Plans for almost 900 new apartments move forward in Beaufort. Here are the details
Construction of almost 900 additional apartment units in three different projects was given conceptual approval by the Beaufort Beaufort Design Review Board Tuesday, and 72 of those units would be considered “affordable housing” with rents below market rates.
Developers say the unusually high number of units in the development pipeline is a response to a big need for new housing in Beaufort. But the initial approval came over objections from two observers. They argued the board should put the brakes on such a large number of units until the board, which is down to three members, is back to full force.
“There’s a pretty big demand for it right now, so I understand why,” board chairman Benjie Morillo said of the spate of multi-family housing proposals. “There’s a bunch of these coming up.”
Conceptual approval of the three apartment complexes, which total 888 units, was granted on three 2-1 votes. All three still need additional DRB approval before they can be constructed.
The proposals
▪ Battery Creek Apartments is a 72-unit, three-building project on 5 acres at 25 Old Jericho Road. Developer Jay Bernstein of Battery Creek SC LLC of Charlotte, described the units as affordable housing. That means rents will be adjusted with the units going to individuals and families who earn 60 percent the area median income.
“There’s a huge need in Beaufort for affordable housing,” Bernstein told The Beaufort Gazette.
Working through the SC State Housing Finance and Development Authority, Bernstein hopes to finance the project with tax credits that will be sold with the equity of the sale paying for a percentage of the construction costs and allowing the affordable rents.
▪ Water Crest Apartments is a 504-unit, 21-building project on 38 acres at 211 Broad River Blvd., immediately north of Walmart Supercenter and Cross Creek Plaza on Robert Smalls Parkway. Developers previously said rents would range from $1,500 to $2,000 for 1,000-plus residents.
▪ Gray Tract A apartments is a 312-unit complex of apartments and row houses on 36 acres at 442 Robert Smalls Parkway. Robert L. Morgan of Homes Urban Development in Mount Pleasant, said the tract is part of the Gray family holdings and is on Robert Smalls Parkway just west of Robert Smalls International Academy. Rents, he said, will be “priced consistent with existing market rate communities in Beaufort.”
Libby Anderson, the city’s former director of Planning and Development Services, noting the board was approving three new neighborhoods and nearly 1,000 units, said members should consider tabling decisions until the board is back to full strength. The board currently has three members because of vacancies instead of five. It usually includes an architect, a landscape architect, a civil engineer, a local business owner and an at-large member. Anderson called the decisions on the 888 units “an awesome responsibility.”
Rikki Parker of the Coastal Conservation League also asked that the board withdraw the projects until new board members can be seated. Decisions on the projects, she noted, “will set the stage for the rhythm of development in this part of the city.”
David Prichard, the city’s director of Community and Economic Development director, said the projects still need preliminary and final approvals before the developers can submit construction documents for a project permit. More specifics will be required as the plans move forward, he said.
The three apartment projects are just three of several that have been recently approved or are in the works, Pritchard said. Besides dormitory housing for the University of South Carolina Beaufort, senior housing and units by the Lowcountry Housing Development Corp., a large market-rate complex hasn’t gone up in the city since 2016, Pritchard said.
The three projects have gone through hours of debate at DRB meetings with members raising a number of concerns, ranging from the design of the buildings to how they are configured on the sites and whether they connect well enough with the surrounding area. Overall, the question seems to be whether the projects create the kind of neighborhoods that the city desires, with developers saying they are willing to work with the city but also noting cost constraints.
“I support these projects, but I think they need to be more thoughtful on how we design the site plans in the neighborhoods and the streets and connectivity and all that,” Morillo said.
This story was originally published November 18, 2021 at 4:45 AM.
