$100 Million Medal of Honor Museum Planned for Patriots Point

The Congressional Medal of Honor Museum Society and Patriots Point have announced plans to build a $100 million museum along the Cooper River in Mount Pleasant.

The official announcement, made Wednesday aboard the USS Yorktown, is being hailed as a win for struggling Patriots Point, which will gain revenue from museum ticket sales, but won't have to fund the development or construciton of the facility.

"We could build anything on this land," said Mac Burdette, Patriots Point executive director. "If we built hotels or condos, half would think it was a horrible idea and half would like it, but no one will think this is a bad idea."

Work could begin within four years, officials say. The plan calls for a contemporary waterfront museum flanked by outparcels that could house retail, dining and entertainment, preliminary plans indicate.

The plan moves a museum already aboard the USS Yorktown to a piece of waterfront property along Patriots Point Boulevard. The Town of Mount Pleasant is considering selling and relocating the road to make way for the project.

A non-profit foundation has been established to raise roughly $3 million over the next 18 months to fund the planning portion of the museum. Patriots Point's master plan developer, St. Louis-based PGAV Destinations, will oversee the fundraising.

The museum at the Mount Pleasant tourist attraction is part of a turnaround plan meant to pull Patriots Point from a mire of financial trouble that's plagued the institution for a decade or more.

When complete, the museum is projected to draw as many as 200,000 additional visitors to Patriots Point. The museum has seen roughly 500,000 annual visitors in recent years.

Patriots Point has faced crippling financial burdens in recent years, even as visitation numbers have stayed constant or trended slightly up. It owes roughly $9 million to the state for repairs to the USS Laffey, a historic gun ship that nearly sank in Charleston Harbor after years of saltwater erosion.

Officials say revenue from the museum lease agreement will allow Patriots Point to repay its state debt obligations and to fund its redevelopment and operating costs.

This is a breaking news update. Check back for more details.