A plan to sell the International Longshoremen's Association building in Charleston is pitting the labor union's longtime leader against the dock workers he helps to represent.

Ken Riley, president of the ILA No. 1422, says the sale of the building at 1142 Morrison Drive is too important to be derailed by members who don't want to put it on the market.

"This issue will have a significant impact on the future of the ILA and the business it conducts on behalf of this (maritime) industry," Riley said this week.

Union members voted overwhelmingly last month against selling the building where job assignments at the Port of Charleston's terminals are handed out each day.

Riley appealed that vote a week later to the union's international headquarters, which nullified the election after reviewing "documentation from a licensed Charleston real estate firm which supports the conclusion that the sale ... was the appropriate action," according to a letter obtained by The Post and Courier.

The letter adds Riley still needs approval from the local group's trustees before a sale can proceed.

Riley said he is "not worried" about the opposition and is "moving forward" with the sale.

His plan is to move the ILA's headquarters to a former medical equipment manufacturer's site off Corporate Road, which is near Leeds Avenue and Interstate 526 in North Charleston.

Those who oppose the move say the new building is too far from the port's terminals and that access to the site is limited to one direction because it backs up to a marsh and the Ashley River, creating potential traffic snarlss and work delays.

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They also question the building's condition, saying it will cost too much to fix, and say they haven't been given a good explanation for why the existing union hall needs to be sold.

Riley said the opposition is making it harder to negotiate a deal, both to buy and sell, adding he doesn't want "to conduct our business in the media."

"It's just that important," he said, declining to answer further questions.

In addition to the financial windfall a sale would bring, Riley said the ILA needs a new office because its membership has outgrown the 31,640-square foot building at Morrison Drive. Riley has also pointed to limited parking at the site as a reason to look for a new home.

The Corporate Road site has more than 110,000 square feet of space on roughly 16.5 acres and more than 300 parking spaces.

The building's sale would likely be one of the last major initiatives of Riley's tenure as head of the ILA's local chapter. Riley has served as president for more than two decades and has said he doesn't intend to run again when his current term ends after next year.

Riley previously did not disclose a price for the union hall but the building and surrounding 4.5 acres is now listed on several real estate websites at $25 million.

The price represents the escalating real estate values in the North Morrison, or NoMo, area which is becoming home to technology businesses, breweries, restaurants and a high-end apartment complex for college students. A half-acre parcel with buildings totaling 13,623 square feet near the ILA hall is currently being marketed for its redevelopment potential at $5.5 million.

The Morrison Drive union hall was designed by architect Harvey Gantt, the son of a Charleston shipyard worker who graduated from Burke High School and became the first black student to be admitted to Clemson University. He later was elected mayor of Charlotte and ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate.

The union hall has been a popular stop for Democratic rallies and events since its construction in 2002. The building also regularly hosts social advocacy groups and events such as banquets.