Termite Lawyer in Union, SC

A South Carolina credit union is returning to one of the state’s poorest counties with a new branch to open by year’s end.

SRP Federal Credit Union of North Augusta, S.C. ($1.8 billion in assets, 194,166 members) announced March 3 that it has begun construction of a new branch in Allendale, 56 miles southeast of North Augusta and the seat of Allendale County.

Josh Rhoden, the credit union’s marketing and communications manager, said the previous Allendale branch was closed nine years ago because of market conditions.

“The decision to close our Allendale Branch was not made lightly,” Rhoden said.

“Since then, we have closely monitored the needs of the Allendale community and have seen a renewed demand for in-person banking services in the area.

“Based on this, we are excited to return with a new branch, designed to offer modern conveniences while maintaining the personalized service our members expect,” Rhoden said. “This decision reflects our long-term commitment to investing in the communities we serve and ensuring that our members have access to the financial tools and support they need.”

At a groundbreaking ceremony for the new branch, SRP President/CEO Eric Jenkins thanked government leaders for their help.

“Today, we are not just breaking ground on a new building,” Jenkins said. “We’re laying the foundation for stronger financial futures and enhanced opportunities for all members of this community.”

Currently, there are no credit union branches in the rural county and only one bank branch: Palmetto State Bank of neighboring Hampton County has had a branch in the county since 2007.

NCUA records showed SRP had 20 branches plus its headquarters across Georgia and South Carolina on Sept. 30, unchanged from a year earlier. This expansion will bring SRP’s total number of branches to 21.

Two other credit unions also announced plans for a new and a remodeled branch in South Carolina.

Founders Federal Credit Union of Lancaster, S.C. ($4.8 billion in assets, 271,061 members) announced Feb. 27 that it plans to open new branch this fall in Fort Mill, just south of Charlotte. It followed a Feb. 19 announcement that it plans to open a new branch in May in Columbia, S.C., in the center of the state.

SAFE Federal Credit Union of Sumter, S.C. ($1.9 billion in assets, 145,254 members) announced Feb. 28 that it has begun construction on a new building to replace a branch in Sumter, 40 miles east of Columbia. The current 2,600-square-foot branch built in 1989 will be replaced by year’s end with a 4,800-square-foot facility with expanded member amenities and upgraded technology.

“Branch renovations are part of SAFE’s ongoing commitment to provide our members with the best banking experience possible,” President/CEO Michael Baker said. “This new facility’s improved access, modern technology, and more spacious design will offer extra convenience to members seeking branch services in the Sumter area.”

SAFE had 21 branches on Sept. 30, one more than a year earlier.

In other branch news:

“The Juneau Financial Center is a major milestone for the credit union in our state’s capital,” President/CEO Geoff Lundfelt said. “We are on an ever-evolving mission to make financial services as convenient as possible for Global members. This center provides modern amenities and access to more services in a centralized location.”

The credit union had 78 branches on Sept. 30, one more than a year earlier.

Contact Jim DuPlessis at [email protected].

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A company owned by Charleston investor and philanthropist Ben Navarro will pay $250 million to buy Union Pier Terminal along the peninsula's waterfront, with a mortgage this week sealing the deal.

Navarro's Marti Holdings LLC and the S.C. State Ports Authority filed the document with the county Register of Deeds on March 4. It capped more than a year of negotiating the sale terms and working with local governments to form a special tax district that would pay for costly public infrastructure upgrades at the roughly 65-acre industrial site between Concord Street and Charleston Harbor.

The mortgage doesn't state a purchase price but references a $250 million deposit that Marti Holdings has placed on the property. The SPA confirmed Wednesday that figure matches the sale price.

Other details of the deal are included in a purchase agreement that was cited in the mortgage but not publicly filed. That document was signed a year ago, about the same time the SPA announced the sale to Navarro.

"The purchase and sale agreement are not public until the deal closes and the transfer deed is recorded," the SPA said in a written statement. "We do not release terms of the sale of an ongoing real estate transaction."

