Johns Island company plans boat facility

Johns Island yacht repair company Ross Marine plans to add a dry-stack marina, pier and floating docks to its Stono River center, promising increased boat storage in an area many say desperately needs it. The proposed marina, now under review by the state's office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, would add space for up to about 200 boats. The plan also calls for adding about 50 slips in the water once the dry-stack marina is built. Ross Marine General Manager Paul Speights said that if the state gives its approval this summer, construction can begin in the fall. Plans are to have the new marina off Swygert Boulevard ready for business next spring. "We saw dry-stack as being more community-friendly and providing services people need," Speights said. "We hope this is a win-win for everybody." State officials have advertised the permit request to give the public the opportunity to weigh in on the project. If more than 20 people respond during the comment period, which runs through May 28, then a public hearing will be held. So far, officials said, no one has responded. Nancy Vinson, water-quality program director for the Coastal Conservation League, said the proposed marina is in the Intracoastal Waterway, which gets heavy boat traffic. Because of that, she said, she didn't foresee any protest from her organization. "Locations of marinas are of utmost importance," she said. "It doesn't raise any huge red flags with me as something we would oppose."The new dry-stack center comes as an increasing number of boat slips are being sold, like condominiums, to individuals, causing an already tight boat storage market to shrink even more. Marinas at Wild Dunes, Toler's Cove and Ripley's Point are selling slips, as is Bohicket Marina, are now selling slips. The Ashley Marina, under new management, recently announced it, too, would sell slips. Robbie Freeman, Charleston City Marina managing partner, said new boat storage facilities have not come on line fast enough to keep up with the growth of recreational boaters. Ross Marine's proposed new marina, he said, also would be a boon for that end of Johns Island, which he said lacks many marinas, particularly ones featuring dry storage that cater to boats ranging from about 15 to 30 feet in length. "We live in a boating community," Freeman said. "There haven't been a lot of new facilities developed in recent years. We're playing catch-up." Ross Marine once handled mostly Navy repair work. Since the former Charleston Naval Base closed, Speights said, the company has been working to refocus. With scores of new residents moving to Johns Island, he said the dry dock storage for recreational boaters just made good sense.

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