New Best Western signals new life for old South Forest Beach area
Once an eyesore near Hilton Head's busy tourist center, the recently renovated Metropolitan Hotel annex is the first domino to fall in what local leaders are calling the renaissance of South Forest Beach.
Last week, officials stood behind a big red bow and brandished their ceremonial scissors to formally unveil the 63-room Best Western hotel that now occupies the like-new property.
In that same spot only a year ago, it was not uncommon to find syringes and empty beer cans scattered under crumbling walls and a failing roof.
The transformation from blight to bright has been almost unbelievable for owners in Xanadu and Oceanwalk villas, which neighbor the annex and main hotel building just off South Forest Beach Drive.
"Now that the economy is starting to turn around, people are starting to come in and we have the vision for it," said Jack Daly, president of the Forest Beach Owners Association. "This is going to start a renaissance in South Forest Beach."
California-based hotel developers Hari and Sam Johal have pumped about $1.8 million into the old hotel annex since they purchased the property early this year.
"It's been a complex project," Sam Johal said last week. "We were able to completely gut the building and bring it back to life basically within seven months."
Less than 18 months ago, town building official Bob Klein declared the annex a safety risk to the public and slated it for demolition. The building had sat vacant since 2008, and nearby residents had long complained it was a haven for vagrants and drug dealers.
The decrepit annex became a symbol of the need for redevelopment of the thousands of condominiums in 30- and 40-year-old buildings at the heart of the island.
Now, it's a symbol of the new blood coursing through the island a year after the town loosened and adjusted its development rules under a new land management ordinance, town officials said.
Further down the road, Hilton hotels is investing $80 million to redevelop the former Adventure Inn site. The town has committed $20 million to redevelop Coligny beach parking and add a new park. And Southeastern Development Associates, formerly known as Blanchard and Calhoun Commercial, plans to build a new Marriott Residence Inn at Heritage Plaza on Pope Avenue.
"We've created a climate where investment is encouraged, and it's quite refreshing to see capital dollars from the private sector being infused into tired properties," said Councilman Bill Harkins, who toured the new hotel at last week's grand opening. "The new Best Western is a fine representation of a Class-A renovation."
The turning tide has been a long time coming, and the Johals are now officially the first off the line, Daly and town manager Steve Riley said.
The 79-room main Metropolitan Hotel building on South Forest Beach Drive is next on the Johals' to-do list. They are negotiating to bring a different hotel brand to that building and expect to start renovations there in the spring, Sam Johal has said.
"I give those guys all the credit in the world," Daly said this week. "They were total strangers from California. They saw the opportunity in South Forest Beach. They saw the vision and we're all going to be seeing the benefit for years."
Follow reporter Zach Murdock on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Zach and on Facebook at facebook.com/IPBGZach.
Related content:
- Metropolitan Hotel annex to open this month as 'boutique' Best Western + video, Sept. 8, 2015
- Metropolitan Hotel sold, annex improvements underway on Hilton Head, Jan. 27, 2015
- Metropolitan Hotel annex moves closer to demolition, Dec. 29, 2014
- Hilton Head: Metropolitan Hotel must fix or demolish abandoned building, Aug. 7, 2014
- Revamp for Metropolitan Hotel, annex announced; skeptics remain, June 15, 2013
- Forest Beach property owners want action on abandoned building, June 10, 2013
This story was originally published December 17, 2015 at 10:57 PM with the headline "New Best Western signals new life for old South Forest Beach area."