Is construction of a Harris Teeter on Lady’s Island set to begin? Grocery chain seeks permit
As a key deadline approaches, Harris Teeter appears to be gearing up for construction of a much-anticipated grocery store that’s long been planned at the intersection of Sams Point Road and Sea Island Parkway on Lady’s Island.
A construction fence has gone up around the half-acre site at the busy intersection across from Publix. Construction materials are also being staged.
Harris Teeter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But the Matthews, N.C.-based grocery store chain has applied for a site work permit from the city of Beaufort, said Ken Meola, a code enforcement officer with the city. The permit, which had not been issued as of Friday, allows grading and other site preparation prior to construction, Meola said.
The company still needs a building permit before construction can begin, Meola said.
In January 2021, the city’s Design Review Board approved the project, which includes a new store, convenience store building and a gas station canopy, but no work has occurred since then. The review board’s approval expires Jan. 21, 2023— unless a building permit is issued by then.
Residents raised concerns earlier this year that Harris Teeter had scrapped plans for the store when signs advertising its pending arrival disappeared. But Paige Pauroso, a spokesperson for Harris Teeter, told the city of Beaufort in January that supply chain challenges and general construction delays had caused changes to the store’s construction timeline.
The Harris Teeter site at 163 Sea Island Parkway had been the location of a Publix, but that company built a new store on the other side of Sea Island Parkway in 2014. A Walmart Supercenter also opened on Sea Island Parkway in 2017.
Harris Teeter, a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Kroger Co., was co-founded in 1960 by North Carolina grocers W.T. Harris and Willis Teeter. Today, Harris Teeter operates 250 stores and 60 fuel centers with 35,000 employees in North Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia, Georgia, Maryland, Delaware, Florida and the District of Columbia.
The Lady’s Island store would be the second in Beaufort County. The other is located on Hilton Head Island.
This story was originally published December 12, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
