market-rate housing, and it was so seamless that you couldn’t tell the difference,” the mayor remarked. “It was exciting to see how proactive they are in addressing this growing issue that we have here in the United States.”
The research group looked at how other cities manage development, preservation, and sustainability, with the goal of incorporating some of these elements onto Union Pier. Key European architects and engineers presented the team with examples of their countries’ spaces and urban districts. The mayor told News 2 that he thought it was remarkable how they combined public access to water with resilience.
“There are methods for retaining water, dealing with water from the outside, and removing water from the inside through rains. We have to deal with it both here in the United States and in the Netherlands, where they don’t get nearly as much rain as we do,” Cogswell explained. “You learn interesting things that are applicable to Charleston, but it’s not 100% so that’s something you need to be careful about.”
Cogswell went on to say that the Beemok designers are taking their time drawing up the future of the waterfront sector to ensure it is a successful design that respects the city’s past. He is pleased that Charleston’s local preservation groups were also able to attend, as designers were able to get their feedback earlier than in a typical approach.
“We’re working very closely with them, and they’re keeping us updated. It was excellent to have a lot of advocacy groups there with us because their concerns get heard right away, and they get to interact directly with the designers who are working on it. I think it was quite productive. Again, I’m really confident about where this is going,” Cogswell stated.
Officials stated that Union Pier is currently in the design process.
