Ports Authority threatens eminent domain for inland port site
“The South Carolina Ports Authority has approved the use of eminent domain to condemn the remaining years on a lease with Nordic Cold Storage, which is located on the South Carolina Inland Port Site.
The ports authority unanimously passed a resolution March 12, at teleconference meeting, said Allison Skipper, spokeswoman for the ports authority. It was not a regularly scheduled meeting, Skipper said.
The approval came after months of negotiations with the tenant reached an impasse, the ports authority said in a statement.
Don Schoenl, Nordic Logistics and Warehousing president, said he was “a little bit surprised right now.
We’ve been there for 20 years, servicing our customer base,” he said. “We like the customers there. We like the location. We like South Carolina.”
This is the first time the ports authority has used eminent domain in the inland port project, Skipper said. The ports authority acquired several properties in the area for fair market value, she said.
Skipper didn’t speculate as to whether this would slow down the inland port progress.
“We’re committed to completing the project expeditiously and do not have a time table on what this will cause,” she said.
The ports authority issued a statement saying, “The Ports Authority is committed to completing the inland port project as expeditiously as possible and plans to be operational by Sept. 1.”
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JOnes, Katie. Greenville Online 15 March 2013