100s of new houses coming to undeveloped Beaufort island. Why is no public input required?

Hundreds of high-end housing units are in the works on one of the last undeveloped sea islands in the Lowcountry — picturesque Cane Island, which is surrounded by the Beaufort River and salt marshes just minutes from downtown Beaufort and Port Royal.

While the addition of new waterfront housing of this caliber would normally generate high community interest, it turns out the public won’t have much input in how these two projects proceed through the city of Beaufort’s review process.

That’s because development agreements reached decades ago between the city and the landowners remain active and stipulate how the land will be developed. Those agreements allow high-density residential and commercial development — and require an administrative approval process, which does not include public hearings, said Curt Freese, the director of the city of Beaufort’s Community Development Department, which has jurisdiction.

One of the proposed housing developments, which will include exclusive houses in the million-dollar range, is located on Upper Cane Island. A plat for the first phase of that project has been formally submitted to the city of Beaufort.

An even larger project, which could included hundreds of dwelling units, a marina and restaurant, is located just to the southwest on Lower Cane Island. Developers involved with that project have only had preliminary meetings with city planners but say they plan to move forward.

Cane Island, located in the cluster of sea islands with deep water access a few miles from both Beaufort and Port Royal, fronts the Beaufort River and is otherwise surrounded by the salt marsh. Cat Island is the largest and most developed.

No public hearings available or required

Both developments are part of planned unit development and development agreements approved some 30 years ago that locked in residential and commercial density standards, Freese said.

Per these active development agreements, administrative approval is required for the proposals so the developers will not be required to present the projects before a city panel such as the Planning Commission, which conducts public hearings.

Instead, Freese and his planning staff will review the projects.

“We are reviewing the projects to make sure they are consistent with the original agreements and master plan,” Freese said.

One of the biggest issues that will need to be addressed, Freese said, is roads because of the increased traffic. “They will still have to do a traffic impact analysis on each project,” Freese said.

While the projects are separate today, Fred Trask, who died in 2021, was involved in developing both of the planned unit developments years ago, said Charles Adams of Jacksonville, Fla.-based Thrivemore Advisors LLC, a development manager of large-scale multi-use communities that is working on the Lower Cane Island development.

“He had the foresight to hire some advisors to get it generally planned and proceeded to get development agreements in place for both of those tracts,” Adams said.

Here’s what we know about the two projects:

5 Upper Cane Island

The address of the “Kane Island” single-family housing project — the name of the Island is spelled Cane Island — is 5 Cane Island Farm Road, east of the Islands Causeway, the main road winding through the string of islands and providing access to neighborhoods as well as the popular Secession Golf Course.

The reason the developer chose to change the first letter of the island’s name from a “C” to a “K” for the development is unknown.

The 230 acres, a former daffodil farm, is located on Upper Cane Island, and bounded by the Beaufort River to the west and Distant Island Creek to the north, east and south. The acreage includes a 10-acre island connected to the larger tract via a wooden bridge.

Last Tuesday, Alabama-based Kane Island Development Co. LLC submitted a plat for the first phase of the project. The first phase consists of 16 large lots on 126 acres, with future phases also planned.

The original planned unit development and development agreement for the entire 230 acres, approved decades ago, allows up to 495 dwelling units and 285,000 square feet of commercial.

However, the 16 single-family homes being proposed in the first phase are proposed on large lots and well below the density of the previously approved agreements, the city of Beaufort’s Freese said.

Future phases could bring the total to density to 220, which includes both single-family and multifamily units, as opposed to the allowable 495, he said. No commercial development is planned, he added.

Of the two proposed housing developments for Cane Island, this project is farthest along in the process, Freese said.

The proposed start date of the project is this spring, according to documents the developer has submitted to the city.

All landmark and specimen trees on the property would be saved in the plan’s first phase, Freese added.

Owners of the houses would have views of the tidal-influenced salt marsh and Distant Creek, Planner Christopher Klement said.

The land, purchased in 1944 by the Trask family, which remains an influential landowner and real estate developer today, was a working farm for decades, according to previous Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet reporting. John M. Trask Sr. and Flora G. Trask planted 40 acres of daffodils in the late 1960s and the farm became a popular you-pick daffodil farm. The Trasks sold the property in 2002, according to Beaufort County records. Records show the land sold for $20 million in 2023.

Kane Island Development Co. LLC chose not to comment this time.

Lower Cane Island

This project, located on the west side of the Island Causeway just to the south and west of the Upper Cane Island development, is larger but a preliminary plat signaling an official project application has yet to be submitted to the city, Freese said.

The land is owned by the Trask family, said Adams of Thrivemore Advisors LLC, which represents a group that has the land under contract.

“Most of our focus is conservation-based developments,” Adams said. “We generally work in the southeastern United states.

Adams hopes to see a preliminary plat for the property submitted to the city within 60 days.

Thrivemore Advisors has met a few times with city planners and submitted a preliminary sketch showing a large planned community development overlooking the Beaufort River.

The sketch shows 240 residential units and 130,000 square feet of commercial property on 164 acres and both single-family homes and multi-family condominiums as well as a community dock, a restaurant, event barn and meeting space and an inn. The developer also notes that it is in preliminary discussions with permitting agencies about a marina.

A resort will be one of the anchors of the development but it won’t be entirely vacation homes, Adams said. He expects the project to attract residents looking for year-round homes as well but it may attract others looking for a secondary primary home or a weekend retreat.

“It’s a beautiful property,” Adams said. “It’s rare to find a sea island that has frontage on the Intracoastal Waterway and so close to a gem of a small town like Beaufort, but also close getting out into the ocean if you are a boater and like doing that.”

City officials say the proposal is similar to Bluffton’s Palmetto Bluff, a master-planned 20,000-acre neighborhood at the confluence of the May, Cooper, and New rivers.

Residents who want more information about the projects are encouraged to contact the City of Beaufort Community Development Office at 843-525-7011.

This story was originally published February 10, 2025 at 3:32 PM.

Karl Puckett

The Island Packet

843-256-3420

Karl Puckett covers the city of Beaufort, town of Port Royal and other communities north of the Broad River for The Beaufort Gazette and Island Packet. The Minnesota native also has worked at newspapers in his home state, Alaska, Wisconsin and Montana.