Restaurant, shops proposed for Dunnagans Alley warehouse
The Graves Warehouse on Dunnagans Alley on the south end of Hilton Head Island will be home to new restaurants and shops, according to plans submitted to the town.
The plans include a facelift for the existing, 15,500-square-foot warehouse building at 17 Dunnagans Alley, interior remodeling and a covered walkway.
A new restaurant in the corner space facing the street will be the centerpiece of the revitalized building, according to the plans.
The warehouse, owned by Robert Graves, was built in the 1970s as a cabinet and millwork shop and storage for a local construction company, according to the plans. Over the years retail and professional offices have moved in and out of the building, and now only a portion of the warehouse is being used while the rest sits vacant.
The town has invested more than $1.5 million in improvements to the area over the past five years to try to promote a planned walking and shopping district with the existing buildings along Arrow Road and Dunnagans Alley.
In 2010, the town tore down the former Dunnagans Alley Theatre building there and now maintains it as a park with a public art installation. A roundabout was built at the intersection and landscaping has been installed since.
The idea crafted for the area about 15 years ago was that the park and new shops would create a smaller shopping and retail district where visitors could park and walk around as they do Coligny, said Shawn Colin, town deputy director of community development. The plans fell victim to the economic downturn, though, and little private-sector activity has taken place there since, he added.
"There was about a 5-year punch in the gut, and everyone was trying to catch their breath," Colin said. "Now there's investment scattered all over the island. There will be something that happens in that Dunnagans corridor. It's just a matter of time until that first domino. And it only takes one to get it all started."
The new shops and restaurant will fit with that planned district, suggest the plans by McCleskey and Associates architects.
Graves is negotiating with potential tenants for the remodeled building, including the restaurant, offices, an interior design firm, a beauty salon, a local construction company, an ice cream shop and a pet-grooming service.
A proposed timeline is not included in the plans and attempts to reach the McCleskey and Associates were unsuccessful Monday.
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- Lauderdale: Father of community theater on Hilton Head dies , June 2, 2015
- Now that theater is gone, work to begin on roundabout at Dunnagans Alley , Aug. 30, 2010
This story was originally published August 3, 2015 at 4:57 PM with the headline "Restaurant, shops proposed for Dunnagans Alley warehouse."