Timeshares planned for Hilton Head at site of former Adventure Inn
An unnamed company has plans to transform the site of the former Adventure Inn on Hilton Head Island into beachfront timeshares.
And despite public scrutiny the industry has faced, owners near the proposed development on South Forest Beach Drive say more timeshares won't be a problem.
"As long as it's first-rate and looks nice, we don't have an issue with timeshares," said Jack Daly, president of the Forest Beach Owners Association.
Plans submitted to the town call for a "signature destination resort" on land once occupied by the inn across from Lemoyne Avenue.
The complex would hold two six-story residential buildings with as many as 125 two-bedroom units.
Plans also show two pools, an outdoor bar and grill, a lawn with live oaks, and boardwalks that lead to the ocean.
The oceanside property is owned by Vacation Time of Hilton Head Island, a rental and real estate company.
Mike Notartomaso, CEO of Vacation Time, declined Tuesday to name the company that will develop the timeshares.
He did say it is not Coral Resorts.
The Hilton Head timeshare company has drawn fire as it continues to battle more than 50 lawsuits filed by unhappy owners in state and federal court.
Despite the controversy about Coral Resorts, Notartomaso said timeshares create "the economic impact and bring in the type of tourists our (Hilton Head Island-Bluffton) Chamber of Commerce says we should bring."
Daly, the Forest Beach association president, agreed.
He said timeshare owners are more likely to visit during the slow season.
"It's use it or lose it," he said. "If you own in February or January, you'll use it. That's good for our businesses when other tourists aren't coming."
Vacation Time has planned to redevelop the property since 2008, when the Adventure Inn was demolished.
The inn was the last of the island's three original hotels.
Notartomaso said an improving economy prompted the company to move forward.
The town's new land-management ordinance did not figure in the decision, he said. Under the old code, timeshares needed a special exception from a town panel. The new code eliminated that review.
But the Adventure Inn was a timeshare resort when it closed. That means the property was approved for timeshares and wouldn't have needed review, according to land-management ordinance official Teri Lewis.
Notartomaso declined to say how much the redevelopment will cost.
He expects construction to start this spring. A completion date has not been set.
The height of the buildings will rival the tallest oceanfront structures on Hilton Head.
Buildings at the Beach House, Sea Crest Villas, and Omni and Sonesta hotels also are 75 feet, or about six stories.
That is the maximum height for beachfront properties allowed by the town, Lewis said.
Follow reporter Dan Burley on Twitter at twitter.com/IPBG_Dan.
Related content:
- The end of an era: The Adventure Inn is demolished , March 12, 2008
This story was originally published December 9, 2014 at 12:05 PM with the headline "Timeshares planned for Hilton Head at site of former Adventure Inn."