Beaufort committee picks waterfront redesign. Here’s what happens next
A critical decision on restoring Beaufort’s unstable boardwalk and the relieving platform supporting it was made Monday when the Waterfront Park Advisory Committee voted unanimously to endorse one of three options on the table.
Committee members voted 6-0 to recommend that the city pursue Option 2, where the failing structure under the promenade known as the relieving platform would be replaced and modernized.
The option is most like the current promenade in terms of looks and layout, so it won’t bring major changes to the feel of the park. However, the city’s engineering consultant says it would use contemporary materials and raise the platform 18 inches to add more flood control. It would have a lifespan of 75 years.
The committee’s recommendation will be forwarded to the City Council, which will make the final decision and may discuss the issue at a May 26 meeting, said City Councilman Josh Scallate, who serves on the Waterfront Advisory Committee. If the City Council approves it, city staff will begin work on developing an engineering and design proposal that would be advertised.
“This gets it moving to the next step,” Scallate said of the committee’s vote.
The decision to pick Option 2 comes a week-and-a-half after the city unveiled three options at a meeting at Waterfront Park attended by some 150 people.
A second alternative included amenities such as a walkway extending from the promenade farther into the river and splash pad. Building a seawall with a solid fill foundation was another option on the table.
Bill Barna of Charleston-based McSweeney Engineers, the city’s engineering consultant, told committee members that building a new relieving platform would be the most affordable and the easiest to get permitted from regulatory agencies.
“That’s really what I think is the preferred option in terms of value,” he said.
Chairman Joe Oliver supported the option but said he was uneasy about it since committee members still don’t know what the cost will be.
Barna has said previously that the cost of the waterfront work could be in the neighborhood of $30 million.
The committee plans to ask the city for an expanded role to investigate sources of funding.
The city hopes to begin construction in 2028.
The 1,200-foot long, 36-inch-wide promenade sits atop a deck known as a relieving platform supported by 570 concrete piles. Many of those piles are quickly deteriorating; that prompted the city to ban cruise ships from docking at the promenade in April 2024 and close the boardwalk to foot traffic in July 2025.
For the past year, committee members have been meeting to study recommendations on rebuilding the promenade, a signature community space between the Bay Street and the Beaufort River.
Under Option 2, the failing structure under the promenade known as the relieving platform would be replaced with a modern structure. A new promenade would also be constructed that would be above the 8-foot flood level. It would be designed in a way where it could be adjusted to handle higher sea levels in the future.
Water levels have risen seven inches since the promenade was built in 1974, Barna says.
The only change to the seven-acre park where the promenade is located under this option would be tying it into the new promenade, whose elevation would be higher. That could be down with stairs or landscaping, Barna said.
This story was originally published May 6, 2026 at 11:01 AM.
