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After some last-minute funding maneuvers, Charleston approved the terms of a construction contract for a long-awaited bike and pedestrian bridge connecting downtown and West Ashley.

It now awaits federal approval before the mayor can sign off on it and work can begin.

As construction firms submitted proposals for the project this summer, local leaders became aware that their most recent cost projections were insufficient.

That’s when the estimate ballooned from $42 million about a year ago to about $74 million today. As a result, city officials had to secure more funding from county, state and federal agencies. In addition to dipping into the city’s hospitality tax funds, the Medical University of South Carolina chipped in too.

In total, the city’s contribution to the project via hospitality tax funds stands at $13 million.

Construction bidders attributed the higher-than-expected cost projections to rising interest rates, as well as increased labor and material costs. The winning bid came in at $73.8 million.

City leaders had considered scaling the project back when the new estimates were calculated but Councilman Mike Seekings said South Carolina Transportation Secretary Christy Hall was determined to find additional help from all levels of government to bring the project across the finish line.

“Secretary Hall put her money where her mouth is,” he said.

With Hall’s help securing an additional $30 million committed from various agencies, the city was able to move forward with a contract with civil contractor, Superior Construction.

Charleston City Council voted 11-1 on Sept. 26 to authorize the mayor to sign off on the contract once it gets approval from the Federal Highway Administration. Councilwoman Caroline Parker voted against the authorization and Councilman William Dudley Gregorie was absent.

If all goes according to plans, the contract will be signed within the next few weeks and design work can begin. Signing the contract locks down a “guaranteed maximum price” from the contractor, which can only fluctuate within a certain percentage of the total project cost. Any additional overrun would need special approval from City Council.

Design is expected to take about one year and construction about three years, said Jason Kronsberg, Charleston parks director and the project manager for the effort.

There should only be minor disruptions to road and boat traffic during construction, he added. It will tie into the existing West Ashley Greenway and cross the Ashley just south of the U.S. Highway 17 vehicular bridges.

Despite the cost estimate struggles, city leaders struck an optimistic tone saying that the project will be transformative for the city.

Editorials

“It’s a game changer,” Kronsberg said. “Its a significant infrastructure project that will be just as successful as the Ravenel Bridge bike and pedestrian lane when it was first implemented ... If you build it, they will come.”

Councilman Peter Shahid, who is running for mayor, said the project is not only a recreational amenity but also an important piece of the city’s transportation network. It will provide commuters who travel on foot or ride bikes a safe crossing to the city’s employment hub and also could relieve some traffic on the existing vehicular bridges in the same area.

Bearcat was supposed to open last spring, but owner George Kovach isn’t lamenting the past. Rather, the former Chicago fine dining chef is looking forward to the future when the new restaurant’s dining room opens Nov. 14 at 25 Magnolia Road in West Ashley.

Avondale diners can already get a taste of what Kovach and head chef John Coleman are cooking at Bearcat’s bar, now open at the same address with smoked chicken yakitori, grilled Steamboat Creek oysters with creamed leeks and more. It’s hours of operation are 5 p.m.-midnight Tuesday through Saturday.

“Now’s where the work begins,” Kovach said. “It’s all about getting everything refined and making sure that the guest experience is the best we can provide.”

An alumnus of Michelin-starred Chicago restaurants Elizabeth Restaurant, Ever, Acadia and Band of Bohemia, Kovach moved from Chicago to Charleston at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic with the goal of turning an elevated pop-up he hosted in a friend’s apartment and local dining establishments into a full-service restaurant.

After months of delays, that goal finally became a reality Oct. 27, when the 30-seat bar area next to Bearcat’s dining room held a soft opening. Similar to the lounges inside high-end tasting menu restaurants — like three-Michelin star restaurant Jean Georges’ adjoining Nougatine bar in New York City — Bearcat’s bar is serving its own small menu of shareable plates and cocktails, including a boozy Vietnamese iced coffee and frozen strawberry daiquiri with white rum and green chartreuse.

