Committee approves city purchases to enable Avondale intersection realignment; one council member opposes

The Committee on Real Estate voted to authorize two land transactions that the city says are necessary to proceed with a planned realignment of the Avondale intersection, a project officials described as part of the larger Plan West Ashley redevelopment and a public-safety improvement.

Miss Copeland, who presented the items, told the committee the package includes a purchase from Avondale Holding Company and a separate purchase from the diocese that together clear the way to cut a new roadway alignment through an existing building and adjacent parking parcels. She said demolition would begin within about 10 days and that the county has plans submitted to DOT and is ready to proceed once the city secures the parcels.

"This is the product of an IGA with the county to improve the Avondale intersection," Miss Copeland said. She described a swap of small remnant parcels with private owners, a $445,000 purchase of roughly 0.12 acres from the diocese, and a plan to jointly begin demolition and right-of-way work.

Several council members stressed the project’s safety and redevelopment benefits. Councilman Appel said the realignment showed large potential gains for traffic operations, characterizing the improvement as moving the intersection from "something like an F to an A." Appel said the alignment would reduce the number of closely spaced traffic signals and ease congestion on Savannah Highway.

But Councilman Greg objected to the city using its general fund for property acquisitions tied to what he described as county roadway work. "I just don't understand why we're spending 3 and a half million dollars to buy this property for a road project for the county," Greg said. "The county should be funding this." Miss Copeland and other supporters responded that the county’s half-cent sales tax program and a longer-standing intergovernmental agreement framed the collaboration, and that the city’s participation advances Plan West Ashley's broader redevelopment goals.

Michael Mathis, participating remotely, said the Avondale work is one of three intersections being improved as part of a larger corridor program and that the three projects together were "in the range of $50,000,000, I believe."

After debate, the committee approved the measures. The committee’s recorded votes in the discussion included a recorded "nay" from Councilman Greg and a stated abstention by Councilman Waring; the chair called the items passed by voice vote.

Next steps: staff said they will proceed with property closings and demolition as outlined in the agreements and coordinate with the county and DOT on construction sequencing.