DI News History - April 19, 2018
TEN YEARS AGO – Local Cub Scouts learn the basics of construction at downtown Daniel Island development
In the April 17, 2008 issue of The Daniel Island News, a feature article spotlighted a local Cub Scout troop (Den 9, Pack 11) that received a lesson in the procedures and mechanics for constructing commercial space courtesy of Mt. Pleasant-based Choate Construction Company and a Daniel Island developer, the James Doran Company. The group toured Building 1000 of the Phase II development within downtown Daniel Island along Island Park Drive.
Also in the news, the Rotary Club of Daniel Island was moving full steam ahead in preparation for its 2nd annual Charity Duck Race, an event that raised $90,000 for a variety of community non-profits the previous year. After the inaugural event in 2007, the Rotary was able to donate to a number of local causes, including the Lowcountry Food Bank, Operation Home, and Donate Life South Carolina. The Charleston Duck Race continues to be a huge success and raises thousands of dollars for charities. This year it will take place on Friday, June 8, but is moving to its new location at Smythe Lake.
FIVE YEARS AGO – Enhancements to Seven Farms Drive proposed
A hot topic in the April 17, 2013 issue of The Daniel Island News was the proposed angled street parking on Daniel Island Drive. Dave Williams, president of the Daniel Island Neighborhood Association (DINA) at the time, was leading an effort to improve Seven Farms Drive by proposing the addition of angled parking, at least on one side of the street, and/or center medians featuring flowers and other plantings.
“From the Neighborhood Association standpoint, we are absolutely in favor of anything that makes that area more walkable, more user-friendly and is in line with the aesthetics of what Daniel Island is trying to do,” said Williams. “People are starting to talk about it. The more everybody talks about it, the better it is for everybody. It needs to be a conversation that is front and center for the developers and the powers that be.”
Williams pitched the concept to both Daniel Island Company representatives and city officials. Matt Sloan, president of the Daniel Island Company, said he was intrigued by the idea of slowing traffic down on Seven Farms Drive, but any improvements would have to be made by the City of Charleston, the entity with jurisdiction over the property. In addition, all of the major utilities that feed the island are located in the grassy areas off the roadway, so the curb-to-curb width is fixed and cannot be altered without “extraordinary expense,” he added.