Beaufort bank building to be torn down for something new. Here’s what’s planned
Downtown Beaufort may soon have a new place for business groups and large events to gather.
The Beaufort Inn plans a new building on Port Republic Street for meeting rooms, and extra space for large parties like weddings, as an expansion of its nearby Tabby Place event venue. The 4,500-square-foot building would allow trade association meetings and other large events to consider Beaufort, its developer said.
“There are a lot of people who would like to come here who end up going to Savannah and Charleston because we don’t have a facility to accommodate them here,” said Dick Stewart, whose company 303 Associates owns the Beaufort Inn.
Plans show three large meeting rooms in a two-level building that would connect to Tabby Place but remain separated by an outdoor courtyard between the buildings.
The project would require tearing down the former bank building at 905 Port Republic St., currently home to the nonprofit Pat Conroy Literary Center. Stewart said he is working with the organization and hopes it can move in with the Santa Elena History Center on Bay Street.
The Beaufort Inn recently build a new downtown cottage to allow for more rooms, and Stewart and 303 Associates have proposed a parking garage on the block adjacent to Tabby Place, and a hotel or condo project on another nearby block.
Local hotel operators have looked for ways to increase business during the middle of the week when overnight stays are generally slower, eyeing business travelers as a possible boost.
Two new hotels are under construction in Beaufort, bringing an additional 200 rooms. Operators of a SpringHill Suites being built on Boundary Street said they hope the new hotel can attract business travelers to use the event space in their neighboring Holiday Inn and Suites.
The meeting space plans will be considered by the city’s Historic District Review Board at City Hall at 2 p.m. Wednesday. Stewart said he hopes construction can begin by the end of the year and the building could be finished by late 2021 or early 2022.
