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The south Hilton Head Island shopping center with a notoriously confusing parking lot will be reconfigured once Harris Teeter builds its new store.
On Tuesday, representatives of the upscale grocery chain won final, unanimous approval of what the town's Design Review Board called a plan that was much improved compared tothe one submitted in December.
Plans still call for the new Harris Teeter to be built facing Greenwood Drive, rather than Office Park Road, as the existing building does. The new plans repositionedthe building more toward the rear of the property to better alignwith the rest of the plaza. The entrance was moved to the corner of the building, so patrons of the other businesses won't have to walk as far to get to the front door.
Architects added a wrap-around canopy, more landscaping and a large display window to try to connect the new store with the rest of the plaza, which has a different owner and won't be improved.
A proposed outbuilding, which will be home to Mellow Mushroom pizzeria and three other tenants, was moved to back up to Greenwood Drive instead of near the car wash.
Gone will be the confusing main entrance to Park Plaza and the narrow rows of angled parking that have frustrated many motorists, especially those unfamiliar with the area.
The changesstemmed from other tenants' complaints that Harris Teeter was turning its back to the rest of the shopping center.
The initial plan "didn't provide a very welcoming facade for the neighbors," said the town's urban design administrator Mike Roan. "This (new) site plan ... is much, much more successful than what was originally submitted."
The oppositionwaned following several meetings between the grocery store and owners of the other shops and restaurants. Only minor issues remain, and the other tenants are optimistic they can work things out.
Dale Johnson, an architect representing Agnes Charles Coastal Realty, the company that owns the rest of the plaza, agreed the cohesiveness of the two sections of Park Plaza willimprove with the latest set of plans.
"I think this project has come a long, long way," he said. "We've always been trying to knit this thing together."
Harris Teeter first tried to redevelop in the late 1990s when its real estate arm bought its Park Plaza building for $4.5 million. The project was held back by tenants with long-term leases who refused cash buyouts.
The existing store is smaller than the company prefers, and isn't an ideal layout because it was fashioned out of two retail spaces, a pharmacy and another grocery store, an attorney repesenting Harris Teeter has said. Those stores were separated by a cinder block, load-bearing wall that couldn't be entirely removed.
The new grocery store is being built facing Greenwood Drive so the existing Harris Teeter can remain open during most of the construction, officials have said. It will then be demolished and converted into a parking lot.
Brendan Bambrick, senior vice president of Shelco General Contractors, said his company now will work to get final engineering plans approved by the town. He was unable to provide a timeline for construction
Members of the town's Design Review Board are excited about the prospects of a reinvented Park Plaza, even if it does come with building facing away from the rest of the stripmall.
"This is an important project for Hilton Head Island," said chairman Marvin Caretsky, "and I appreciate the effort everyone's put into it."
