The Old Powerhouse was built in the
Beaux Arts style, and when restored will become an important
cultural destination.
Riverfront Park will serve to reconnect the community to the
marshlands of Noisette Creek and the broad vistas of the Cooper
River.
Montague Avenue is experiencing a renaissance, with new businesses
locating in the existing buildings, including restaurants, a
small grocer, and some small shops. |
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What is Noisette?
Noisette is a 3,000 acre city-within-a-city.
It is an area of North Charleston, South Carolina targeted for
integrated restoration as a sustainable community – modeled
on the belief that cities must be equally responsive to social needs, environmental
responsibility and economic vitality (the philosophy embodied by people, planet,
prosperity).
The Noisette community boundaries are roughly those that defined North Charleston
when that community was incorporated in 1973. However, in the last 30 years,
through annexation and “green-field” subdivision development, North
Charleston has expanded into one of the state’s largest cities. Today,
the Noisette area represents only a small corner of its parent city.
What’s Noisette like today?
Located beside the Cooper River, the main tributary of the South’s most
famous harbor, the Noisette area supports a racially and economically diverse
population of 13,000 people, plus a daily influx of thousands of workers, shoppers,
students and others. It includes a wide mix of neighborhoods, retail areas, industries,
schools, municipal buildings and parks, many of which have remained relatively
stable in profile despite the rapid development of the Charleston/North Charleston
metropolitan area.
For example, historic Noisette neighborhoods like Liberty Hill – founded
in 1878 as a community of freed slaves – include many homes occupied by
fifth generation owners. The layout of Park Circle, a mixed-use recreation center
designed in the late 19th century, still reflects its original vision as a leisurely
melting pot for residents and visitors. The East Montague Avenue business district
looks much as it did in the days of two-dollar haircuts.
Other assets of interest include a network of tidal creeks, marshes and protected
wetlands bordering the Cooper River. There’s also a range of well-preserved
architectural structures and details, especially on property developed by the
U.S. Navy. Their engineers arrived in 1901 to build a major base and shipyard,
then the Navy’s collection of residential and industrial structures was
vacated during the base closures of 1995. That base closure was the trigger for
development of the Noisette concept.
Who’s behind the Noisette project?
In a unique public-private partnership, the Noisette Company and the City of
North Charleston teamed up in the late 1990s to revitalize the Noisette area.
In exchange for the right to purchase 400 acres of old Navy base property at
the city-appriased fair market value – a
small portion of the land promised to the city after the Navy’s departure – Noisette
Company principal John Knott agreed to launch a master planning effort on an
unprecedented scale.
The master plan would:
Outline Noisette Company plans for the development of their proprietary section
of the old Navy base, and
help guide the city’s efforts to redevelop the adjacent 2,600 acres of
private residential neighborhoods, private commercial structures, and municipal
property.
Contracting with two of the country’s premier architectural and land planning
firms, and in consultation with an international group of environmental, social
and professional organizations, Knott’s team created an outline for restoration
of a healthy, sustainable, human-scale community.
The plan seeks to preserve historic architectural styles, neighborhood diversity
and the area’s unique social fabric. It also works to restore environmental
stability and beauty, attract jobs, improve services like education and healthcare,
reduce dependence on car travel, promote recreation, eliminate the foundations
of crime and poverty, and strengthen the sense of pride many North Charleston
resident feel toward their community.
After years of development, community input and revisions, the master plan was
presented to the City of North Charleston in December 2003. It was reviewed in
community meetings, neighborhood gatherings and private one-on-one sessions.
And it was accepted by the City as satisfaction of the Noisette Company’s
contractual agreement in early 2004. |
