A tale of two land deals: Hilton Head pays $3.6M for 4 acres, sells another for $300K
On paper, the plot of land that once held Modern Classic Motors and the one that will hold ArborNature may look similar: they’re 1.8 miles apart on the north end of Hilton Head Island, both around four acres, and owned by the Town of Hilton Head Island.
But the town is prepared to sell one for $300,000 and just bought the other for $3.65 million.
Town Manager Steve Riley says the two pieces of land are completely different, which explains their different price points.
The Modern Classic Motors site is right on U.S. 278 near the entrance to Hilton Head Plantation and Indigo Run. The ArborNature site lies off a seldom-used traffic circle between the Hilton Head Island Airport and the county’s convenience center where the public drops off trash.
One has been long-sought by the town while the other was part of a court settlement between the town government and a tree-grinding operation that has long irritated nearby residents in its current location.
Both deals were decided in the April 23 executive session of Town Council — neither the public nor the media know the context of either transaction, except for what is publicly available via court records.
That doesn’t sit well with Alex Brown, a native islander and town Planning Commission member nearing the end of his term. Especially, he said, when $3 million is in play.
“Those conversations are not public conversations, and we don’t find out any of the investments until after (they’re done),” Brown said.
And the deals also are questioned by some people who live near the new ArborNature site.
“How could they set aside money to purchase a commercial lot when they said it was too expensive to buy out a business to get them off the island?” Tricia Higgins, a Port Royal Plantation resident, asked after the two deals were announced.
How the Hilton Head government buys land
Land transfers by local governments are common, but deals play out differently on an island that’s only 12 miles long and values eco-planning.
“Fifty-four percent of all that (U.S. 278) highway frontage is permanently green,” Riley said. “No other community in America can say that much of their main drag is green.”
But land acquisitions often represent a town’s goals, Brown said, and if the process doesn’t change, the goals struggle.
Hilton Head’s land acquisition manual was written in 2002 and last updated in 2005.
“We were trying to reduce development and traffic,” Brown said. “There was a big push on that for a while — by buying the land you eliminate more curb cuts (and) more intersections.”
In 2019, residents still value land conservation, but the increased focus on workforce housing has island developers and environmentalists trying to strike a balance.
Brown said that goes back further than the start of the affordable workforce housing consultant’s tenure in mid-2018.
“If we had been better at buying that land and developing it back then, I don’t think we’d have the affordable housing problem we do now,” Brown said.
Currently, the town owns 145 parcels of land across the island totaling 1,301.99 acres.
In total, that land cost the town $175.45 million.
Plot A: Arbor Nature’s future site
The business Higgins and others wanted to see bought out is ArborNature, a tree-grinding operation that has been involved in litigation with the town for several years.
The business — which originally was a wholesale landscape and nursery — acquired wood chippers after its establishment. Nearby residents in Indigo Run have long called the operation noisy and disruptive.
After those noise complaints, the town addressed ArborNature’s “noncompliance” with the town’s land management ordinance in May 2016.
ArborNature contested to the board of zoning appeals, the matter eventually went to court, and ended in a settlement in 2017.
.jpg "Screenshot (173).jpg")
That settlement — which was put into action April 23 with the approval of the lease — includes the following points:
- The town will lease a 4-acre portion in the Summit Drive area to ArborNature for one year for one dollar. Then, ArborNature has the option to purchase the property for $300,000.
- The town will rezone the old ArborNature site on Leg O’ Mutton Road, making it possible for the company to sell the old property for a higher price.
Brown said the town owes the public an “explanation” for how it can sell the land for a seemingly low price of $75,000 per acre.
“It’s coming out a lot cheaper for the town to go this route,” Brown said, as opposed to buying out the company and paying for the legal fees to fully litigate the case.
Plot B: The former home of Modern Classic Motors
.jpg "Screenshot (201).jpg")
This plot has ended up on the council’s radar relatively recently. It was first put on the agenda for their executive session on April 2.
The former car dealership buildings are gone, but much of the tract remains covered by pavement.
Following Hurricane Matthew in October 2016, the site served as a staging area for the tandem trucks used to haul tons of debris off the island.
The land will be kept green and the curb cut removed to help “beautify” a portion of U.S. 278, according to Riley.
But the preservation of the land isn’t permanent.
“The entirety of (the site) is not going to be conserved,” assistant Town Manager Josh Gruber said last week. “It is certainly the intent that it will be put back on the market.”
This story was originally published April 29, 2019 at 4:37 PM.
