A deal to redevelop the former Liberty Steel mill site in Georgetown has collapsed after the buyer could not clear a permitting deadline, according to state Rep. Lee Hewitt, who represents Georgetown and Charleston counties.
River Development Equities, a New Jersey firm, had the steel mill property under contract as part of a broader plan to redevelop land east of Highway 17 that also includes the neighboring former International Paper mill site. That larger deal was announced earlier this year, with plans calling for a mix of hospitality, residential, industrial and commercial uses meant to bring permanent and part-time jobs back to the waterfront.
Hewitt told local reporters the contract on the steel mill parcel expired because River Development Equities was unable to secure the required permits, which included environmental cleanup approvals tied to soil and water testing that state environmental regulators had flagged earlier in the year. Liberty Steel, which still holds the property, declined to extend the deadline without what Hewitt described as an unreasonable nonrefundable payment from the developer, leaving both sides at a standstill and the contract lapsed.
The setback leaves the steel mill parcel in limbo even as the adjacent former paper mill property, which closed in 2024, continues to move toward redevelopment under International Paper’s separate sale agreement. It is not yet clear whether River Development Equities or another buyer will make a new run at the steel mill site, or how the permitting hurdles that sank this contract might be resolved for a future deal. For now, the property remains one of the more visible undeveloped industrial sites along the Highway 17 corridor in Georgetown County, just south of the Grand Strand’s tourism core.
