BEST ADVICE Tyewhan and Kristine Luke, Park Pets
PAGE 4 VOLUME 26 NUMBER 20 ■ CHARLESTONBUSINESS.COM
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SEPTEMBER 21 - OCTOBER 4, 2020 ■ $2.25
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Mount Pleasant ordered to pay in parking garage dispute By Teri Errico Griffis
Nuclear settlement Santee Cooper and Westinghouse reach agreement over equipment at failed plant. Page 13
No place to park
Rangers are turning visitors away as state parks see busiest month on record. Page 6
Energy investment Clean energy company scores $29 million round of venture capital funding. Page 20
T
tgriffis@scbiznews.com
he verdict on the parking garage is in. A judge has ordered Mount Pleasant to pay more than $2.6 million in damages for breaching its agreement to help pay for the Shem Creek project that became
a lightning rod for the debate over growth in East Cooper. The judge also faulted the town for deliberately taking action to prevent the project’s development. The parking garage and office building overlooking Mount Pleasant’s signature waterfront spot became a dividing line for Mount Pleasant Town Council. Some council
Building an environment Developers of the Charleston Tech Center rising above Morrison Drive plan to give tech companies a place to grow, as talent, diversity become critical components for the sector. Page 17
members championed the project as a natural outgrowth of the town’s comprehensive plan. Others saw it as a fight against out-of-control development. In the end, the town voted to pull public support from the project in 2015 after it had See GARAGE, Page 8
SBA chief vows more help for S.C. businesses By Melinda Waldrop
A
mwaldrop@scbiznews.com
s she helped celebrate the potential of a newly opened women’s business center at Benedict College, U.S. Small Business Administration Administrator Jovita Carranza made a promise to S.C. proprietors, including the minority small-business owners disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic: Help is on the way. Carranza said congressional negotiations over a second round of emergency coronavirus relief funding are focused on continuing to help small businesses — 5.2 million of which have already received more than $500 billion in Paycheck Protection Program loans. “We still have $130 billion remaining, and Congress is trying to negotiate how we will make the remainder of those funds available,” Carranza said. “I’ve seen the language. It’s very promising for small businesses.” Carranza said she assures the small-business owners she talks to in her nationwide travels that PPP loans will continue to be forgiven. She also said discussions include continuing to allow portions of the loan to be used for employee retention and wages, as well as factoring in operating cost flexibility as the pandemic stretches into its
Growing in tech
North Charleston-based Cantey Consulting expanding operations. Page 20
INSIDE
Upfront................................. 2 SC Biz News Briefs................. 3 Best Advice........................... 4 In Focus: Information Technology...... 17 List: IT Services & Networking Companies.......22 At Work...............................25 People in the News...............25 Business Digest....................25 Hot Properties......................28 Viewpoint............................ 31
See SBA, Page 11
Photo/Andy Owens
Directing the PGA
New director takes over 2021 PGA Championship on Kiawah Island. Page 11