MOUNT PLEASANT — A century-old tree has made a big move.
The 40-foot, 500,000-pound oak was transported roughly 700 feet to take its place as the centerpiece of Gather MTP, a planned entertainment and restaurant hub located on Midtown Avenue in Mount Pleasant, just off of Hungry Neck Boulevard.
The tree was loaded onto a platform and then rolled along a series of inflated air bags between its former spot and new home. Crews with Environmental Design, a Texas-based company that routinely transplants mature trees, loaded the oak onto the bags with a ramp and slowly rolled it to its new home on the corner of the development, where Midtown Avenue and Hancock Street meet.
Gather MTP Developers Mack Cross, a managing principal for Four Oaks Property Group, and Preston Wendell, a manager for Whitewater Property Ventures, previously told The Post and Courier it was important for the gathering space to be anchored with the mature, lush oak.
“We chose not to look at it as an inconvenience, but really find the opportunity with that tree,” Cross said. “It’s an investment in the tree, and in something that has been here long before us and will be here probably long after us.”
The relocation on Dec. 3 coincided with a groundbreaking for Gather MTP. Once completed, Gather MTP will contain a mix of office space, restaurants and small businesses.