Dereef Park Church Service

Dear Friends,

Shiloh AME at 172 Smith Street is hosting a Prayer Service on Sunday, January 27th at 1:30 pm to remember and honor those who worshipped in the DeReef Park Church (United Missionary Chapel). Over a week ago, the church began its journey to transition from a house of worship to a community center. The church holds a special place for many people within the community. and several people have commented that they worshipped there as children. I invite each of you to come spend time with our community and to pay respect and offer blessings for a safe transition.

Please forward this email to friends and neighbors.

Your Neighbor,

Heather Templeton

Letter to the Editor

Heather’s letter to the Editor (Post & Courier)

Losing DeReef Park would be a blow to neighbors, children
Posted: Wednesday, January 9, 2013 12:01 a.m.

Over the last 10 years much has been written about DeReef Park and the Smith-Morris development plans, but key information about how this park came into existence and was later sold has been neglected.

DeReef Park is the last public green space in the neighborhoods of Cannonborough-Elliotborough and Radcliffeborough. For the last 20 years, it has provided playground space for neighborhood children, dog walkers, the youth of Shiloh AME Church and over 200 participants of the Cannon Street YMCA.

The park property, known as Radcliffeborough Acquisition, was originally purchased by the city of Charleston in 1981 with a grant from the Land Water Conservation Fund (LWCF). A subsequent LWCF grant in 1991 provided for the development of a gazebo, playground, walkways, landscaping and roadways. Two years later, Charleston City Council issued a resolution naming it DeReef Park.

LWCF is a federal grant program managed through the National Park Service (NPS) and the S.C. Department of Parks, Recreation and Tourism (SCDRT).

By accepting the grant money from LWCF, the city is required to maintain this property, replace facilities as needed, have an official LWCF sign posted in the park and, most importantly, restrict the use of the property to public outdoor recreation in perpetuity.

There is an exception to this rule. The covenants can be converted to another parcel of property if it is of equal fair market value, usefulness and location. The replacement parcel must be part of a viable recreation area. All practical alternatives to the conversion must be evaluated.

The city entered into a memorandum of understanding with Civitas, LLC in 2003 for the redevelopment of the area, including improvement to park properties.

According to planned unit development guidelines, the existing park was to be separated from one large tract to two small spaces on either side of Morris Street.

Also, the new park plans weren’t the same acreage of the existing park, which put the city at risk for being out of compliance with LWCF.

In late 2008 the city finalized a year-long process to identify a “replacement park” and to document why this property met the legal requirements for a conversion.

The replacement property identified by the city and approved by SCPRT and the NPS is a small portion of property known as Concord Park. This property now under conservation easement is a nondescript, small strip of land running parallel to Calhoun Street between Concord and Washington streets across from Liberty Square. This piece of land is still smaller than DeReef Park but appraised at a higher value.

As of June 2012 there were no signs to identify a park despite the requirement that a replacement park be built within two years. Based on an inquiry from the Department of Interior the space is now marked with white paint and a posted LWCF sign.

Meanwhile in DeReef Park, there is no playground equipment and no indication of when a new and improved park will be built. The property is marked with No Trespassing signs.

The city will build a beautiful waterfront park on Concord Street, but the families, students and retired residents of Cannonborough-Elliotborough and Radcliffeborough neighborhoods also deserve a park near their homes.

Research shows parks can improve the health and wellness of residents, as well as provide economic benefits by increasing the value of residential properties.

Is the replacement park down on Concord Street equivalent in usefulness and location?

Have all practical alternatives been reviewed by city leaders?

Heather Templeton

Cannon Street

Charleston

Crumbling Historic Black Church to get New Look

From WCSC Live 5 News – 20 Jan 2013
by Corey Davis

CHARLESTON, SC (WCSC) -
Rotted wood, holes in the wall and on the verge of collapse. The United Missionary Chapel in downtown Charleston sits empty in DeReef Park on Morris Street. Once a prominent structure in the black community, it will soon get a makeover.

“Its going to crumble unfortunately,” said Dana Campbell, member of Friends of DeReef Park.

The City of Charleston plans to renovate the church and members of the organization, Friends of DeReef Park are there to make sure its done correctly.

“Saving it as park would be the ultimate goal but in the meantime if its too late, if we could somehow preserve the chapel. That’s what I would like to do,” said Campbell.

Full report & video

Historic black church move under way in Charleston’s Dereef Park

From Prentiss Findlay’s Post and Courier article (click the link for the complete article)

A church that is seen as a vital part of African-American history on the Charleston peninsula is getting a new home and a makeover, which has some neighborhood residents upset.
Workers and heavy equipment were on site Tuesday making preparations to relocate the crumbling church in Dereef Park.

Happy Holidays

Friends of DeReef Park help spread a little holiday cheer for the United Order of Tents building.

StoryCorps Charleston 2012

One of the missions of Friends of Dereef Park is to document oral histories of people who grew up in the neighborhoods of Cannonborough-Elliotborough and Radcliffeborough. The first step was to begin gathering names at the September Revival block party of individuals willing to participate and I’m happy to report we gathered over 20 names and contact details.

The Charleston visit from the StoryCorps project allowed us to act on our mission and I’m thrilled that Friends of Dereef Park was able to sponsor four sessions. The mission of StoryCorps is to provide Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs with the opportunity to record, share, and preserve the stories of our lives and each session is preserved at the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. While the sessions are a short 40 minutes and by no means a complete oral history, they do allow us the opportunity to start engaging with residents and they provide a broader platform to share our community stories. We are working to highlight the contributions of all our neighborhood residents and institutions regardless of social, cultural or economic background. Dr. Kerry Taylor’s recent comments on the East Side further demonstrates why it is important we continue to work together to achieve our goals, because regardless of West or East, regular people worked to make a difference in their communities and their stories shouldn’t be forgotten.

“I think about the East Side in the context of Charleston’s broader commemorative landscape–the constellation of plantations, historic homes, carriage tours, and museums through which we explore the past. These are the major attractions for the 4.5 million tourists who come to the area each year. It is a commemorative landscape that by and large projects what I consider to be bad values. These are the values of conspicuous consumption, racism, domination and subordination, and violence. Within the larger framework of historic Charleston, the East Side offers itself as a democratic counterpoint to the Battery as it reflects working class traditions of craft pride, mutual aid, and collective struggle–values that are promising and hopeful.”

-Remarks from “Between The Tracks at 25 Symposium,” held at Trident Technical College on October 23, 2012.

Below are some pictures of our participants and stay tuned for our finished project.

Leila Potts-Campbell, Bernard Fielding, and Julia-Ellen Davis – a session on Herbert A. DeCosta, Jr., who lived and worked on Spring Street.

 

 

Mary Miller and Lois Simms – a session on the life of Ms. Simms and her witness of the changes in Dereef Park

 

 

Rovena Hazel Owens and Peggy Clement – a session on their childhood summers

 

 

Ann Blandin, Rosetta Givens Mitchell, and Beatrice Givens– a session on the United Order of Tents

Neighborhood History

For those of you wanting to learn more about the history of our neighborhood, check out the pamphlets produced by the Preservation Society for our Neighborhood Revival back in September 2012.

Dereef Park Revival PDF