The City of North Charleston, S.C., has announced plans for the largest and most comprehensive urban redevelopment project in the U.S., with clearly established goals to showcase long-term sustainability. The project is named "Noisette" for famed French botanist Phillippe Noisette, whose name also graces a saltwater creek that runs through the heart of the area. The city and project developer, John L. Knott Jr., CEO of the Noisette Company, have chosen Burt Hill Kosar Rittelmann Associates to serve as master planners for the project.

The 2,800-acre project will include a three-quarter mile waterfront park at a former naval base on the Cooper River, a connecting 200+-acre urban park surrounding Noisette Creek, 7,000 new housing units, 3,000 rehabilitated housing units, and 6 to 8 million square feet of commercial and retail space. "The Noisette Project will serve as a national benchmark for smart growth," says Charleston Mayor R. Keith Summey. "We will offer an intelligent alternative to urban sprawl, we will demonstrate that renewal without gentrification is possible, and we will make the city's beautiful waterfront accessible to every North Charleston resident."

Sustainable guidelines
According to the architect, Phase One of the project, which entails comprehensive master planning, will take an estimated 18 to 24 months. The development master plan will draw its cues from the major elements of the city's 1996 Comprehensive Plan and will include sustainable development guidelines for:
• Existing and proposed zoning, land utilization, mix of building types, and public space elements
• Building density elements, including floor area ratio (FAR), height, and massing
• Circulation for vehicles, bicycles, and pedestrians, as well as parking
• Utilities
• Ecological restoration strategies
• Landscape standards
• Waterfront park concepts and guidelines
• Storm-water management practices
• Development phasing.

"The Noisette Project represents the culmination of 25 years of pioneering sustainability principles at Burt Hill," says Harry Gordon, FAIA, principal in charge and nationally renowned expert on green design. "John Knott has served as a trendsetter in this arena, and we look forward to the same level of success that we achieved with him at Dewees Island."

"Urban sprawl, smart growth, and gentrification have been hot topics in recent years, both locally and nationally," adds Summey. "We intend to develop a model for addressing those issues and establishing North Charleston as a leader in sustainability. We will leave a legacy, and a better city, for our children to enjoy."

Copyright 2001 The American Institute of Architects. All rights reserved.