Bluffton approves grocery store and shopping center. Here’s where and who it’ll serve

Trees no longer stand in the way of Bluffton’s newest planned shopping center.

After delaying approval pending adjustments to save more trees on the site, Bluffton Town Council on Thursday signed off on the construction and development of May River Crossing shopping center. The center would sit at the northeast corner of the traffic circle that intersects S.C. 170 and S.C. 46. The anchor tenant is a Publix grocery store.

May River Crossing had been close to town approval at the Aug. 14 council meeting, but some council members expressed concern over how many trees were going to be cut down. The revised plan will save 50 more trees than the previous version, according to Kevin Icard, Bluffton’s planning and community development manager.

As The Island Packet reported at the time, the new Publix will provide a closer grocery store for New Riverside and Palmetto Bluff residents. Currently, their closest grocery store is the Publix at Buckwalter Place, about a 20-minute drive. Upon completion, May River Crossing would cut driving time in half.

May River Crossing will also house four restaurants, an additional four spaces for either retail or restaurants and a small park.

The plan by Halverson Development Corp., of Boca Raton, Fla., has been in the works since 2007 and was initially known as Towne Center at New Riverside.

While the center has now received the green light for construction, there is no firm date for completion.

This story was originally published September 21, 2018 at 12:20 PM.