Beaufort Co. buying 2.1 acres from Technical College of the Lowcountry. Here’s the plan
Beaufort County is in the process of buying 2.1 acres of land for $1.2 million from the Technical College of the Lowcountry in Beaufort where it is planning to develop “workforce housing.”
Administrator Eric Greenway is hosting a meeting in the County Council Chambers, 100 Ribaut Road, Beaufort at 6 p.m. Thursday, in response to questions that have been raised about the project. The five parcels, which total 2.1 acres, are located next to the Beaufort Mather Campus between Ribaut Road and Spanish Moss Trail.
The County Council OK’d the $1.2 million needed for the purchase April 18 as part of a vote to spend $9 million in surplus 2022 budget funds on several projects. The council granted the permission to buy the property May 9 in a 9-2 vote.
Workforce housing is homes or rental housing for those with moderate to middle incomes and working in “critical workforce” can afford, according to the National Association of Realtors, and located in acceptable proximity to workforce centers.
Providing more of it is a priority for the county, where rents and home prices have soared in recent years.
Greenway says he will explain the unique nature of buying property from public entities such as TCL and the state of South Carolina. Public comments also will also be taken.
Specific plans have not been developed. “We are in the conceptual part of the process,” Greenway said.
County council members are proceeding with developing the workforce housing because of land’s location near the hospital and college, County spokesman Chris Ophardt said.
Since the county owns the property, it can come up with a development agreement that requires that the property be developed with housing that nurses, teachers and emergency medical technicians and others in similar professions can afford, Ophardt said. The land falls within the city of Beaufort, which would be involved in approving the plans.
Some people have raised concerns about low-income housing being constructed but it won’t be, Ophardt said.
Council Member Alice Howard has been criticized for not providing more information about the proposal as it moved through the process. On Wednesday, Howard told the Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet that meetings are open and agendas are published “so I’m not sure where that’s coming from.”
However, Howard added: “There’s always room for improvement. If that’s their criticism, I take it to heart. We’ll try to do better.”
Howard says she hopes that a task force can be formed that will include residents in the neighborhood. “That way we can work together with the community,” Howard said.
The Town of Bluffton, Howard noted, bought property that was later developed with affordable workforce housing now known as the Wharf Street.
The technical college purchased five family residences adjacent to the Beaufort Mather Campus between Ribaut Road and Spanish Moss Trail between 2000 and 2015, to enable future expansion, said Mary Lee Carns, TCL’s vice president for advancement and continuing education. But the technical college’s new expansion plans are to optimize the existing campus footprint and anticipate vertical growth, not horizontal, Carns said.
“The college no longer needs to be, nor desires to be, a landlord,” Carns said. “Rental property management is not our mission.”
Beaufort County also recently closed bidding on two properties the county owns at 600 Wilmington Street and 1407 King Street in Beaufort. The county also anticipates developing workforce housing at those locations, Ophardt said.
The meeting can be seen on the County Channel.
This story was originally published June 1, 2022 at 3:00 PM.
