Beaufort Historic Foundation says city erred in OKing downtown apartments. Here’s why
The Historic Beaufort Foundation is appealing the city’s Aug. 9 approval of a special exception for a three-story downtown apartment project, calling it out of step with the historic neighborhood in which it would be located.
The developer called the appeal a delay tactic without merit.
Developer 303 Associates needed the exception to build the 27,000-square-foot, 19-unit apartment building with retail space on the first floor. The Zoning Board of Appeals granted it on a 3-2 vote Aug. 9.
The appeal, made in Beaufort County Circuit Court Wednesday naming the ZBOA, the city of Beaufort and 303 Associates, argued that the exception was riddled with errors and should have been denied for several reasons.
For one, the foundation argues, the zoning board erred in saying the $7.5 million project was compatible with other uses in the area. The proposed apartment complex, the appeal says, has no precedence in the National Historic Landmark District, and therefore, it cannot be compatible with existing uses there.
“At a height of 40 feet, the proposed building will tower above the adjacent structures fronting Port Republic and Bay Street and will be extremely visible from Bay, Charles and Port Republic Streets and the river,” the appeal says.
Dick Stewart of 303 Associates called the appeal a delay tactic by opponents.
“It doesn’t have any merit,” he said.
He is optimistic that the appeal will be resolved quickly. “We’re looking to starting construction on these buildings,” Stewart said.
It is the second time in two months the foundation has appealed city decisions on downtown development projects.
On July 9, it filed a petition in Circuit Court appealing the June 9, 2021, decision by the City of Beaufort’s Historic Review Board to allow construction of a large parking garage and a four-story hotel in Beaufort’s National Historic Landmark District.
The developer of both of those projects is 303 Associates and the Beaufort Inn.
The apartments are planned on the southeast corner of Port Republic and Charles streets and will require the demolition of the former Port Republic and Charles Building.
Developer 303 Associates has argued that the project fits with surrounding area and meets requirements for an exception, the foundation and others criticized it during the lead-up to the vote at the Aug. 9 meeting as being too large and setting an precedent for large projects in the city’s historic downtown.
Projects prompt debate
Several projects Stewart is promoting within a few blocks of each other have prompted an intense debate over the size of projects and what fits in the city’s historic homes and businesses.
“HBF sees these as generational projects that will forever adversely impact Beaufort,” its executive director, Cynthia Jenkins, said Tuesday in a statement. “Our objective, as always, is not to prevent progress or development, but to ensure that all new construction is compatible with the significant character of Beaufort’s National Historic Landmark district.”
HBF is a not-for-profit education foundation created to preserve, protect, and present sites and artifacts of historic, architectural, and cultural interest throughout Beaufort County.
This story was originally published September 14, 2021 at 4:08 PM.
