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WEST ASHLEY PRAISED IN STATE OF THE CITY ADDRESS
State of the City address touts local improvements as signs of City's health
 
west ashley state of the city joseph p. riley jr. west of warren cobb
In his 2010 State of the City address, Mayor Joe Riley highlighted renovations for several of West Ashley's shopping hubs as signs of revitalization of the City's suburbs
 
By Warren Cobb
Community Editor
 
Last week, Charleston Mayor Joseph P. Riley Jr. gave his 34th State of the City address. In it, he highlighted several West Ashley projects as important leaps forward in business, recreation, and crime prevention for the city and the West Ashley community.
 
Riley pointed to the rebirth of the Avondale Point area as one of the city's renewed assets, which he said was one of the first suburban business districts in the state. He also pointed to the Old Charlestowne District (the Northbridge area), the South Windermere Shopping Center, and the St. Andrews Shopping Center as major renovations for our side of town.
 
He then pointed out the improvements the city's police force has achieved. "Under the outstanding leadership of Chief Greg Mullen and the hard work of our 407 police officers, we achieved a 16 percent decrease in violent crime last year," said the Mayor. "Our walk and talk program has police officers out of their automobiles a substantial portion of the time, walking throughout the communities engaging with the citizens." Riley said he and Chief Mullen are working with members of the S.C. General Assembly to try to pass stronger laws to keep suspects out on probation out of trouble, and to keep violent offenders in jail until their court dates.
 
The Mayor spent a considerable amount of time discussing drainage issues in Charleston. While much of that conversation dealt with flooding on the Crosstown Expressway, including working with U.S. Senator Lindsay Graham and Rep. Jim Clyburn to get a grant from the federal government to pay for it. Riley said he would not rest until this serious drainage problem is addressed, and that he expected to have improvements to drainage in Shadowmoss under construction this year.
 
In traffic and transportation news, the Mayor discussed widening Bees Ferry Road, and further construction on the West Ashley Circle, both to begin this year. "I am also working hard to continue out progress on creating a commuter rail system that would connect Summerville with downtown Charleston," he said.
 
Riley also highlighted the continuing improvements to the West Ashley Greenway, as well as the City's upcoming work to retrofit the Ashley River Bridge to allow safer bike and pedestrian access. "We will also be developing a master plan for a series of connected bike and pedestrian systems throughout out community," he said.
 
In parks and rec. news, Riley pointed to the completion of the Bees Landing Recreation Center (due to open any day now). "This facility will have ball fields, tennis courts, a beautiful gym and multi-purpose facility, a tot lot for kids a park for their dogs, and more," he said.
 
 
Delivering To The Young Business Community
 
 
Perhaps the most exciting news in the State of the City address was Mayor Riley's announcement that the Charleston Flagship concept would be coming to West Ashley. Flagship is a City-sponsored program to provide a full-service, professional environment to small business upstarts to allow the business owner to focus entirely on developing and growing their respective enterprise without having to worry about long-term leases and office services. Currently, the Flagship, located on East Bay Street downtown, offers residents, mostly technology and life sciences companies, enterprise class business services at rates that are cost-effective and terms that are flexible. It is also home to the City of Charleston's Business Development office. (See www.charlestonflagship.com for more information.)
 
Ernest Andrade is the City of Charleston's director of Business Development, as well as the executive director for the Charleston Digital Corridor. He says the Flagship's success in luring and fostering new businesses in Charleston led to the City's decision to recreate the program in West Ashley, which he says would provide an additional location, or a closer location to where future small business owners would live.
 
"The City's business office is absolutely interested in supporting young entrepreneurs," says Andrade. "Eighty percent of the job creation in the community comes from the community. We have to operate and adapt to the flexibility these young businesses need."
 
The City is looking at several locations for the new program, but declined to specify where. He would say as the downtown Flagship is branded as a place for new technology-based companies, the West Ashley location might be geared more toward those working in the creative fields. The concepts would be the same, though: to provide a connected environment to help drive Charleston's knowledge-based economy.
 
Knowledge-based economies are based solely on the production, distribution, and the use of knowledge. These are businesses that deal in information technology, as well as software design, new media, and supporting companies.
 
The downtown Flagship office building is leased by the City of Charleston. The City also paid for the building's renovation. The Digital Corridor Foundation paid for the furnishings and some of the technology installation. The West Ashley site would get a similar deal.
 
Andrade says the West Ashley site could be open within six months.