<strong>By Mindy Lucas</strong>

Plans to build a Harris Teeter grocery and convenience store on the corner of Sea Island Parkway and Sams Point Road took another step forward last week.

The City of Beaufort’s Design Review Board (DRB) gave preliminary approval at their regular meeting on Nov. 12 to a revised site and landscape plan for the project.

A building on the site has sat empty after Publix moved across the road in 2014. Plans for a Harris Teeter on the corner lot have been in the works since 2016.

Previous plans showed a 56,000 square-foot grocery store which sits back from the intersection with parking in front. In addition, a six-pump gas station/convenience store will be built on the corner of Sams Point Way, across from a Wendy’s currently under construction.

Design plans submitted on Thursday remained mostly the same with only slight changes to a loading dock in the rear of the store and slight changes to landscaping and lighting throughout the site.

Project planners with Andrews Engineering said they reconfigured the loading dock to make it easier for semi-trucks backing into the docks off Sams Point Way, a two-lane road between the site and neighboring Food Lion. The new configuration will also save more trees, they noted.

In August, a spokesperson for the North Carolina-based grocery said it did not have an opening date or any additional details to share yet, though did confirm the company still holds the lease for the property.

Final plans including architectural renderings will be submitted to the DRB in December, project representatives said.

<em>Above: An overlay of a planned Harris Teeter on the corner of Sea Island Parkway and Sams Point Road show where the store would be located in relation to a building currently on the property. A convenience store/ gas station is also planned for the site. Image from plans submitted to City of Beaufort.</em>