‘Small village’ community planned for Bluffton’s New Riverside area. Here’s what’s coming
A walkable village the developer describes as “vibrant yet quaint” is likely to be built in Bluffton.
The 35-acre New Riverside Village, planned at the southeast corner of New Riverside Road and S.C. 46, is expected to have homes, shops, parks, trails and even a public library overlooking a pond.
Tuesday night, Bluffton Town Council approved the initial master plan for the development, which looks more like a small city with some conditions.
The developer has to agree to require 10 of the possible 136 residential units to be affordable housing, commit to a traffic study, work with town staff to save additional trees and increase the amount of open land.
The planned village is one of several housing developments proposed — or already built — in Bluffton’s growing New Riverside area, including a developer’s plan to add extra homes to the Alton Park development and the planned 105-unit Four Seasons at Carolina Oaks age-restricted community.
The proposed village will border the town’s New Riverside barn property and S.C. 46.
Even with approval of the initial master plan, the development still has to go before the town again for two readings because the plans include several town-owned properties, such as a public park with a waterfall and a library. The council has not scheduled that vote.
New Riverside Village is part of developer AVTEX Commercial Properties Inc.’s plan to create a small village “for meeting strangers, shopping, eating, entertainment, and recreating on the paths and trails that connect the civic spaces to the waterfront edge,” according to the master plan.
The documents suggest the village will have amenities such as cafes and markets. “New Riverside Village will be a place for everyone in the region to gather, shop, eat, work, and live,” the development’s master plan says.
Residents will be able to walk to shopping and dining and “will be a connected community and a healthy place.”
The village will be part of the New Riverside tract development agreement, which the town approved in 2004.
According to town documents, the developer is allowed to build 107 residential units and has the right to convert 7 acres of commercial to 29 more units.
The building will be done in two phases.
Phase one includes:
- Town park and pocket parks
- Library
- Single-family residential homes
- Commercial village
- Daycare facility
- Three commercial buildings
Phase two will be the construction of single or multi-family units.
According to the master plan, construction on the commercial buildings will likely begin in 2021.