Coleman, Bearcat’s head chef, has worked in multiple well known local kitchens, including Chubby Fish and Parcel 32, where he served as executive chef before the restaurant announced it would not return to service after the state’s dine-in ban was lifted amid the pandemic. Coleman, who met Kovach through a mutual friend, has lived in the Avondale neighborhood for five years.

A woman and her son say more should have been done after she was without a landline for over one month.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - A woman and her son say more should have been done after she was without a landline for over one month.

Queen Little has lived in the North Forest Acres neighborhood in West Ashley for over 40 years.

Her phone line has been out since June 5. Queen suspects it was cut during construction work on Playground Road.

For the last six weeks, Queen’s son, Darrin Little, has been persistently calling their phone carrier, AT&T.

“They gave me a date for when it would be on, that day came and went and it wasn’t on,” Darrin said. “Called again, called again, called again, kept getting dates and dates and dates.”

Queen has underlying health issues, and Darrin said not having a working landline in her house is dangerous.

“She needs a means of communicating with me, with my brothers, in an emergency she needs that phone,” Darrin said.

Queen said she keeps minutes on her cell phone but rarely uses it. She said she feels more comfortable with a permanent, dependable option, like her landline.

“I’m a senior citizen, I’m 78 next month. I need things like that,” Queen said. “And especially having COPD, I could have a flare-up any time.”

One day after Live 5 News reached out to AT&T, phone access was restored to Queen’s household.

The phone rang for the first time in Queen’s household in over a month during a Live 5 News interview with Darrin and Queen. It was AT&T calling to let them know phone access was restored.

“We’ve been calling for weeks, and nothing has happened until Live 5 reached out to them, and now ironically, the phone’s on,” Darrin said. “Our conversation didn’t matter, but when you guys reached out to them, it mattered.”

Queen said she has had a lonely month without a phone, describing her home as a “ghost house.”

“They fixed it today because y’all came here and I appreciate y’all doing it, but it should never have been that way because I’m a paying customer,” Queen said.

It wasn’t only Queen that went without a landline.

Betty Poaches lives a couple of streets over from Queen, and also went without landline access for six weeks.

Poaches has lived in the North Forest Acres neighborhood since 1959. She is not able to use a cell phone because of her hearing aids.

Her daughter said over the last six weeks she’s worried about her mother’s safety.

“Without her having a phone I came here every day, because she had no protection,” her daughter, Regina Gamble, said.

A spokesperson from AT&T provided the following statement:

We’ve restored home phone service to this customer following repairs to a section of our cable that experienced water damage during recent heavy rains. We apologize for the delay.

Copyright 2023 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Just a few turns off Savannah Highway, as the car dealerships and fast-food joints give way to expansive views of saltwater and marsh, a one-story home is nestled among a thicket of wildlife.

Four massive live oak trees anchor the lawn. Bird feeders dangle from the heavy branches. A gravel path snakes its way through nearly 100 species of flowering plants, trees, grasses, shrubs and more. Bees, butterflies and other animals flap and crawl, happy to call this place home.

Elliotte Quinn has created an oasis in his front yard.

Quinn, who moved with his family to Edgewater Park three years ago, is part of a growing number of property owners choosing to embrace native planting. The technique uses specific plant species to attract native pollinators, ultimately creating a balanced food web.

Proponents argue native plants help battle erosion, reduce air pollution and promote biodiversity. Pesticides and lawn mowers are no longer needed as the ecosystem begins to keep itself in check.

Native yards vastly differ depending on the gardener. But they almost never fit the mold of a traditional American lawn — grassy and weedless, with a few evergreen bushes framing the front, said David Manger, owner of Roots and Shoots, a native plant nursery in West Ashley.

A native yard, particularly to the untrained eye, can look wild and unkempt, Manger said. Some property owners find themselves fighting community associations, disapproving neighbors or government ordinances to keep their chosen aesthetic.

Quinn can attest. The father of three, who works during the day as a lawyer specializing in construction defects, has received two complaints in under a year from Charleston County’s zoning and planning department.

