Do new projects threaten Beaufort’s old character? Park Service wants to investigate
A federal agency that monitors the integrity of areas with historic status wants to study Beaufort’s to ensure the city’s 300-acre treasure trove of well-preserved historic homes and businesses still measures up to its designation as a national historic landmark.
In 1969, the 304-acre area comprising the original town of Beaufort was listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The district was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1973. It’s bounded by the Beaufort River on the south and the east, Hamar and Bladen streets on the west and to the north by Boundary Street.
The original nominating application for a federal historic designation says the 300 so-called contributing structures in the district are considered a treasury of early Southern American architecture.
But recent development projects have put the spotlight on the historic district and sparked a dispute, including a lawsuit over whether some larger buildings fit in with the charm and cultural and architectural significance of the older buildings.
Graham Trask, one of the people who alerted the National Park Service, contends local government is a threat to its own historic district, which he notes is a major tourist draw. Mayor Stephen Murray defended local preservation efforts.
Both said they welcomed NPS input.
“The National Park Service (NPS) recently learned of concerns within the Beaufort Community about potential threats to the historic character of the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District,” NPS said in the letter to city officials. “As the primary steward of the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District, we wanted to reach out to your office to provide some information on the National Historic Landmarks Program, and to offer our assistance.”
Murray and City Manager Bill Prokop received the letter from the National Historic Landmarks Program in Atlanta on Monday.
The aim of the National Historic Landmark monitoring program is to identify properties that have lost historic integrity or face threats so they can be preserved and prevent the withdrawal of the designation.
NPS recommends a comprehensive study, which it is willing to fund, and asked for the city’s support and assistance.
“It’s gotten so egregious we asked them to get involved,” Trask told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet Wednesday, acknowledging he and Will Cook contacted the NPS.
Trask is a real estate developer who owns West Street Farms LLC and Mix Farms LLC, two limited liability companies, and lives in Geneva, Switzerland. He is suing the City of Beaufort, developer 303 Associates LLC, and developer Beaufort Inn LLC, accusing them of not following the city’s zoning requirements when approving several large projects in Beaufort’s downtown.
Cook, a Beaufort native now living in Maryland, is an attorney with the Cultural Heritage Partners focusing on protection of National Historic Landmarks, significant landscapes, historic viewsheds, and traditional cultural properties. He is not part of Trask’s lawsuit.
“They’re weighing in because the national historic landmark district in Beaufort is one of the most important historic districts in the country,” said Cook of the NPS, noting that those who walk in the city experience something similar to what one might have experienced in the 18th and 19th centuries.
At the center of the Trask’s lawsuit are three large-scale developments proposed in Beaufort’s downtown — a hotel at the corner of Scott and Port Republic streets; a three-story parking garage on the block bordered by Charles, Craven and West streets; and, a three-story apartment complex on Charles Street.
Trask said he’s pleased that NPS is taking seriously his concerns about the large projects within the historic district. The study, he added, is overdue.
“My hope is the city will cooperate, collaborate and hopefully get back on track,” Trask said.
Dispute centers on large infill projects
The proposed study of the Beaufort National Historic Landmark comes as the city conducts its own inventory of historic structures as part of a broader update of its preservation manual.
Mayor Murray said he responded to the NPS letter saying he welcomes the agency’s expertise in taking a look at the district and providing guidance. He had not heard back from the agency as of Wednesday.
“I believe the overwhelming majority of our contributing structures are really in great shape,” Murray said.
Murray says he knows some contend the city could lose its national historic landmark designation, but no district has ever had that status withdrawn, he said. He asked that question recently when participating in a National Park Service webinar as part of National Historic Preservation Month, which falls in May.
While Murray said he welcomes an NPS study, he’s also frustrated because he says the individuals who complained have other motives.
It also will cost local taxpayers money in the form of staff time assisting the Park Service, and it will duplicate work the city already is doing now, the mayor said. In April, a team from John Milner Architects began assessing buildings in the historic district as it updates the city’s contributing properties list and revises the Beaufort Preservation Manual first published in 1979.
Murray said he understands the concern now about six or seven projects occurring downtown, but, taking a broader perspective, the rehabilitation of structures that has occurred throughout the entire district has been significant, he said. “That’s something we lose sight of a bit,” Murray said.
And processes are in place for the public to get involved, he added.
Trask said a study by NPS is significant because NPS makes and monitors the designations, and Beaufort’s historic status “basically justifies” the city as a tourist designation.
“God forbid the city government would jeopardize that,” Trask said.
Trask argues the city has allowed certain “infill” projects, which he says are out of character with the fabric of downtown Beaufort, to proceed through the Historic District Review Board process. They should have first gone to the Zoning Board of Appeals because of their size, he said.
“It’s really those projects and the city’s disregard for its city code, and the city’s reluctance to stand up and say, ‘Hey we messed up,’ that’s driven the lawsuit and also the National Park Service getting involved,” Trask said.
The NPS letter to the city says historic districts like the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District can be challenging to preserve because they are often vibrant commercial and social centers that must adapt to meet the needs of residents and visitors.
“Periodically it is important to re-examine historic districts to understand how they have changed and how those changes have affected, for good or bad, the district’s historic integrity,” the letter says.
A comprehensive Integrity and Condition Study would document the district and highlight positive preservation actions as well as items that may require attention, NPS said.
“NPS staff believe an Integrity and Condition Study will also serve as an opportunity to build a stronger relationship with members of the Beaufort community and a better understanding of the Beaufort National Historic Landmark District,” the letter says.
This story was originally published May 14, 2021 at 4:25 AM.
