In a few short months, Isle of Palms residents and visitors alike will get to enjoy the first spring and summer season with the island’s new public dock located at IOP Marina. It took just over 50 months, an updated conceptual plan, design and redesign of public greenspace and some repairs and dredging, but the public dock is now completed.
“Our public dock was designed to promote community engagement, provide more activities for guests and enhance our coastal environment,” said IOP Mayor Phillip Pounds. “Every individual and family is welcome to stop by and enjoy a variety of recreational activities by our serene waterways.”
The scope of the project includes a 16-foot-wide pier with a covered area, an ADA-compliant gangway, a kayak and stand-up paddleboard launch access, benches, swings and the new floating dock. It cost approximately $1.7 million, funded commostly by a $1 million grant from the federal American Rescue Plan Act, with the remainder coming from the city’s Marina Fund and the Municipal Accommodations Tax and State Accommodations Tax.
Pounds said the most critical element in the beginning was getting resident buy-in for the project.
“When the marina referendum was held years ago, the vision was for public access to the water. Now we finally have that without our residents or visitors having to go through any business entity.”
The new dock is just over four years in the making, beginning in September 2020 with a vote of approval by city council. After community input, structural assessment of the dock area’s existing bulkhead, approval of permits and the development of specifications by the engineering firm of Davis & Floyd, initial construction began in 2022, with the eventual completion of the boardwalk in May 2023.
Greenspace specifications and parking redesigns followed, as did dredging, removal of electrical and water systems, repairs to the fixed pier and floating dock and installation of fire extinguisher pedestals. The last stages were completed this past November and IOP officials have scheduled a public ribbon-cutting ceremony for Feb. 7 from 10:30-11 a.m.
It will be open every day from sunrise to sunset, all of which adds up to not only a day at the IOP Marina or beach, but memories of spotting dolphins, launching a kayak or just enjoying a sunset at the new dock.
“Early usage of the new dock has been encouraging – even during construction,” Pounds added. “Once we finally add some greenspace, my belief is this area will continue to be a primary entertainment location for our island.”
By L. C. Leach III
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