Cruise terminal delayed

A new terminal for Charleston cruise ship passengers is not expected to be ready for operation until the second half of 2013, about nine months later than the previous estimate.

The State Ports Authority attributed the delay to its decision to voluntarily submit the project to the city's Board of Architectural Review. That three-step approval process began last summer, and a meeting to consider a final vote on the plan has not been scheduled.

The $35 million cruise terminal planned for Union Pier on Charleston's eastern waterfront involves renovating an existing warehouse on the site. The building, near Laurens Street, would replace an aging passenger terminal farther south on Union Pier, near the foot of Market Street.

A 2011 lawsuit targeting Carnival Cruise Lines, which offers round-trip cruises from Charleston on the Fantasy, seeks on behalf of the Coastal Conservation League, Charleston Preservation Society and the Charles Towne and Ansonborough neighborhood associations to prevent the use of Union Pier as a passenger terminal.

The city and the SPA have intervened on Carnival's behalf, and the case is awaiting a state Supreme Court hearing.

The legal dispute has not delayed the work, said SPA public relations manager Allison Skipper.

"By voluntarily entering the city's BAR process, which has provided valuable input, we adjusted that schedule," Skipper said Friday. "We're still in that process."

The architectural review is limited to the outside appearance of the building, which is on a port property that until recently was used to stage and load automobiles and heavy equipment onto cargo ships.

The BAR approved conceptual plans for the proposed terminal in August, and granted preliminary approval in November. It now is dealing with small details.

"There were several things they wanted to know about including, louver treatments and the materials we would be using," Skipper said. "Our team is designing this with the expectation of having to prepare bid documents, so they really have to get down into those details.

The city's planning director, Tim Keane, said it's not uncommon to need some time between preliminary and final reviews of the BAR.

"There wasn't anything too significant left to deal with, no major refinements to be done," he said. "The thing is, when you go from preliminary to final you're essentially going from conceptual drawings to what could be construction drawings."

Meanwhile, Skipper said crews are working to repair and reinforce pilings that support the Union Pier building, which sits above the water.