Bloody Point redevelopment OK’d but scaled back again

A heavily scrutinized plan to transform a failing golf course on Daufuskie Island into a residential and hospitality area was granted preliminary approval Monday by the Beaufort County Council.

However the proposal to build homes, shops and an inn on the Bloody Point golf course was scaled back Monday — the second time this year the scope of the project was reduced.

County Council approved a measure that would allow property owner Brian McCarthy to build 125 residential units, 25,000 square feet of commercial space, and a 60-room inn on the course site.

McCarthy, who sank $2 million into restoring the golf course after purchasing it out of bankruptcy in 2011, initially sought to build a 120-room inn, 150 homes and 50,000 square feet of commercial space.

That proposal worried some island residents and County Council members, who argued the scope of project could add too many new buildings on too small a site.

“I just think it needs to be cut back,” Councilman Tabor Vaux said last week at a meeting of the council’s Natural Resources Committee.

County leaders spent the week since that meeting working with course owners to reach a compromise that would reduce the development’s density while keeping it economically viable.

“It’s a fine line between growing the economy and protecting the character of the island,” Vaux said Monday before ultimately voting in favor of the scaled-back plan.

McCarthy said Monday that he had “carefully considered” the concerns about the original proposal and “readily agreed” to further reducing the scope of the development.

Mark Baker with the architecture firm Wood and Partners, a firm working with McCarthy on the development, said the new homes, businesses and inn will be a “positive move for Daufuskie Island” and hopes the county’s approval process “move(s) forward as quickly as possible.”

That final approval can’t come fast enough for Bloody Point’s owners.

“Time is of the essence for this landowner,” Baker said last week, because the site “cannot and will not support golf going forward.”

During a recent visit to the property, county leaders saw only two golfers on the course, planning director Tony Criscitiello said last week.

Baker said the course is hemorrhaging cash at a clip of $125,000 a month.

Barring further setbacks or changes to the development plan, the county could grant final approval to the project by the end of April.

“We are moving as fast as we can,” Councilman Brian Flewelling said Monday.

This story was originally published March 28, 2016 at 7:49 PM with the headline "Bloody Point redevelopment OK’d but scaled back again."