Charleston residents could soon regain access to a contested neighborhood green space on the eastern side of the Ashley River, as city leaders move forward with a $1 million offer to settle a nearly 20-year legal and administrative standoff over Longborough Park.
Under a proposal advanced during an Oct. 26 Committee on Real Estate meeting, the city would acquire roughly 70 to 80 percent of the waterfront property near the Wagner Terrace neighborhood, including its crabbing dock, according to Malena Dinwoodie, the city’s real estate management director.
Subdividing the Waterfront Property
The Longborough Owner’s Association currently holds the title to the park site and would be responsible for subdividing the land under the terms of the city’s proposal. Once the parcel is split, the association would transfer ownership of the larger portion to Charleston in exchange for the $1 million payout.
As part of the financial agreement, the city would issue $25,000 in earnest money to the homeowner’s association. This initial sum is earmarked to cover survey work necessary to have the critical line redrawn. According to city officials, the homeowner’s association intends to use its retained portion of the property to build a private dock.
The deal includes strict contingencies. If the homeowner’s association fails to secure a subdivision plat approval within six months, or if it cannot obtain the permits required for its private dock, the agreement terminates and the city recovers its $25,000 earnest deposit.
Two Decades of Legal Entanglements
If accepted, the $1 million acquisition would finally resolve a bitter ownership battle that stretches back two decades. The dispute ignited in 2006 when the homeowner’s association sued the Charleston-based developer, The Beach Company, alleging that the firm had represented the park as private property while the association paid property taxes on the site.
The city first attempted to intervene in 2015 by voting to seize the property through eminent domain. At the time, then-Joe Riley maintained that the city had operated under an oral agreement with The Beach Company since 2001 ensuring the park and crabbing dock remained open for public use. That municipal push faltered later in 2015 when a circuit judge ruled that the property legally belonged to the homeowner’s association. Tensions escalated further in 2017 when the association posted a “No Trespassing” sign at the park entrance.
A subsequent compromise in 2019 similarly collapsed. City and homeowner association leaders had agreed on a $500,000 plan that would build one dock for public use and a separate dock exclusively for neighborhood residents. That project never materialized.
The Committee on Real Estate approved the city’s latest proposal on Oct. 26, setting the stage for a renewed attempt to open the majority of Longborough Park to the wider public.
