Sea Pines Resort bought property on Hilton Head's south end. Here's what it might become

As the Town of Hilton Head grapples with how to provide more affordable housing to the island's workforce, Sea Pines Resort is looking for solutions of its own.

The resort purchased approximately 6 acres on Palmetto Bay Road in September. Although there are no definite plans for that property, it could be used as a site for housing interns and workers, according to Cliff McMackin, director of resort development.

"We don't know if it's going to be a good solution for a future development, but we had an opportunity to acquire the property so we did," McMackin said. "We're not 100 percent sure yet if it's feasible."

The resort purchased 24 and 26 Palmetto Bay Road, a strip mall and a vacant lot behind the shops.

Property records show that RP Palmetto Bay LLC owns 24 Palmetto Bay Road and purchased 26 in September 2017 for more than $2 million.

RP Palmetto Bay LLC is a company registered in Virginia. It was established by The Riverstone Group, which owns and operates Sea Pines Resort, McMackin said.

The resort, which is responsible for housing about 200 interns and workers each year, has seen a decrease in available housing and runs a "mini property management company" along with an in-house committee on workforce housing to tackle the issue, according to Kortney Keller, human resources manager for the resort.

Keller and several other employees are responsible for finding and vetting housing across the island for resort workers.

The resort holds 12 leases at Hilton Head Resort, 30 at Chimney Cove and several others at south end locations. March is a slower season for interns, but 60 percent of the units are filled, Keller said.

"Resorts like us are going to have to decide whether to wait for a developer to come around and provide something that works for us, or get more active and create an opportunity for ourselves," McMackin said.

About $200 is deducted biweekly from an intern's pay for rent, Keller said. That doesn't cover the cost of maintaining leases year-round, however.

That system isn't sustainable, McMackin said. And the resort hasn't found a solution.

"We're encouraging the property owners to try to work with us here, but there's really no obligation that they have to do it," McMackin said. "There's really nothing that gives us immediate concern, but we just know it's a plan we don't have full control over."

The owners of the leased units can decide they don't want to house interns anymore, for example. There's no recourse for the resort except to find new housing. An owner of one unit is opting out in May, Keller said.

Finding housing for workers has only gotten more difficult over the past few years, McMackin said. He thinks an influx of retirees is partially to blame.

"We're starting to see more and more property owners retire to Hilton Head," he said. "The unit they bought 10 years ago that they had on the rental market, they're ready to make that their primary residence. I think that's what's really changing."

The town has made finding a solution to the affordable housing crisis a 2018 priority.

It's had several discussions on how to tackle the problem. The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce hosted a daylong summit Feb. 28 that brought in representatives from municipalities across the country that have successfully implemented workforce housing programs.

The chamber also has formed a business workforce coalition to bring together the public and private sector to search for housing solutions, according to Charlie Clark, vice president of communications for the chamber.

"Starting this summer, a pilot program will utilize college apartments at the USCB New River campus that are normally vacant in the summer for critical seasonal workforce usage," Clark said in an email Thursday.

The town has requested proposals for an island-wide affordable housing strategic plan, which are due back in mid-April.

"We're encouraged by the amount of time and effort the chamber and the town are putting in to help find a solution," McMackin said. "It gives us a good sense that there will be a solution — we just have to play a part in finding it."

The problem, though, extends beyond housing.

Adequate transportation is also a concern.

Town officials repeatedly have said affordable housing and transportation go hand-in-hand, and are having discussions about creating shuttles for workers.

Right now, the Sea Pines Resort partners with a taxi service to provide shuttles every hour to and from the resort and intern housing.

The resort has found it's not worth the cost to provide shuttles to Bluffton or even the north end of the island.

Housing on the south end is really the only option for a south-end resort, McMackin said.

This story was originally published March 30, 2018 at 3:31 PM with the headline "Sea Pines Resort bought property on Hilton Head's south end. Here's what it might become."