The $250 million also matches the assumed price cited in a footnote in a document outlining the special tax-district that Charleston City Council approved on Nov. 5.

The notation included another key detail — that the deal is expected to close in 2027.

A spokesperson for Beemok Capital, the "family office" that oversees Navarro's investments, said the company is "excited to proceed with closing this transaction with the Ports Authority."

At $250 million, the purchase price is well below the $400 million or so that some real estate analysts expected the prime property to fetch when the SPA announced in 2020 that it was putting Union Pier up for sale. The maritime agency has said it plans to use the proceeds for general operating expenses.

The effort to sell Union Pier has been tortured at times. The SPA initially hired Los Angeles-based developer Lowe to get the permits in place for a sale. It also offered the real estate firm an option to buy the site.

Lowe had previously purchased the ports authority's old headquarters just south of Union Pier, with the aim of replacing the outdated office building with a high-end waterfront hotel. That 191-room project has been taken over by Navarro's Beemok Hospitality Collection, which expects to open The Cooper later this year.

Conservationists and preservation groups opposed the original Union Pier redevelopment plan that Lowe proposed as too dense and out-of-character with the city's Historic District. The SPA ultimately paid $9.9 million to sever its ties with the California developer.

The authority also agreed to a new process that involved dozens of community groups that would form a plan for Union Pier's redevelopment during months of public meetings.

Navarro and the SPA started talking about a deal in late 2023. The agency's board unanimously approved the partnership in March 2024.

Bill Stern, the port's chairman, said at the time that the agency wanted to find a local buyer to redevelop the former cargo terminal that in recent years has been used mostly as a parking lot and as a cruise ship berth.

When it decided to sell Union Pier, the SPA let lapse its home-port agreement with the operator of the Carnival Sunshine, which left Charleston in January. The special tax-district agreement with the city calls for an eventual removal of the existing passenger building.

Navarro, a Rhode Island native who quickly rose to vice president of Citigroup early in his career, founded the investment firm Sherman Financial Group in 1998 and later bought a small bank he renamed Credit One Bank.

He moved his business to Charleston more than 20 years ago.

Credit One, the sponsor of an annual professional women's tennis tournament on Daniel Island, is now one of the nation's largest credit card issuers.

The centerpiece of Navarro's local hospitality holdings is The Charleston Place, just a few blocks inland from Union Pier. He bought the 434-room hotel and shopping complex for $350 million in late 2021 and is in the throes of a $150 million multiyear renovation project.

Navarro's other investments include the Riviera Theater on King Street; Sorrelle, an Italian restaurant, and the adjoining Mercato market on Broad Street; and the American Gardens urban park under construction at 141 Meeting St.

(WSPA) – Multiple wildfires were reported Saturday across the Upstate, aided by high winds and low humidity.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission reported fires in Oconee County, Pickens County, Spartanburg County, Greenville County, and Union County.

In Pickens County, crews were battling a fire near Laurel Ridge Road off of Six Mile Highway.

Residents of Six Mile Ridge and Pilgrim Circle were asked to evacuate the area, according to the Pickens County Sheriff’s Office.

A shelter was opened at Pleasant Hill Fellowship Hall at 3041 Six Mile Highway in Central.

The fire on Six Mile Mountain was 230 acres as of 10 p.m., according to the SC Forestry Commission.

Smoke from that fire spread over parts of Greenville. The plume of smoke was visible from a 7NEWS City Cam in downtown Greenville.

In Union County, a fire broke out along Jonesville Lockhart Highway near Pineland Road east of Jonesville.

As of 7 p.m., that fire was around 60 acres in size, according to the forestry commission.

The Jonesville Fire Department said they were called to a large grass fire around 4 p.m.

Some cars and outbuildings were destroyed by the fire, according to Jonesville Fire Chief DJ Long.

Long said no houses were lost in the fire and firefighters will remain on scene throughout the night monitoring hot spots.

That fire was contained by Saturday night.

In Spartanburg County, firefighters responded to a fire between Miller Town Road and Blackstock Road.

Forestry officials said that fire was 90 acres in size as of 6:30 p.m.

