Hilton Head’s iconic Old Fort Pub to close. Six-story luxury condos to take its place
One of the oldest fine dining restaurants on Hilton Head Island is set to be replaced by a six-floor luxury condo building next year.
Although the restaurant is still open, Old Fort Pub will be demolished to make way for The Charles, a 22-unit luxury complex developed by Charleston-based Hancock Development Corp. The restaurant is located in Hilton Head Plantation on the island’s north end and has been in business since April 1973.
Bill Harkins, who represents Hilton Head Plantation on Town Council, confirmed the news Monday. He said the top floor units are selling for over $1.2 million.
Development documents obtained by The Island Packet show eight of the 22 units were already sold as of the latest update in December. The least expensive units are listed at $999,900.
The units boast unparalleled sunset views over Skull Creek, large private balconies, nine-foot ceilings and gas fireplaces. The building will include a saltwater pool, one story of parking and five stories of condos on the waterfront.
Hancock Development Corp. has constructed similar complexes inside Hilton Head Plantation’s gates and out.
The company is responsible for Indian Springs just down the street from Old Fort Pub and Mariners Point, both of which are 36-unit buildings inside Hilton Head Plantation. It also has developed the 64-unit Sea Cloisters development on Hilton Head’s oceanfront, The Avalon in Indigo Run and The Links at Wimbledon near Islanders Beach Park.
On its website, the company says the condo complex’s name is a nod to Charles Fraser, who commissioned the design of the original buildings on the site, and to King Charles II, who commissioned Capt. William Hilton to sail across the Atlantic Ocean and claim the island.
The development will be complete by October 2022, the website says.
Restaurant closure ‘a loss’
The impending closure of Old Fort Pub is a shock to Hilton Head’s culinary scene.
Old Fort Pub is the only restaurant in Beaufort County to hold a four-diamond honor from AAA, indicating its upscale ambiance paired with distinctive dining and service. No other restaurant in the county ranks higher.
It is, as islanders have described it, owner Bonnie Lowrey’s “baby.” Lowrey and her husband once owned four restaurants on the island, including Antonio’s in the Village at Wexford, CQ’s near Harbour Town and the Boathouse II on Skull Creek.
Old Fort Pub’s menu leans heavily on seafood and steak, starting with she-crab soup (which it calls “an island tradition since 1973”) and ending with a prime filet mignon.
The restaurant was also the site of a semi-famous sunset martini sip by Rachel Ray on her show $40 a Day on the Food Network. She called the restaurant “heaven.”
Since it has opened, Old Fort Pub has been host to graduation dinners, retirement parties and anniversary celebrations alike by islanders young and old.
“It’s such a loss,” Peter Kristian, Hilton Head Plantation’s general manager, told The Island Packet. “In the couple dozen times I’ve been there I’ve never had a bad meal. If you wanted to take out someone special, a parent or someone from out of town, that is always my first choice.”
Workforce housing on Hilton Head
On Feb. 3, 2016, Lowrey appeared before the town’s Planning Commission to defend a development plan that would have increased residential density on the site to 55 total units. After criticism from neighbors and questions from officials, that application eventually was withdrawn.
“I’m trying to figure out what could possibly be done” with the property, Lowrey said at the time. “My kids want nothing to do with the restaurant.”
Reached on Monday by phone, Lowrey said she was unavailable to answer questions. The new development plan from Hancock falls in line with the density allowed on the site: 8 units per acre.
The announcement of the new development comes as the island grapples with finding land and resources to house its crucial workforce, which keeps the tourism industry humming even after being ravaged by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Luxury apartment complexes are planned for the Old Fort Pub site and the now empty Hilton Head Christian Academy site on Gardner Drive.
After immense public pushback, the complex planned for the old school site will designate 5% of its units as workforce housing to be priced below market rate.
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This story was originally published January 12, 2021 at 5:30 AM.
