The groundswell of public support for a waterfront park on the controversial Whitehall property of Lady’s Island is gaining steam.

At press time, a petition on Change.org had garnered more than 1,400 signatures of residents supporting the project.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

The petition was created by the “Friends of Whitehall Park” group, whose website and Facebook page include links to the petition, as well as information about how to donate to the project via the Beaufort County Open Land Trust and how to contact the Beaufort County and Beaufort City councils.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>

According to the group’s Facebook page, the county has committed $300,000 to fund a walkway connecting the park to the Woods Memorial Bridge.

Representatives from the Beaufort County Open Land Trust and Beaufort County are working with developer Sam Levin of Whitehall Point Holdings, LLC, in an attempt to purchase a portion of Whitehall for public open space before construction commences on the development plan approved in February. Levin agreed to consider the possibility of the sale of up to 10 acres — about half of the total size of the tract — on the western waterfront portion of Whitehall that overlooks the Beaufort River and Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park.

A number of officials have stated their support for the project, including Lady’s Island Business and Professional Association President Mark Weeks, Beaufort County Council Chairman Paul Sommerville, and Beaufort Mayor Billy Keyserling.<span class="Apple-converted-space">&nbsp;</span>