East Bay housing idea
For 20 years, I have driven to work on East Bay Street. I’m not involved in real estate in any capacity, but I have an idea about how to bring more affordable housing to downtown Charleston.
Charleston has a rare opportunity to turn a federal property into a lasting civic asset. The U.S. Postal Service facility at 557 East Bay St. occupies one of the peninsula’s most valuable parcels. Rather than leaving that potential untapped, the city should propose a structured swap: Assist the Postal Service in relocating to a modern, lower-cost facility in an industrial zone, and repurpose the East Bay Street site for historic, mixed-income housing with ground-floor retail and public space.
This concept holds because it doesn’t take from the Postal Service — it moves it to a site better suited to logistics, with lower maintenance burdens and lower real estate costs — and Charleston gains a landmark parcel for potential workforce housing, senior units and pedestrian-oriented amenities. With early coordination on preservation, design and public benefit, the project can honor Charleston’s architectural character while expanding housing opportunities.
If the federal government designates the property as surplus, the city and nonprofit partners also could pursue a Title V homeless-housing grant for some of the units, alongside deeply affordable and mixed-income housing for teachers, first responders and hospitality workers.
Mayor William Cogswell has committed to leadership on housing. Let this be a flagship deal. I urge Charleston City Council, our congressional delegation and Postal Service officials to convene a working group within 60 days to evaluate relocation options, preserve historic integrity and negotiate a fair land swap to move this forward.
Charleston thrives when we pair heritage with innovation. East Bay Street can lead the way.
JODY MCAULEY
Charleston
Fiscal alarm is ringing
I read with great interest — and growing concern — Les Rubin’s Oct. 2 commentary, “US faces bleak economic future. What’s the solution?”
As a longtime observer of economic trends, I agree with Rubin’s warning: “We are on an unsustainable path.” For 20 years, I’ve followed respected economists and business forecasters who see the same troubling indicators.
As an executive coach and former Vistage CEO facilitator, I first heard these warnings from Brian and Alan Beaulieu, top economic speakers to business leaders nationwide. In recent years, they have predicted that a second Great Depression will occur in the 2030s. At first, it seemed far-fetched. Today, it feels prophetic.
This is not a partisan issue. It’s about fiscal responsibility and courage — qualities that only a few political leaders display. Every credible source points to one clear truth: We must be prepared.
Rubin’s website, mainstreeteconomics.org, offers fact-based information and an easy way to contact those who represent us in government. His proposal — a bipartisan, expert-driven commission to restore fiscal sustainability and educate Americans — deserves broad support.
If we ignore this reality, our children and grandchildren will pay the price. It’s time to wake up, speak up and act before it’s too late.
ELAINE MORRIS
Seabrook Island
Rein in development
Someone must stop the development in and around the Lowcountry.
I love Summerville and have lived here for almost 40 years. It feels like the town is overwhelmed due to the increase in people and traffic from developers clearing the land and building as many homes as possible.