Mayor Riley holds forth from his memento-filled office at historic City Hall. Though his is decidedly not a desk job, Riley takes time from ribbon cuttings and meetings to attend to paperwork. Here the mayor, whose national prominence has risen over his tenure, signs two letters: one to President Obama and one to former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg.
“Mayor Riley has created an incomparable jewel here, and we are all the beneficiaries.” —Philanthropist and activist Linda Ketner
Mayor Riley has taken the oath of office a record 10 times. He’s pictured here in 1984 (his third term), with his father, Joseph P. Riley, Sr., administering the oath, and his sons, Joseph and Bratton (far right), by his side. When Joe III did the honors for his father in January 2012, he inserted some humor by beginning the oath with, “So, for the last time….”
After legal battles and 10 years of effort, Charleston Place opened with fanfare in 1986, and today the mayor’s ambitious vision is credited for kick-starting the resurgence of King Street, recently designated one of the top 10 Great Streets in America by the American Planning Association.
Riley’s plan to anchor the peninsula’s revitalization by building hotel, convention, and shop space, later to be known as Charleston Place, in a five-block dead zone at the corner of King and Market was contentious at the time.
During Riley’s tenure, the City of Charleston, and its tax base, has expanded far beyond the peninsula to include annexed land in West Ashley and Daniel Island. James Island, pictured above, has been a repeatedly contentious annexation battleground and one of the few that Riley has lost.
Riley, wearing a “We’re Going Strong” T-shirt at a post-Hugo community concert, was in the national spotlight as a tireless leader and cheerleader throughout the trying Hugo aftermath. Many credit his unfailing optimism for the successful recovery.
The Sofa Super Store fire on June 18, 2007, is arguably one of the lowest moments of Riley’s tenure. The fire, which killed nine Charleston firefighters, resulted in criticisms of the leadership of Mayor Riley and then-Fire Chief Rusty Thomas and numerous inadequacies and procedural issues within the fire department. “This is a tragic event for our community, the magnitude of which is difficult to fathom or quantify,” Riley said during a post-fire press conference.
With a growing population on the peninsula, developers are replacing dilapidated housing (as above on Spring Street) with mixed-use buildings, raising gentrification concerns.
Completion of Gadsdenboro Park, a five-acre lot near Concord Street that will include ball fields, affordable housing, and residences designed for multi-generational living and aging in place.
Completion of the Gaillard Center, slated to open April 17, 2015. ● Opening of Higgins Pier, a new waterfront park on the Ashley River at the end of West Ashley Bikeway; underway.
Continued fundraising to bring the International African American Museum to fruition; design underway, construction to begin 2016.
From the renovation of the City Market to the creation of a visitor center, Mayor Riley and his various City Councils have courted the tourism industry, and continually faced questions and concerns about balancing tourism and residential quality of life.
The ongoing legal battles and public controversy over cruise ship regulation have resulted in delayed construction of a new cruise ship terminal and revitalized Concord Street park. “I am disappointed that this is not yet underway,” says the mayor, citing one of his regrets during his final year.
Riley credits a formative European trip, taken early in his career, for affirming the importance of the public sphere. His vision for a “people’s park” drove plans for Waterfront Park, a so-called “passive” recreation space open 24/7, 365 days a year to the public.
