The times are changing in Beaufort SC…and so is the appearance of our beloved downtown historic district. The Historic District Review Board unanimously approved at its March 10 meeting a demolition permit for the brick structure at 211 Charles Street, originally an A&P supermarket that was built in the late 1940s. New buildings are coming to downtown.
In the 1998 Beaufort County Aboveground Historic Resources Survey, the 12,500-square-foot building was determined to be a non-contributing structure, meaning not historically significant.
City staff recommended that the demolition be approved.
At the meeting, the board conditioned its approval by saying that a demolition permit should not be issued until building permits are issued for the replacement building.
303 Associates, a property development company in Beaufort that owns Beaufort Town Center among many other properties, has proposed that the Cannon Building, a three-story mixed-use building with apartments on the upper levels and commercial space on the ground level, be built at the 211 Charles Street site.
The Cannon Building received conceptual approval at the Feb. 10 meeting of the Historic Review Board.
The Historic Review Board also approved the construction of a three-townhouse complex at 1107 Bay Street, adjacent to The Anchorage 1770 inn. The site is now vacant.
The upscale townhomes, to be developed by the Bennett Hofford Construction Co. of Charleston, are 2,800 square feet each, and are four stories high, with a ground level for a garage, porches on each floor, and a family room and rooftop deck on the top floor.
According to a City of Beaufort press release, this is the first phase of what is expected to be three phases by this developer.
Also, just last week, the Bampfield Building on downtown’s West Street was removed to make way for a new hotel that will be constructed by The Beaufort Inn, also a 303 Associates property.
Two other projects are also in the mix bringing more new buildings to downtown Beaufort.
One is a parking garage along Craven Street, extending from the corner of Craven and Charles Streets.
The other is the removal of the BB&T Building, most recently the home of the Pat Conroy Literary Center. This building would be removed to allow an expansion of the Tabby Place, which is event space owned and operated by The Beaufort Inn.
