Boeing: No immediate plans for property being acquired on its behalf in North Charleston
David Wren — The Post and Courier
A state agency is acquiring land for Boeing Co.'s 787 Dreamliner campus in North Charleston, but the aerospace giant says it has no immediate plans for the property.
Palmetto Railways, a division of the S.C. Commerce Department, filed a permit application this week with environmental regulators that would clear the way for acquisition of 19 acres near the intersection of South Aviation Avenue and International Boulevard.
That property is near the flightline where Boeing parks finished Dreamliners before they are delivered to customers.
The permit application states the property "will be used for operations in support of the adjoining Boeing facility." Boeing spokeswoman Jenny VanOss said "there are no immediate plans to use that tract."
Boeing is leasing more than 450 acres of land adjacent to its North Charleston campus with an eye toward future expansion. Analysts have speculated that Boeing might one day move all of its 787 production to the site, freeing up the Dreamliner's other assembly plant in Everett, Wash., for other projects. North Charleston also could be the production site for a new plane Boeing is considering that would fill a niche between current single-aisle and wide-body offerings.
For now, the property will remain vacant, VanOss said.
The 19 acres that Palmetto Railways wants to acquire is owned by the Charleston County Aviation Authority, which operates Charleston International Airport. Palmetto Railways bought 267 acres from the authority for $13.8 million in 2013 and then leased that property to Boeing for future expansion. The Boeing lease has options that could extend through 2063.
Palmetto Railways spokesman Chris Drummond said a portion of that property turned out to be unusable because it is in a "clear zone" designated by the Air Force. Palmetto Railways plans to give the clear zone property back to the airport authority in exchange for the 19 acres.
The permit application filed this week with the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control would, if approved, let the state-run railway acquire the property without having to assume liability for contamination that is believed to exist in the site's groundwater.
