MeadWestvaco to buy back Watson Hill land

MeadWestvaco Corp. said it is buying back the Watson Hill tract that it sold five years ago in a deal that magnified and defined the debate over development in the Ashley River historic district.

The 6,600-acre purchase was praised by elected leaders, property owners and conservation groups that, for the most part, had strongly objected to plans to build thousands of homes on the site.

MeadWestvaco said it would seek to conserve much of the parcel as it merges Watson Hill into its much larger East Edisto project nearby. The sale is expected to close within 60 days.

Noisette note

The Navy Yard at Noisette has been hit with a $23.8 million foreclosure lawsuit that could result in a public sale of about two-thirds of Noisette's holdings on the former military base in North Charleston and threaten the firm's redevelopment plan. Noisette Chief Executive John Knott said the company is "confident this will be resolved." Noisette borrowed the money as a two-year bridge loan in August 2006. The three lenders have been unwilling to extend the note.

New opportunity

A shipping industry executive considered to be the front-runner for the top job at the State Ports Authority is resigning from his position in the private sector. The move came less than two weeks before the SPA is expected to name its new chief executive officer. Though neither the SPA nor Jim Newsome will publicly discuss his expected hiring as the agency's CEO, a memo from Newsome's employer, Hapag-Lloyd, announced his departure Aug. 31. The SPA plans to approve its new CEO hire June 23.

Home run?

May brought a hopeful sign for the ailing residential real estate market, with home sales declining just 17 percent with 678 transactions compared with the same month last year, according to figures from the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. That drop is the least severe decline in nearly two years. "I think we're at a leveling point," said Debbie Himebaugh of Century 21 Properties Plus.

Plugging leaks

A majority of the five-member state Budget and Control Board had agreed to approve a $9.2 million loan to Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum for repairs to the tourist attraction's leaky warship Laffey. But Patriots Point must repay the loan within 18 months. Officials hope $20 million in federal funding requested by U.S. Rep. Henry Brown, R-S.C., will come through next year. They promised to use that money toward the loan.