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The final phase of the City Market redevelopment is under way with the renovation of Market Hall building between Meeting and Church streets.

City Market Preservation Trust LLC announced today that the last part of the construction project that began in January has begun. The open-air part of the market renovation was completed in late spring, before the height of the tourist season.

The final phase, between Meeting and Church streets, will be anchored by an enclosed great hall. The city said the renovations so far have been met with “widespread enthusiasm from merchants and locals alike.” The renovation included the replacement of the mortar between the bricks, a process called brick pointing, as well as roof repair, new lighting and an open center aisle to improve traffic flow.

“The City Market is now better than it has ever been,” Mayor Joe Riley said. “With the completion of this next phase, the Market will be a place where everyone comes to enjoy their favorite local merchants and celebrate this very special part of our city. We look forward to another phase as well done as the others.”

Charleston City Council recently approved a $3.4 million bond issue to fund the final phase, the city said in a news release. Phase 1 of The City Market renovation included the first three buildings, funded with a $2.1 million bond issue. The city said that part of the project was completed on time and under budget.

The Charleston City Market includes four historic buildings stretching four blocks from Meeting to East Bay streets with 32,981 square feet of rentable space. The Phase 1 renovation between East Bay and Church streets opened fully occupied with more than 200 merchants and nearly 100 additional merchants on a waiting list.

“The City Market will be a tremendous upgrade to the center of the city of Charleston,” said Barry Newton, general manager. “This rising tide will lift all boats and will have a positive visual and business impact on the historic district at no cost to the taxpayers.

Newton said the city expects that revenue from operations will cover costs associated with the bond issue and renovation project.

The city said the great hall should open with notable local Charleston merchants, including Historic Charleston Foundation, Wonder Works, M. Dumas and Sons, Charleston Shoe Co., Caviar & Bananas and Jimmy Hagood’s Food for the Southern Soul, as well as longtime City Market merchants.

“We are honored to be a strategic partner and staunch supporter of the newly restored historic City Market,” said Kitty Robinson of Historic Charleston Foundation. “Our retail presence will enable the foundation to introduce more residents and visitors to the intrinsic value of preserving Charleston’s rich cultural heritage.”

The Phase 2 renovations include the replacement of the roof and the installation of a skylight, which was donated by the Velux Co. of Greenwood.

Hightower Construction, which completed Phase 1 of the renovation, has been selected to complete the final phase. Glenn Keyes of Charleston is the project architect.David O’Neil, an internationally recognized public market expert, and Bob Gibbs, a nationally known retail consultant, have provided consulting services on the project.

Construction is expected to be completed in the late spring.

What if a new 20,000-square-foot building was built south of Tradd Street and hardly anyone noticed?

It’s no hypothetical question. It pretty much describes First (Scots) Presbyterian Church’s new Molly Wier Hall, which was dedicated Sunday.

The project, from its earliest architectural conception to the end of construction, took an agonizing seven years.

While there were many low points and moments of angst, both church officials and neighborhood leaders think the end result not only was worth the wait but better because of it.

As First Scots continued to grow, it was bumping up against two conflicting realities.

All this fuss for a building barely visible from the public right of way. “You can see it from certain areas, but you just see little slivers,” McCraw says. “What I like about it is when you see it from those slivers, you want to see more.”

One was that it needed more room for its staff, kindergarten program and everyone who attends Sunday school.

Unlike the olden days, when churches were pretty much churches, today’s most vibrant congregations have campuses where the sanctuary represents only a small fraction of their total building space.

First Scots’ historic 1814 church, designed in a similar look of Benjamin Henry Latrobe’s Baltimore Cathedral, has only 7,150 square feet. This recent project renovated 8,700 square feet as office, classroom and youth space and added another 19,800 square feet for a fellowship hall, industrial kitchen and more classrooms.

The church’s other reality was that its 1 1/2-acre campus is nestled between Meeting, Tradd and King streets — one of the most beautiful and dense areas in Charleston’s Old and Historic District.

First Scots’ expansion possibilities were hemmed in not only by its cemetery, existing buildings and desire to maintain a playground space, but also by neighbors’ sensitivities, such as their wish to have the church maintain as much on-site parking as possible and to keep their new institutional building away from their back doors.

Trey McCraw, a First Scots member and contractor who helped steer the project along, jokes that the resulting building is “Plan L.”

“We started with Plan A,” he says. “But looking back on it, Plan L was the right plan. I looked back at Plans A through K, and they’re not what this building turned out to be.”

