Beaufort County plans new office building, hopes to draw business to Bluffton

Businesses looking to open up shop in Bluffton will likely soon have more office space to choose from courtesy of Beaufort County.

The county is planning to construct a new $4-million office building on land it owns adjacent to the Myrtle Park facility off Bluffton Parkway.

Local leaders have long sought to diversity the economy and reduce the reliance on tourism and service industries. New office space could help attract different kinds of businesses, county officials say.

“We would have it to market to potential economic development prospects,” deputy county administrator Josh Gruber told members of the Beaufort County Council last week.

The proposed two-story building — to be located on a roughly 8-acre parcel of county-owned land — will have between 30,000 and 40,000 square feet of office space.

The building will essentially be a shell with internal infrastructure features such as restrooms and stairwells, Gruber said.

This will allow companies interested in renting or buying the space to customize the building “to meet their individual needs,” he said.

“Ultimately, the goal is for the county to flip this property,” Gruber said. “We don't want to be a landlord.”

The project could serve “as a foundation for additional development” in the future, he said.

Construction of the office will paid for using a “low interest loan from Santee Cooper,” Gruber said.

The power utility runs an Economic Development Revolving Loan Program aimed at drawing industries to areas where the company operates.

Before approving a $315,000 contract to design the building, County Council members want input from the Beaufort County Economic Development Corporation.

“Its a lot of money to spend,” so it’s important that the economic development corporation is “on board with it,” Councilman Rick Caporale said.

That group will likely meeting next in March.

County staff has recommended offering the contract to local firm Beaufort Design Build LLC, which has recent experience working on architecture plans for Beaufort’s Forham Market, according to county engineering director Rob McFee.

This story was originally published February 27, 2017 at 2:19 PM with the headline "Beaufort County plans new office building, hopes to draw business to Bluffton."