A Beaufort home damaged by a falling tree was repaired Saturday with the help of local Lowe’s Heroes volunteers, the City of Beaufort and a $5,000 Keep America Beautiful grant.

The Old Commons neighborhood home on West Street is an historic property. Earlier this year, a large tree limb fell on the porch side of the house. The owner has a physical challenge and wasn’t able to make the repairs himself, said Beaufort Planning Director Libby Anderson.

“When we look at making historic Beaufort even more beautiful, sometimes it helps to look at the small pieces to the puzzle, such as this improvement project,” she said. “It’s not an expensive project, and certainly having volunteers helps make it work, but taking care of this property will bring new life to the entire street.”

The $5,000 grant was used to remove portions of the damaged and non-historic porch, to stabilize and then paint the main body of the house, to remove the dead tree to prevent more damage, and to beautify the property.

The front yard’s chain link fence will be replaced with a living fence, a concrete ramp will be removed and replaced with proper steps to access the property, and landscaping will be added to enhance not only the property, but the entire streetscape.

“The homeowner and his neighbors were willing to pitch in despite the extenuating circumstances of his physical situation, plus we’ve been working on other improvements in the Old Common neighborhood,” Anderson said.

Participating in the project are some 30 volunteers from the Lowe’s Heroes program, the Marine Corps Air Station and Historic Beaufort Foundation.

The Lowe’s Heroes volunteer program encourages company employees to team together, adopt a volunteer project with a local non-profit organization such as the City of Beaufort or a public school, and make a difference in their community.

“We’d like to thank our local partners including Historic Beaufort Foundation, Sutton Construction Company, Bartlett Tree Experts, J. Weidner Landscape Gardening, and Beaufort Bread Company who are making this project a reality, and the Lowe’s Heroes at our local store,” City Manager Scott Dadson said.
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