This Catholic church just annexed into Bluffton and wants to expand. What’s coming?
St. Gregory the Great Catholic Church, with its sprawling campus tucked behind trees along U.S. 278, is now officially a part of the town of Bluffton.
Bluffton Town Council last week unanimously approved an annexation request from the church, ending two years of COVID-hampered public meetings in which town and church officials debated over density, affordable housing and fears about potential upzoning.
Last week’s approval means the church’s 61-acre campus, formerly in unincorporated Beaufort County, is now within Bluffton town limits. As part of the annexation, Bluffton also approved a master plan for the property, which allows the church and school to expand and offers an opportunity for commercial and multi-family development on four outparcels.
St. Gregory’s new master plan allows the church to build general commercial development and up to 150 residential units on 10 acres, according to planning documents. Church officials had originally requested 446 residential units.
The campus, situated on the north side of U.S. 278, currently includes the church, school, parish life center, multi-purpose field, the county-owned St. Gregory Drive and a Beaufort-Jasper Water & Sewer Authority pump station.
The church, which celebrated its 20th anniversary last year, has big plans for the property. The church wants to expand and build a retirement community for retired clergy members on more than 50 acres, according to planning documents.
And 10.65 acres are for sale.
Despite concerns that the church wanted the annexation so it could build different types of development, the new zoning is actually more restrictive, said Walter Nester, the attorney for the church.
Nester said the church wanted to be annexed to become the “Catholic church of Bluffton.”
“So many of [the church’s] missions and charities and so much of its work was Bluffton-centric,” he said. “It wanted to be a part of the town of Bluffton. The average person doesn’t really know if they’re in the town of Bluffton or unincorporated.”
Called Wednesday, Chris Trott, St. Gregory’s parish manager, said the church expects to begin its strategic plan next week. That includes plans to expand the church and school, he said.
There are no current contracts for the outparcels that are for sale as of Wednesday, Trott said.
If the outparcels are sold to a developer who wants to build residential development, 20% of those units will have to be affordable housing, said Bluffton Planning Manager Kevin Icard.
The annexation means that St. Gregory will now be the ninth planning area included in the town’s Buckwalter Planned Unit Development District.
Included in annexation is a list of development categories allowed in the church’s new zoning:
▪ Community recreation;
▪ Hotel;
▪ Institutional/Civic;
▪ Maintenance areas;
▪ Multifamily residential;
▪ Neighborhood commercial — including convenience stores and gas stations with up to 20 fueling stations;
▪ Open space;
▪ Roads;
▪ Setbacks and buffers;
▪ Wetlands;
▪ Utilities.
For a complete list of which types of development are allowed in each category, click here.
