Green in grand style

You could call it one of Gary Santos' life mottos: "The answer is always 'no' until you ask."

Ten years ago, despite scoffs and dismissals from some peers, Mount Pleasant Town Councilman Gary Santos took it upon himself to ask for a waterfront park.

On Jan. 20, 1999, Santos wrote a letter to the S.C. Department of Transportation's state highway engineer Don Freeman asking about the possibility of land at the base of the then-future Cooper River bridge, today's Arthur Ravenel Jr. Bridge, being donated to Mount Pleasant for a "passive park and green space for public access to the Cooper River."

Santos said: "Currently, there are very few places on the Cooper River that have public access. ... It is my opinion that we desperately need better public access to the Cooper River, as well as additional green spaces and passive parks for our citizens."

On Feb. 11, 1999, Freeman responded, "We appreciate you bringing to our attention the idea of using the area under the proposed bridge as green space or a public park. Green areas and public parks have been allowed and worked well in similar situations statewide and the department is very interested in working with the town of Mount Pleasant to provide a park under the new

Cooper River bridge."

Thus, the seed was planted for the 14-acre Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park.

After years of waiting for the new bridge to be built, the old bridges to be demolished, planning for the new park and then construction, the park officially opens to the public at 4 p.m. Friday.

The town will celebrate the park, which features a 1,250-foot-long pier, 6,200-square-foot visitor center, 8,100-square-foot Sweetgrass Cultural Arts Pavilion, War Memorial and playground, in grand style Friday and Sunday. (Saturday's Fourth of July festivities shift to nearby Patriots Point.)

Events 4-11 p.m. Friday (see box for more details) will include a festival with children's activities and music by the East Coast Party Band. Festivities return to the park at 2 p.m. Sunday with the dedication of the sweetgrass center and conclude at 6:30 p.m. Sunday with the unveiling of the War Memorial statue.

Santos, who is scheduled to speak during a dedication at 6:30 p.m. Friday, says he is proud to be part of the park's creation.

"I can't describe the feeling," he says. "Every time I go down there, I well up a little bit."

And yet he still isn't satisfied with the final result, particularly the effort to remove a greenspace, with a portion being a dog park, from a plan that was created by a citizens committee.

"There's still hope," he says, referring to a now "barren, treeless 5 acres" being committed to green space, rather than a possible building.

Naysayers may underestimate Santos' tenacity.

"The pessimists of the world fire me up; they motivate me," says Santos.