Apartments, shops and a hotel? Bluffton-area golf course could be transformed
A developer’s plan to pave over a Bluffton-area golf course and build apartments, commercial buildings and a hotel went to Beaufort County for review Tuesday.
The proposal, submitted by architecture firm Witmer Jones Keefer and The Reed Group, the developer, to the county’s staff review team, would rezone parts of the 145-acre golf course to allow for 61 acres of residential, hotel and commercial development and 83 acres of open space.
Todd Brown, executive vice president of Brown Golf, the company that operates the golf course at Island West — and others, such as Pinecrest in Bluffton and Palmetto Hall and Dolphin Head on Hilton Head Island — said the golf course has been closed since April.
“It was costing a lot of money, and it was not sustaining itself,” he said. And the coronavirus pandemic added to the pain.
Brown said the company has laid off employees but wouldn’t say how many because he “doesn’t comment on employee matters.”
The proposal from Witmer Jones Keefer described the course as “decommissioned.”
The golf course at Island West is one of many courses across the country struggling to stay profitable. This past year, two golf courses in Bluffton were put up for auction due to financial problems.
The neighbors of the Island West community are vehemently against the developer’s plans to rezone the golf course inside their neighborhood. They’ve written council members, met with The Reed Group, the developer, and even retained S.C. Rep. Weston Newton, R-Bluffton, as attorney to fight the potential rezoning.
Although they don’t own the course, they say it’s part of their community. They worry that impervious surfaces will increase flooding in an area along U.S. 278 and Buckwalter Parkway that’s already seen a lot of development. They say the values of their homes will plummet if the golf course is paved over.
On Tuesday, the county’s staff review team, comprising staff members from various county departments, reviewed the Reed Group’s plans to rezone the golf course and determined that the plans are a “major change” to the development that will require approval from the county’s planning commission and county council.
County staff asked the developer to include comments about the rezoning’s impact on stormwater and road access points, and to complete a traffic analysis study. Once the developer submits the revised plan to the county, staff will send it to the planning commission for approval. If approved by planning, county council will have to approve the rezoning on three readings.
However, this process will be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. The planning commission will not be allowed to review the plans until the county resumes in-person meetings, community development director Eric Greenway said Tuesday.
The process, from review to approval, usually takes between “90 to 120 days,” but due to the pandemic, Greenway said he has “no idea how long it will take.”
The owner of the golf course is listed as 40 Island West Drive LLC, according to county records. The registered agent for the golf course is listed as Capitol Corporate Services Inc., according to business filings.
Several Beaufort County documents involving the Island West Golf Club refer to a company called “Topper Golf World LLC” and are signed by Joseph V. Topper Jr.
Brown refused to comment on who is behind the company “to keep his name out of it.”
This story was originally published May 5, 2020 at 2:37 PM.
