Whitehall Park plan moving forward; developer says potential buyers showing interest
A plan to develop vacant Whitehall Plantation on Lady's Island is taking form.
The Whitehall Park plan has been scaled back in some ways -- the original 99 residential sites are down to 70 -- and other elements are becoming more clear.
A three-acre, public waterfront park would wrap around the northern end of the parcel, along the Beaufort River, according to a presentation by developer Steve Tully on Thursday night to the city's Redevelopment Commission.
The park would include a spit of land leading to a dock bridge connecting to the Richard V. Woods Memorial Bridge crossing to downtown Beaufort.
Who would own the park is to be determined, but Tully is proposing the city, the Beaufort County Open Land Trust or other public entity own the site. Property owners would pay an annual fee to cover park maintenance in lieu of home owner association dues.
Tully is also seeking to have the city take ownership of the roads in the development, a request he believes could be approved if they are built at or above the standards the city requires.
Mayor Billy Keyserling and Councilman Phil Cromer said after the meeting they want to see more plans and other information -- including potential funding for future repairs -- before they agree to the park and roads plans.
Keyserling said there have been similar roads agreements in the past and he does not want to see development "killed" by something minor.
Tully and Dick Stewart of 303 Associates announced their intent to develop Whitehall in November.
Various developers have attempted to build on the property, across from the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park, for more than 10 years. The city's master plan envisions Whitehall as a commercial and residential center, but Tully said the development team intends to keep it largely residential.
The most recent efforts -- by Aslan Whitehall LLC, a subsidiary of Blue Ridge Group Inc. -- tanked when the economy took a nose dive in 2008.
Although the sale is not set to close until November and lots are not for sale, Tully said he had 40 interested potential buyers as of Thursday. Of those, 37 are people who live in Beaufort County. Tully said he has not begun working with Realtors or done marketing beyond placing a sign on the property with contact information.
Empty lots will likely start at $125,000, and lot/home packages will average $500,000 and rise to $1 million for those on water.
"The property here is crazy expensive -- that's for what we're paying for it -- the development costs are expensive, everything about it is expensive," Tully said. "But there's a lot of interest."
The houses will be styled similar to Tully and John Trask's MidTown development in Beaufort, but the lots would be spaced more like Newpoint on Lady's Island.
"Our intention is to make it a walkable, comfortable, homey neighborhood," Tully said.
Follow reporter Erin Moody at twitter.com/IPBG_Erin.
Related content:
- Hundreds of new homes proposed for Beaufort market, Nov. 17, 2014
- Developers team up to develop vacant Whitehall Plantation, Oct. 31, 2014
- Civic Green meeting focuses on Whitehall, Waterfront Park, parking, Aug. 21, 2014
- Beaufort developer seeks to rezone part of Whitehall Plantation, Feb. 20, 2012
This story was originally published January 8, 2015 at 7:35 PM with the headline "Whitehall Park plan moving forward; developer says potential buyers showing interest."