Code enforcement officers told him the front yard violated an ordinance concerning weeds and rank vegetation. The most recent complaint — a June 7 letter shared with The Post and Courier — threatened a summons and hefty fine if he didn’t get rid of the “overgrowth.”

Both times, after Quinn explained his choice to cultivate the yard with native plants, county officials dropped the case.

Columnists

‘Quinn’s Meadow’

Quinn’s passion for native planting exploded during summer 2020, in the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic. He started a vegetable garden with his young daughters, spurred by a childhood interest in wildlife and conservation.

They grew tomatoes and pumpkins, but worms began destroying the plants. Not wanting to spray the garden with pesticides, Quinn began reading about natural alternatives. He learned what he could plant to attract predator insects.

“That kind of spiraled off into something of an obsession with native plants,” he said.

Quinn ripped up the grass in his front yard, tossed out some seeds and bedded a few plants. He eventually hired someone to turn over the topsoil, put down compost and create gravel walkways.

The garden — which his daughters affectionately call “Quinn’s Meadow” — grew from there.

Green is the dominant color across the yard. But if a visitor sat on the front porch swing where Quinn likes to spend early mornings, they’d notice pockets of flowers interspersed with grass and fruit trees. They might hear the chirp of a painted bunting, delighting in its feathery rainbow of reds, blues and greens.

Manger, who used to lead the Charleston Permaculture Guild, said the number of people committing to sustainable agriculture has increased over the years. He’s noticed property owners beginning to steer away from typical yard spaces.

Edgewater Park, where Quinn lives, doesn’t have a homeowners association. But Manger said more people are coming to Roots and Shoots for advice on how to use native plants and work around stringent rules.

A compromise, for instance, could be to cover half of the yard with native plants and leave a small mowing strip of grass at the front, Manger said. This signals to neighbors the garden is both maintained and intentionally designed.

Several hundred new homes are in the works on the edge of Charleston.

In two recent submittals to the city, Mungo Homes plans to build more than 800 homes in the 3,000-acre Long Savannah development in West Ashley.

The Irmo-based builder recently submitted plans for 568 houses on 156 acres on Bear Swamp Road off Bees Ferry Road.

The proposal comes after the builder submitted plans earlier this year to build 237 homes on about 56 acres at the end of Barons Drive.

A representative of Mungo Homes did not immediately respond for comment.

Developers have rights to build 4,500 homes in total on the property on the edge of Charleston and Dorchester counties.

In 2021, builders and environmental groups settled a challenge to the development to avoid some wetlands destruction and allow for natural water flow by removing older roadbeds used years ago for logging and phosphate mining.

The project also includes conserved green space, and a $250,000 donation by developers to a trust to fund water-management projects in the three drainage basins that the development covers.

More multifamily

A new apartment development is in the works for Johns Island.

Ninety affordable multifamily housing units are slated for 9.35 acres at 1725 River Road next to the entrance to Fenwick Hall Plantation, according to plans presented to the city of Charleston.

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The property is owned by the city, which paid $3.3 million for it in 2020.

Storing stuff

A Mount Pleasant-based real estate investment company recently acquired two self-storage properties in the Southeast.

Ziff Real Estate Partners bought a 44,875-square-foot climate-controlled facility in Anderson. The site, previously called Pearman Dairy Self Storage, will be called StoreEase.

Real Estate

The company also purchased a ground-up development tract in Summerfield, Fla., near The Villages master-planned community. When completed, the storage site will be 77,625 square feet with both climate- and non-climate-controlled units. It, too, will be a StoreEase facility.

Finding a home

The Mount Pleasant Chamber of Commerce now has a physical office for the first time.

The pro-business group has partnered with Pinnacle Financial Partners to lease a 2,000-square-foot space that’s designed to grow staff, hold meetings and have some events at 534 Johnnie Dodds Blvd.

Boom & Balance

Chamber president Jennifer Maxwell said the organization has aspired to have a physical presence in the town for several years.

“This is crucial as part of our plan to continue to grow and support the businesses and community East of the Cooper,” she said.