Port of Port Royal redevelopment changes OK’d. Why they could launch the project
The town of Port Royal has approved changes to its port redevelopment plan which are expected to allow a sale of the 317-acre property and spur millions in investment in private and public projects along 2 miles of waterfront.
The sale of the seafront land by developer and owner Grey Ghost Properties to Safe Harbor Marinas, if completed, would launch construction of hundreds of homes, a large marina, several restaurants and seafood processing infrastructure.
The town’s unanimous approval of the changes doesn’t guarantee the sale but improves the likelihood of it happening, said Whit Suber of Grey Ghost Properties. “It was key to moving the ball forward,” he said.
Grey Ghost Properties bought the land from the South Carolina Ports Authority for $9 million in 2017. About 50 acres of the 317 acres will be developed, with the rest marshland.
Now Dallas-based Safe Harbor Marinas, the largest owner and operator of marinas in the world, has entered a contract with Grey Ghost to purchase its property and take over the development, which is expected over five to seven years.
Safe Harbor said it needed amendments to the planned unit development (PUD) plan, which spells out building rules for the area, and a development agreement between Grey Ghost and the town, to effectively develop the land.
Town officials say the town got better terms with the changes as well.
On Wednesday evening, the Town Council OK’d the development agreement changes 5-0.
The PUD amendments passed 3-2, with Mayor Joe DeVito and council members Mary Beth Heyward and Kevin Phillips voting yes. Council members Darryl Owens and Jerry Ashmore voted no.
“We’re finally at a point where we can see real progress happening,” DeVito said, as the town has an opportunity to return the port to its roots as a working waterfront.
Among the changes are increases in the housing density, from 425 to 575 units, and marina boat slips, from 220 to 300. Additional commercial square footage is now possible. And a land swap is suggested that would move proposed housing from sensitive marshlands near Sands Beach. That area would become a public park.
Grey Ghost attorney David Tedder highlighted another change: Developers are now required to make at least $30,000 in aesthetic improvements to a large dry stack boat storage building, which has been a sore spot with the town because the building blocks views of the water. The deadline for those improvements to be completed is Dec. 31, 2022.
Other amendments:
- The developer must pay the town $150,000 if it doesn’t build at least a 1,700-square-foot seafood facility, a nod to the town’s desire for seafood processing operations to be held on the property.
- The town will allow up to $750,000 in tax increment financing funds for the construction of two parks, and the town will get half of that money to develop the park it would receive in the land swap.
- The developer will turn over ownership of both parks, and the promenade it will construct, over to the town. The developer also will construct the second park on Paris Avenue.
Council member Phillips said the new amendments have teeth because they require timelines on when open space will be conveyed to the town. Where the funding will come from also is specified, he said.
The changes will be void unless the sale occurs by Nov. 15.
Jessie White of the Coastal Conservation League, while generally supportive of the project, raised concerns.
A treed area of some 90 residential homes called the Bluff, which falls within the PUD, is not subject to a tougher new tree ordinance that was approved in 2017, she noted. The entire PUD, she said, should fall under those rules.
“Trees are the lungs of our planet, and we actually need them to survive,” said White, noting they also increase property values and reduce noise.
She also said the places identified in the agreement for open space should be specifically highlighted on a map. She noted that areas around Sands Beach continue to show development potential.
Tedder, the Grey Ghost attorney, said it won’t be developing marshland near the beach if the land swap that’s proposed is finalized. Once the town takes ownership, he said, it can rezone it for open space if it wants.
Council member Owens said he voted against the PUD amendments because he said the entire area in the PUD should fall under the new tree ordinance.
Grey Ghost’s Suber said it doesn’t make sense to include the Bluff area under the new tree ordinance because trees the developer wanted to remove already have been taken down after the area was subdivided.
This story was originally published July 15, 2021 at 3:42 PM.
