Port Royal mayor, town officials discuss concerns with port developer
By Scott Graber and Mike McCombs
The Island News
PORT ROYAL – A long-anticipated “sit-down” between Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips and officials from Safe Harbor Marinas finally happened Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Town Hall in Port Royal.
It appears the conversation was a productive one.
Vice President for Construction and Development Peter Clark and attorneys John Ray and Nicole Scott were in attendance on behalf of Safe Harbor. Phillips was joined by Town Councilman Jerry Ashmore, Town Manager Van Willis, and his staff.
According to Phillips, Safe Harbor arrived with its own agenda — an agenda that did not include the “build-to-rent” item that has become a flash point with town leadership, as well as its residents. Phillips indicated to Safe Harbor that this item should be on the agenda and it should be dealt with first.
Phillips said Safe Harbor said it had no contract with The Beach Company — the Charleston construction firm that presented the “build-to-rent” concept to the town.
“Furthermore,” Phillips said, “Safe Harbor indicated to us that the ‘build-to-rent’ option was not a forgone conclusion.”
“John Ray (attorney for Safe Harbor) said that he would take the Town’s concerns back to Safe Harbor headquarters where they would discuss the Town’s position. And I said, ‘You’ve got to figure out another way,’” Phillips said.
Town officials characterized the meeting as positive.
“I think it went well,” Willis said of the exchange. “There were a number of topics that we wanted discussed and they were. … Also, we got some sort of sense where they may be in the permitting process and the master planning efforts.”
According to Phillips, Safe Harbor said it was close to getting its permit to start with construction of the docks and piers connected to the Marina. It was his impression that they would have their permit within two months, and that construction itself would take five to nine months.
But Willis agreed, clearly, the most important topic was where Safe Harbor stands on the Bluff neighborhood. They appear not to be married to the build-to-rent neighborhood.
“Obviously, the majority of people in town are opposed to it,” Willis said.
Safe Harbor purchased the 317-acre Port of Port Royal site along Battery Creek more than two years ago, in several transactions, for a total exceeding $20.5 million, according to county records, from Grey Ghost Properties, LLC.
The overall development plan involves a residential component. The Beach Company was hired to complete this part of the development.
It was at an Aug. 9, 2023, Town Council meeting that The Beach Company first divulged plans for a build-to-rent neighborhood with 205 townhouses and 34 single-family homes.
Phillips has said that proposal took the Town Council by surprise. He told the Post And Courier in January that, he hadn’t “met a single person in Port Royal that thinks the plan is a good idea.”
The concern over Safe Harbor’s development and the build-to-rent proposal by the Beach Company were a major part in Phillips’ campaign for Mayor in the fall. Phillips, an attorney himself, repeatedly made the assertion that if Port Royal didn’t say no to the “build-to-rent” neighborhood now, that legally they might not have the ability to later.
Phillips was elected mayor in November.
After an executive session at the Dec. 13, 2023, Town Council meeting, the Council announced that it had authorized a letter to Safe Harbor, but the contents of the letter were not immediately made public.
Phillips’ Dec. 14, 2023, letter was a lengthy one and cited a long list of the Town’s concerns about the development. But the “build-to-rent” neighborhood was not the only concern.
Willis emphasized that only the development of the neighborhood and the marina had been discussed, while there were numerous town projects planned in conjunction with those developments that town officials had no way of assessing, such as the commercial dock, a seafood processing plant and the extension of the Spanish Moss Trail through the Port property.
Phillips set deadlines for Safe Harbor’s responses to various part of the letter, and he said publicly and in the letter that despite the concerns outlined, his goal was a good relationship with Safe Harbor. The letter resulted in the Feb. 1 meeting.
While no distinct promises were made by Safe Harbor regarding the Neighborhood Bluff in the Feb. 1 meeting, Phillips said, “They clearly want a good working relationship with the Town, and everyone in the room felt good about what had been said during the meeting.”
Scott Graber is a lawyer, novelist, veteran columnist and longtime resident of Port Royal. He can be reached at cscottgraber@gmail.com.
Mike McCombs is the Editor of The Island News and can be reached at TheIslandNews@gmail.com.
