Gated community coming to the marshes of the Okatie River. Here’s how many homes
A controversial housing development near Okatie that will bring hundreds of homes along the marshes of the Okatie River is now in the works, the developer announced this week.
The 119-acre gated community, Malind Bluff, will feature 330 single- and two-story homes between S.C. 170 and the Okatie River and will be in walking distance of Okatie Elementary, according to developer Pulte Homes.
A remnant from the sprawling 2008 Okatie Village project, the development was approved by the Beaufort County Council last July. A second part of the failed recession-era project, River Oaks, a plan for 315 single-family homes on 63 acres, has not yet been approved by the council.
Pulte Homes expects to hold a grand opening of the model homes in early fall, according to a news release. The 12 home designs will range from 1,588 square feet to more than 3,000 square feet.
The homes at Malind Bluff, sometimes referred to by the county as Osprey Point, will start in the mid-$200,000’s and will range from three to five bedrooms and two to four baths. Each home will have have a two-car garage, according to the developer.
“Malind Bluff residents also will enjoy a riverfront park, fire pit, swimming pool, playground, party pavilion and day dock for fishing, kayaking and crabbing,” a Thursday news release from the developer said.
‘LOWCOUNTRY WAY OF LIFE’
The residents of Cherry Point Road, a small dirt road just off S.C. 170, have spoken out against both the Malind Bluff and River Oaks developments.
They say the two developments will negatively affect their way of life and the reason they moved to the quiet, rural community — the Okatie River. They fear traffic will make their neighborhood unsafe and that hundreds more children will crowd Okatie Elementary, a school that’s already almost at capacity.
“The Lowcountry way of life is no more,” one Cherry Point resident told The Island Packet in October.
Although Malind Bluff is already a done deal, the county is still in talks with developers BBII Holding about what to do for the River Oaks plan.
This story was originally published February 15, 2020 at 11:48 AM.
