Port Royal, Ports Authority relationship all but over

The S.C. Ports Authority effectively ended its relationship with the town of Port Royal on Wednesday, waiting only to collect the proceeds from the eventual sale of its port property in the town.

The Ports Authority board voted to reject a final lingering offer for the property on Battery Creek and directed staff to transfer control of the sale to the Department of Administration's General Services Division for public auction, per a state law passed last year. Money from the sale will still go to the Ports Authority, but the agency no longer has control of the process.

The move marks the end of the Ports Authority's nearly decade-long involvement in the sale of the former port, which was closed in 2004 and was initially required to sell by the end of 2006. The most recent of five contracts on the property was terminated Dec. 11.

"I think it's time to move on now," Ports Authority president and CEO Jim Newsome said. "I think we need to fully comply with the law, and the Ports Authority doesn't need to be in the non-operating real estate business."

Newsome said the real estate market played a part in keeping a deal from coming together sooner. He also said the Ports Authority was obligated throughout the process to its bond holders and to the appraised values.

"I think it's safe to say that big parcels of former operated port land do not make for easy appraisals," he said.

An offer still on the table from June was for two of the three parcels and was less than the 80 percent of appraised value required by law, Newsome said. That offer was passed over this summer in favor of a $15.4 million bid from Palmetto Alliance, which included Columbia developer Steve McNair.

That group ended the contract with the Ports Authority last week. The remaining offer would not have been fair to other potential buyers and would not have been able to close by the end of the year as mandated by state law, the board decided Wednesday.

General Services wil conduct a new appraisal on the property, which will then have to sell at auction for no less than 80 percent of that value.

Follow reporter Stephen Fastenau at twitter.com/IPBG_Stephen.

Related content:

• Port of Port Royal sale through again, Dec. 11, 2015
• Update: Potential Port of Port Royal buyers say high cost, insurance questions killed deal, Dec. 14, 2015
• $15-million offer accepted for Port of Port Royal property, June 17, 2015

This story was originally published December 16, 2015 at 5:53 PM with the headline "Port Royal, Ports Authority relationship all but over."