This 85-acre park is situated along the headwaters of the Ashley, a tidal river once vital to transportation and agriculture in the South Carolina Lowcountry. After the decline of rice production in the mid 19th century, the site was strip-mined for phosphates and then left to return to woodlands.
At the turn of this century, the property was slated for residential development with a suburban, cul-de-sac character. The property was cleared and utilities installed, but the work was abandoned during the 2008 downturn. The development would have been disastrous, however, as homeowners would have found their properties uninsurable against flood. Much of the site is in a FEMA regulatory floodway, which disallows construction that would impede the floodwaters and worsen flooding upstream. The property lay fallow for a decade, while a citizen group advocated for the sale of land to the county parks commission.
Firm: Liollio Architecture in association with Bialosky Cleveland
Location: Summerville, SC
Photo: Keith Isaacs; © 2022 Seamon Whiteside
