Work at Union Pier officially underway

The State Ports Authority has set next Thursday as the official start of its previously announced redevelopment of the area around its Union Pier cruise ship terminal.

The kick-off event is set for noon at the passenger terminal at 196 Concord St. It is open to the public.

Scheduled speakers include SPA chief Jim Newsome, Charleston Mayor Joe Riley and representatives of the project designer, New York-based Cooper Robertson & Partners.

The redevelopment plan affects about nine areas near the base of Market Street. It does not include the south end of Union Pier, where automobile shipments are loaded and unloaded.

The SPA developed an ambitious master plan 13 years ago to revamp its then-outdated cruise terminal and to transform the prime waterfront acreage surrounding it into a thriving commercial hub that showed shops, lodgings and dining establishments. Little has changed since then.

In addition to revisiting the 1996 plan, Cooper Robertson also must include improvements laid out in the post-Sept. 11 Maritime Transportation Security Act and work around federal flood-zone requirements.

Once the firm completes the plan, the SPA will seek out development partners to help implement it.