County is selling 2 Beaufort lots for $1 million. Plans will address a ‘critical need’
Beaufort County is pushing head with selling 2 acres of land in a historic Beaufort neighborhood to a developer with stipulations that he build a mix of market-rate housing and less-expensive units to meet a “critical need” for affordable and workforce housing.
The sale of land, for just more than $1 million, comes as a housing shortage and inflation continue to drive up housing costs from Hilton Head to Beaufort. In an attempt to entice more developers to build workforce units, municipalities of Beaufort, Port Royal, Bluffton, Hilton Head, Hardeeville and Yemassee have created a Housing Trust and pledged to contribute $3.4 million over 10 years.
The Beaufort County Council on Oct. 24 authorized County Administer Eric Greenway to finalize a deal to sell two properties, which total 2.36 acres, to developer Jeffrey Wheeler, who has plans to create the mix of housing options.
County spokesman Chris Ophardt said the sale and details of the project are now being negotiated. The number of units that will be affordable or workforce housing is still is under discussion, Ophardt said, but will be “significant.”
Occupants of the workforce housing pay 70-80% of the median income. Affordable housing payments are based on 60% of median income.
The lots are located in a mostly residential area within the Beaufort Historic District at 1407 King Street, which will be sold for $275,000, and 600 Wilmington St., which has a sale price of $780,000.
The $1 million in profit from the sales, Ophardt said, will go to Parks and Recreation projects like South Side Park and the Charles Lind Brown Center in Beaufort, and Booker T. Washington park in Yemassee.
A vacant county jail building and a second building, the Beaufort County Office Building, which once housed a vital records office, are located on the King Street property, which is overgrown but sprinkled with live oak and palmetto trees. Neither building is occupied.
A state Department of Health and Environmental Control building, which houses offices and a small clinic offering immunizations and lab testing, is located on the Wilmington Street property. Employees in that building will be moving to a new location.
All of the county buildings, Ophardt said, will be demolished at the expense of the developer to make way for the new housing.
The properties were publicly advertised for sale and Wheeler was the successful bidder. The county and developer are now working out details of covenants and restrictions on the Wilmington Street property to ensure that it is dedicated to work force and affordable housing.
“The County recognizes that workforce and affordable housing is a serious public health and safety concern throughout the County, which places stress on individual families and communities at large from a lack of diversity in neighborhoods, a separation of the workforce from workplaces, imbalances in educational opportunities and community amenities, adverse impacts on child development, and a higher incidence of violent crime that affect low-income neighborhoods,” the county said in a staff report on the land sale.
The two properties will be combined into one for the development project, Ophardt said, which will streamline the zoning and permitting process with the city of Beaufort. The city, Ophardt said, would like to see the property developed in a specific way as to minimize the impact of construction vehicles in the neighborhood.
Graham Jackson, a spokesman for the developer, said details of the project would not be released until the sale is final. Affordable housing, he said, would be a component of the development. “Certainly,” Jackson said, “it’s a critical need in Beaufort.”
Reece Bertholf, Beaufort’s deputy city manager, said last week a project had yet to be submitted to the city’s Community Development Department.
“Since our code is a public document,” Bertholf added, “it is possible that the county and a developer are working to develop concepts that they would expect to be feasible under the Beaufort Code before submitting an application.”
As of right now, money from the newly formed Housing Trust is not being used for the project, Ophardt said. To access those funds, developers need to commit to providing affordable housing through covenants and restrictions.
County administrators have said that it takes an income of $48,080 to pay median gross rent in Beaufort County. Meanwhile, salaries for the four industries that employ the majority of people in the Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Beaufort region — food preparation and serving, sales, office and transportation and material moving occupations — range from $24,000 to $32,000 annually.
This story was originally published November 3, 2022 at 1:14 PM.