Smoke from that fire, located just south of Pauline, was visible from the 7NEWS City Cam in downtown Spartanburg Saturday afternoon.

A smaller, eight-acre fire was also burning along Newberry Road just south of Landrum in Spartanburg County, as of 6:45 p.m. That fire was contained by 8:15 p.m.

The Inman City Fire Department said in a post on social media more than 20 brush fires were reported in Spartanburg County on Saturday, many of them occurred simultaneously.

The South Carolina Forestry Commission issued a statewide burning ban Saturday evening.

The ban means that all outdoor burning, prescribed burns, and campfires will not be allowed in unincorporated areas of the state.

The Supreme Court said Tuesday it will not interfere with the proposed transfer of chemical waste from the defunct Union Carbide factory, the site of the 1984 Bhopal gas tragedy, to Pithampur in Madhya Pradesh, unless it is established that the apprehension that “it is going to cause hazards to the citizens…is well founded”.

A bench of Justices B R Gavai and A G Masih also called upon the Madhya Pradesh Government to show all precautions have been taken and nothing adverse is likely to happen. The court said this as a counsel informed the bench, which is hearing a petition challenging the Madhya Pradesh High Court’s decision to shift the waste to Pithampur, that after it issued notice on the plea on February 17, the next day HC ordered a trial run to shift 10 metric tonnes from February 27 onwards.

Agreeing to the request to take up the matter for hearing on February 27, Justice Gavai told the state’s counsel, “He (petitioner) says it is going to cause hazards to the citizens… We are not going to stop it unless the apprehension is found to be well-founded.”

The bench also asked the state counsel to “go through the petition and find out if the concern shown by them is with or without substance, and if there is some substance, as to what steps you are taking”.

As the MP counsel sought time to file his reply affidavit, Justice Gavai said in that case, the trial run should not proceed on February 27. “Suppose something happens on the 27th itself… It should not be a fait accompli… or you satisfy us on the 27th itself and tell us that you have taken all the precautions and nothing is likely to happen… If you satisfy us that you have taken ample care and there is no danger, we will not come in the way. You have to come with some material in support of that,” the court said.

Hearing a Public Interest Litigation, the Madhya Pradesh High Court on December 3, 2024, set a four-week deadline for authorities to dispose of the toxic waste material. The High Court also slammed the state government over the lack of progress in disposing of 337 MT of toxic waste, observing that the authorities were “still in a state of inertia despite 40 years”.

The appeal challenging this pointed out that citizens in Pithampur and Indore are against the move as the issue was not discussed with them. It also said the state government had not issued any clarification or advisory with respect to the safety and security of the people residing in the vicinity.

“Pithampur is an industrial area having more than 1,250 industries in running, densely populated and situated only 30 km from the Indore city. Being the industrial area, the major population of Pithampur is the labour class, having very less means of survival. Further, there is no proper Government Hospital situated in Pithampur,” the plea said.

“Indore city is adjacent to Pithampur Industrial Area, therefore the present proposed action of disposal of the hazardous waste in the Pithampur plant of Ramky Enviro Engineers Limited (hereinafter referred to as Ramky) is dangerous for the residents of the life and health of the residents of Indore as well as Pithampur. This might cause the repetition of 1984,” added the plea.

Appearing for the appellant, Senior Advocate Devdatt Kamat referred to the state’s affidavit before the HC and said according to this, there are habitations around the Pithampur facility where the toxic waste is proposed to be dumped. He contended residents may be exposed to side effects of gases released during the incineration.

The senior counsel pointed out that Tarapura village comprising 105 houses is only 250 metres away from the Pithampur facility and its residents need to be relocated before the waste is disposed of, but this is yet to happen.

Pithampur is an industrial town near Indore, and the government’s plans to dispose of the waste in the town have long been met with protests from activists and residents with petitions being filed in the HC asking for a stay in the disposal of the waste. Officials, however, have said the disposal will “not have any adverse impact on the land and soil of villages” and that stringent precautions were observed while handling the toxic waste.