The dominant architectural issue surrounding Molly Wier Hall (named after the late church leader whose name had adorned the previous parish hall) was simply where to place it on the site and how to “de-mass” it so that its second and third floors gently receded from surrounding homes, softening its impact on them.

This can be seen most dramatically from the garden of the Nathaniel Russell House, which abuts the church’s southern property line. The view is of a new building with a handsome piazza on the second floor and a recessed third floor — one slightly lower than the top of the Russell house.

It’s not by accident that architects Cummings & McCrady Inc. got this right: They made eight separate presentations to the Historic Charleston Foundation, which runs the house museum.

The church originally planned to give away and move its 1930s house at 62 King St., which was built oddly far back from the street.

But neighbors objected through the Board of Architectural Review (including one right next door who also happens to be an outspoken property rights advocate — an irony that didn’t escape close observers).

The city wouldn’t allow the house to be torn down, so the project morphed from two smaller phases into one big one — and the congregation was asked to commit to the $7.2 million price tag in a tough economic time.

The work itself, done by Trident Construction, amounted to an entirely different ordeal, from relocating church offices to the North Area, to studying the condition and vibrations on surrounding properties, to a 10-page legal agreement between the church and residents and to frequent e-mail updates.

Save up to $1,500 in federal tax credits on qualifying Energy Star equipment. Must be placed in service prior to 12/31/2010

Prior to Puron refrigerant, most residential air conditioners and heat pumps used R-22 refrigerant, a chlorine-containing refrigerant that can contribute to depletion of the earth’s ozone layer, according to the KTH-EGI Phase out of R22 Refrigerant Study,
http://www.energy.kth.se/index.asp?pnr=10&ID=115&lang=1.

“In just 15 months, the widely used R-22 refrigerant can no longer be used in new cooling systems, but Carrier has been ready since 1996 when we introduced residential non-ozone depleting cooling systems,” said Chris Nelson, vice president of sales and marketing for Carrier Residential and Light Commercial Systems. “Today, Carrier’s environmentally-sound systems with Puron refrigerant cool nearly three million homes throughout the U.S.”

Beginning in 2010, the U.S. will require all residential air conditioner and heat pump manufacturers to produce systems that use only non-ozone-depleting refrigerants in accordance with the U.S. Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.  Although the Clean Air Act allows for R-22 to be manufactured in diminishing quantities through 2020 to service existing systems, published reports indicate that service demands may outstrip supply by 2015; potentially causing the price for this refrigerant to rise dramatically as availability declines, similar to what occurred in the automotive industry with the phase-out of R-12.

Anthony Morelli at Morelli Heating & Air stated, “Because of the potential increase in the price of R-22 and the impending total phase out, consumers considering a new home comfort system should consider the unit’s refrigerant much as they would a SEER rating or ENERGY STAR label. By choosing higher efficiency air-conditioner and heat pump equipment that use Puron refrigerant, consumers will be able to enjoy lower operating costs and environmentally sound operation while protecting themselves from potentially rising service costs associated with R-22 based systems.”

(courtesy Carrier Corp.)

CHARLESTON, SC, February 19, 2007 – Morelli Heating & Air Conditioning, Inc. was recently recognized as the 2006 Carrier Carolinas Dealer of the Year Award. The award recognizes the Carrier dealer that out performed all of the other dealers in the Carolina region.

Morelli Heating & A/C’s President, Tony Morelli, is proud of what his company achieved over the past year and credits his staff of 60+ employees with helping to achieve this prestigious award.

“We just celebrated our 25 year anniversary in business in the Charleston region,” said Morelli. “And to top it off, we are named the Carrier Carolinas Dealer of the Year, what a great time for Morelli Heating & Air and for our customers.”

The reason for Morelli’s success and recognition as the Dealer of the Year is found in the company’s commitment to their customers. Their service department, in addition to providing service 24/7, employs only NATE certified service technicians each sharing the company’s goal of 100% customer satisfaction.

Morelli Heating & A/C is a member of ASHREA, SC Association of Heating and Air Conditioning Contractors and South Carolina Mechanical Contractors Association. The company is also an Unlimited Mechanical Contractor in the state of South Carolina. Their service area covers the South Carolina low country.

“We are very proud to recognize Morelli Heating & A/C as our Dealer of the Year in the Carolinas,” said Halsey Cook, president of Carrier’s North American residential business. “Their reputation for excellent customer service is evident in their work and made them the obvious choice for this distinction.”

(courtesy Mediagistic)

Today Morelli Heating & Air Conditioning Inc has proudly served the Charleston area for 25 years. We employ more than 65 people and provide full mechanical services to the entire Low Country.