A deal over usage of the dock at Melrose Landing is imminent. Here’s what will happen
Beaufort County and a developer have reached an agreement that will keep the Melrose Landing dock on Daufuskie Island available for public use without a condemnation hearing.
The tentative plan will be for Beaufort County to own the dock, Melrose Landing Road and the roundabout. Then, one side of the dock would be used for ferry operations and the other would be used by Whitestone Holdings, which plans to buy the vacant Melrose Resort.
The agreement will be placed on the County Council’s agenda Aug. 8, according to Eric Greenway, Beaufort County administrator.
“We’re going to resolve this cooperatively and we do not need to proceed on with the condemnation issue,” Greenway said.
Beaufort County is looking to secure federal grant money for ferry operations, but in order to qualify, the county has to own both embarkment locations, according to Greenway. One is near the Cross Island Boat Landing on Hilton Head and the other is the dock at Melrose Landing on Daufuskie.
With grant money the county hopes to improve the embarkment locations, provide better services and keep rider costs stable. Regardless of whether grant money is secured, providing the citizens of Daufuskie with more runs to and from the island is one of the county’s goals.
The county has already committed $1.8 million to redo the docking system at Melrose Landing.
“Beaufort County and Whitestone Holdings have made positive progress,” said Chris Ophardt, Beaufort County spokesman. “They look forward to working collaboratively to provide the citizens and visitors of Beaufort County with transportation to Daufuskie Island now and in the future. The county will continue to seek Daufuskie Island residents and local businesses’ input throughout the process by holding town halls and working with stakeholders like Whitestone.”
After the County Council voted to condemn the Melrose dock at its June 27 meeting, the sale of the long abandoned Melrose Resort was delayed. Whitestone said ownership of the dock was a linchpin for the sale of the resort.
After the motion to condemn was passed, residents of Daufuskie voiced their concerns over the condemnation.
Having a plan on the agenda for the next county council meeting allows for the third reading to take place later in August, making the end of September the likely closing time if the deal is passed.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 1:22 PM with the headline "A deal over usage of the dock at Melrose Landing is imminent. Here’s what will happen."
