Pineland Station to adopt turtle name; demolition to begin in April

Pineland Station on Hilton Head Island will soon have a new name along with a new look.

The developers of the aging north-end shopping center have chosen the Sea Turtle Marketplace as its moniker. Work on demolition and renovation at the center is scheduled to begin in April, according to a news release Wednesday from Wheeler Real Estate Co., which manages and leases the center.

Hilton Head firm Court Atkins Architecture is designing the project, which has been working its way through town approvals over the past two months.

The first phase of work at the site will include the demolition of the office building and the building at the rear of the center, the release said.

The center will remain open during the work, although portions of the parking lot will be closed for safety, the release said. Further demolition and construction is scheduled for July.

As part of the improvements, Stein Mart will get a facelift to revamp its exterior, according to the release.

Both it and Starbucks will remain open during the work.

The plans call for "a clean and modern, coastal architectural design for the building facades and pedestrian friendly sidewalks and paths," the release said.

Town planners and its Design Review Board already have approved the plans for the Stein Mart and will consider final details for the rest of the shopping center at future meetings, town urban designer Jennifer Ray said Wednesday.

The redevelopment of the 40-year-old, 130,000-square-foot center is estimated to cost $20 million to $30 million, developers have said.

Last year the company bought 10 acres from the town to bring the center to a total of 140,000 square feet of commercial space.

Plans submitted for the site include a new anchor retailer, a smaller box store, about 23 shops and a gas station. Wheeler officials have been mum about what other stores they might be bringing to the center, but Farm Fresh, Food Lion, Stein Mart, TJ Maxx and Dollar Tree are anchor stores at some of the company's other developments along the East Coast.

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This story was originally published March 18, 2015 at 12:13 PM with the headline "Pineland Station to adopt turtle name; demolition to begin in April."