Judge upholds Beaufort’s approval of hotel, parking garage in historic district
A judge has upheld the city of Beaufort’s approvals of a hotel and parking garage in downtown, a defeat for opponents but a win for the city’s approval process and developer Dick Stewart.
Stewart is planning $45 million in building projects he says will be positive additions to the city’s downtown with critics arguing they will change its historic character.
Judge Bentley Price’s decision Thursday to uphold the Historic Review Board’s June 9 approval of the hotel and parking garage rejected appeals brought by the Historic Beaufort Foundation and developer Graham Trask, who owns adjacent property.
The hotel is planned for the corner of Scott and Port Republic streets, and the parking garage on the block bordered by Charles, Craven and West streets.
Bentley issued a ruling from the bench immediately following arguments from four lawyers. He offered no additional comment other than to say he has extensive experience in development in historic areas and has represented both investors and those appealing developments in Charleston.
During the hearing, Bill Harvey, the city’s attorney, made the case that the integrity of the city’s processes was at stake.
Those processes, he said, do not involve “one-step” approval, noting that the hotel and garage have gone through six years of multiple public hearings, votes and opportunities for challenges. Harvey said members of the Historic Beaufort Foundation had been “asleep at the wheel” during the approval process. The group had a designated seat on the review board, he said, yet waited until the 11th hour to file an appeal.
Attorneys for Trask and the foundation argued the city’s approvals should be overturned because the preliminary approvals of the hotel and parking garage had expired. Therefore, they said, approvals that came later in the process were irrelevant.
John Massalon, an attorney for the foundation, told the judge that some of the arguments may sound like technicalities, but “we think good process produces good results.”
He made the case that the future of the city’s downtown was at stake.
Stewart’s proposals, he said, are a “radical departure” from what is in the area now. The parking garage, he said, has a facade as long as a football field, and the hotel is four stories with a bar on top.
Trask and HBF said they would appeal the ruling.
The foundation and Trask also are appealing a decision by the Zoning Board of Appeals approving a third downtown project by Stewart, an apartment complex. That appeal is pending. Trask also is suing the city and Stewart.
Stewart, the owner of 303 Associates and Hotel Beaufort, which is behind the proposals, said the investment in the hotel, parking garage and apartment projects will create 86 jobs.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 3:16 PM.
