Demetre Park
Coordinates: 32°45′11″N 79°55′03″W / 32.7530341°N 79.9176139°W
| Milton Peter Demetre Park | |
|---|---|
| Location | Wampler Drive, Charleston, South Carolina |
| Area | 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) |
| Created | 2000 |
| Operated by | City of Charleston |
Milton Peter Demetre Park is a municipal park in Charleston, South Carolina formerly known as Sunrise Park.
Milton Demetre owned a spit of land which provided views across Charleston Harbor of the Battery. During the 1960s, Demetre obtained permits and filled his waterfront lot with dirt, a practice which was later outlawed. In 1970, the U.S. Army Corp of Engineers ordered Demetre to stop filling the waterfront property, and litigation resulted. Eventually in 1975, a federal judge ruled that the fill dirt could stay but limited the use of the land to Demetre's stated intent of a marina or boat dock. In 1990, Demetre sold the land to the City of Charleston for $500,000 and donated the remaining value of the land (1.6 million) on the condition that it be converted into a park with certain agreed upon amenities within ten years and that the park be dedicated to Demetre. When the ten year deadline approached, the city installed a makeshift floating dock without a permit and also placed a marker dedicating the park to Demetre. Demetre claimed that the work did not satisfy the conditions of the sale, and he sued to have the property (then valued at $3.6 million) returned to him based on the reverter agreement in the deed.[1]
The lawsuit settled in 2007 with the city agreeing to a timetable for certain improvements including the construction of a pier. The park has a fishing pier, two small sandy riverfront beaches, marshes, a covered picnic area, small pond, field of green grass and the beginnings of a hiking trail. The 190-foot fishing pier extending into the harbor opened in February 2009. The pier leads to a 20-by-20-foot pier head and 40-foot floating dock. Other lesser projects include steps leading to the beach areas and an automatic gate that opens the parking area 6 a.m.-9 p.m. daily. The park improvements were built with $450,000 approved by Charleston City Council for the only city-owned waterfront park on James Island.[2]
Notes
- ↑ "Charleston, ex-landowner feud over waterfront site". Spartanburg Herald-Tribune. July 6, 2000. p. B2.
- ↑ Edward C. Fennell (Aug 13, 2009). "Jewel on the harbor". Charleston Post & Courier. p. A8. Retrieved Nov 26, 2012.