Here’s what’s next for empty waterfront restaurant in Hilton Head’s Shelter Cove Marina
The site of the Kingfisher restaurant in Hilton Head’s Shelter Cove Marina has a new owner (and one that’s unlikely to get into the restaurant business): The Town of Hilton Head Island.
The town purchased the waterfront land where the restaurant once operated on Tuesday for $875,000. The 1.5-acre plot will be used to increase open space in the marina area, connect the nearby pathway system, add parking and create more public access to the waterfront, according to Assistant Town Manager Josh Gruber.
Gruber said the town will demolish the buildings on the property.
The town used real estate transfer fees to buy the property. Town Finance Director John Troyer said Tuesday Hilton Head has seen an increase in those fees, paid when a property changes hands, as the real estate market has been strong.
Buying land in Shelter Cove Marina increases the town’s bank of land it owns in the name of preservation. Although not all 1,299 acres the town owns are reserved for green space, the land acquisition program has cost nearly $178 million and has stopped development along U.S. 278.
An analysis by The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette last month showed that the town has purchased a majority of land in some historic Gullah communities, including the Stoney area at the base of the bridges to the island.
That area is set to be changed forever by the U.S. 278 corridor project. Town officials acknowledged that the town has strategically purchased property there to use for the project.
This story was originally published September 17, 2020 at 10:45 AM.
