Many are wondering about the future of Hilton Head’s vacant Sam’s Club building

About five months after Sam’s Club shuttered its doors on Hilton Head Island and moved to a new building in greater Bluffton, the warehouse store’s original building still sits empty — and no one appears to know what its future holds.

Town of Hilton Head Island council members and staff, along with area Realtors, say they don’t have any details on the high-profile building on Mathews Drive, but all seemed eager to learn anything new.

Sam’s Club corporate officials haven’t been helpful in providing any answers, as they didn’t return multiple calls and an email from The Island Packet and The Beaufort Gazette inquiring about the building.

Jim Bradshaw, president of Bradshaw Group, is the property manager for Port Royal Plaza Shopping Center, which shares some easements with the Sam’s Club property, including the parking lot.

Sam’s Club still has a lease on the building, he said Thursday, and the company hasn’t shared what they will do with the property once that lease is up, which is sometime in the next 12 months.

“I can tell you with 45 years of experience, it would be a very sought-after building because it is the only big box store on Hilton Head,” Bradshaw said.

Other Realtors have echoed that opinion.

Some local politicians over the past few months have expressed concerns that it could become one more building added to a growing list of vacant properties on the island.

Sam’s Club opened a new store at the intersection of S.C. 46 and U.S. 278 in Bluffton as it closed its Hilton Head location.

This story was originally published May 26, 2017 at 3:41 PM with the headline "Many are wondering about the future of Hilton Head’s vacant Sam’s Club building."