MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - A multi-million-dollar development project at Patriots Point that is planned to bring in hotels, residences, restaurants, office and retail space received initial approval for a specific zoning district and a five-year development agreement renewal.

The Charleston-based real estate developer Bennett Hospitality leases about 30 acres of property from the Patriots Point Development Authority. That leasing money goes towards maintaining the ships and aircraft located on Patriots Point.

Town officials say that the original zoning of the 30-acre section of land at Patriots Point is known as a waterfront gateway district, but on Tuesday night they approved the first reading for it to be changed to the Patriots Annex Planned Development District.

“We had an opportunity because that is the last piece of waterfront gateway in the town to convert to a planned development. The thing with the planned development is that it is a negotiated agreement with the developer and so there is an opportunity there to ensure that certain things the town wants to happen on this 30 acres, do indeed happen on the 30 acres,” Mount Pleasant Town Council Member Guang Ming Whitley says.

With the planned development district, the town is requesting some specific conditions for the project. These conditions were approved by the planning committee earlier this month before being brought to the council.

Some of the requested conditions include increasing the required amount of open or green space from 10 percent to 14 percent, capping the total number of residences at 80, restricting flat roofs, reducing the tree requirement from 160 trees per acre to 120 per acre, as well as reducing the building elevation closest to the waterfront from 50 feet to 35 feet.

James Wilson, a representative from Bennett’s Hospitality, spoke to the town council at Tuesday’s meeting expressing their willingness to collaborate with the town. However, Wilson requested some flexibility on the open space percentage in case an event required additional space but believed they could still meet the 14 percent goal, as well as some reconsideration of the residential unit number.

“This is a 30-acre project that will take time to develop. We’re eager to get busy on the first part and get busy on the waterfront and the first hotel as you know, but it will take time and so the current conceptual plan that we have, we need to preserve some flexibility in that. Everything is not going to be built you know later this year, so what we’ve shown you is a current plan, but there has got to be some flexibility,” Wilson says

During the meeting, it was said that the town council couldn’t make amendments during the first reading. However, when the ordinance is brought up again for its second and final reading next month, council members will have the opportunity to propose any changes.

“I think the town’s perspective is what we want to ensure is if this goes to a planned development is that we preserve what is important to the citizens of Mount Pleasant which is greenspace and trees,” Whitley says.

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MOUNT PLEASANT, S.C. (WCSC) - One major Mount Pleasant road project is finally going to see some progress after several complications put it on hold.

Leaders say the $24 million Billy Swails Boulevard Phase 4B project, which has been years in the making, will soon become a reality.

Because of the scale of this project, as well as the woodsy area they will be working in, leaders had to take a lot of steps to get to this point in the project’s timeline. They had to worry about wetlands and wildlife, such as endangered Rafinesque bats and yellow-spotted turtles, in the area.

James Aton is the deputy director of capital projects and the transportation department for the Town of Mount Pleasant. He said that they have been working with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the Department of Natural Resources to get everything approved, and because there is federal funding involved in this project, they also had to follow the National Environmental Policy Act.

This project will make up over a mile and a half of roadway and will completely shift the traffic patterns in the north side of Mount Pleasant. The project in its entirety will essentially connect I-526 to the area of Porcher’s Bluff Road, running parallel to US-17 and Rifle Range Road, migrating the traffic that builds up in that frequently traveled area of the town.

This project will also alleviate a lot of the school traffic in the intersections near Jennie Moore Elementary and Laing Middle Schools in areas near Six Mile Road, Sweetgrass Basket Parkway and Hamlin Road.

Aton shared why there was such a need for this.

“So, this project was outlined in the long-range transportation plan decades ago and, again, is that last piece of the Hungry Neck, Sweetgrass and Billy Swails corridor. So, four other sections have already been built, and this is that last piece to finalize that that north-south corridor that will parallel US-17,” Aton said.

Aton said that the completion of this project will bring great benefits to the community and those who frequently travel the area.

“I think it’s going to improve traffic flow. I think you’re going to see a reduction in delay on 17. It’s also going to incorporate portions of the Mount Pleasant Way, which is a great initiative for those nonmotorized users. It will tie to the Vaughn Ed Kee project, which has existing sections of that trail as well as obviously the roadway. So, I think you’re going to see a big improvement in traffic and a lot of new opportunities to recreate through the town,” he said.

Aton said that they plan to finally put the project out to bid in March and contractors will have 45 days to put their bids in, so they will hopefully be able to begin construction by the summer.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Bennett Hospitality's designs to add hotels, residences, offices and retail space along Charleston Harbor moved one step closer to being realized during the Feb. 4 Mount Pleasant Planning Committee meeting. The discussed — and later recommended — requests included extending a 5-year development agreement and rezoning 31 acres of land from Waterfront Gateway to Planned Development (PD).

The committee's recommendation materialized as a result of negotiating with Bennett Hospitality on a construction project that assures design character, ushers in quality developments and preserves open space features.

The main issue at stake involved memorializing (i.e. certifying) multiple aspects of property usage and design through the PD zoning that aren't featured in the Waterfront Gateway District.

The conditions of approval as stated by Councilmember Jake Rambo while motioning for a committee vote were:

• Memorializing 14 percent of the property as open space

• A maximum of 80 residences

• No flat roofs that don't at least include a false gable

• The authorized tree requirement to be reduced to 120 inches per acre

The motion carried by a 3-1 vote with full council's subsequent review of planning commission and planning committee recommendations pending.

Councilmember GM Whitley presented the analysis of the PD proposal for the $500 million undertaking as an opportunity to set the stage for the last piece of waterfront gateway in town.

The negotiation with the developer, per Whitley — the planning committee chair — entailed making concessions in exchange for her team's demands. This give-and-take came into play with the committee scaling down its original 160 inches per acre requirement to 120 inches. The trade-off, she said, would help the builder maintain 14 percent open space.

"If we're going to make concessions, we want to make sure that this plan doesn't get completely changed to something we're not comfortable with — which happens quite frequently," advised Rambo.

Memorializing the committee's requests, he added, would allow the Town to limit a portion of the grand lawn area to edifices in the form of cottages to no more than 35 feet.

One of the stipulations of that agreement was to sign off on Bennett Hospitality's decision to shift the grand lawn back from the waterfront. Initially, the idea didn't sit with some members of the planning commission who thought the original layout would promote public access to the great lawn area.

On the subject of height restrictions, Whitley underscored the importance of memorializing the building elevation map to a maximum of 50 feet at the waterfront, a maximum of 65 feet in the middle and a maximum of 80 feet at the rear. By coming to terms to these parameters in a PD, she offered, the Town would be able to codify those height restrictions.

However, in the event that the developer didn't agree to those specs, Whitley continued, the Bennett contingent would revert to the Waterfront Gateway plan that could exclude assurances relative to height.

In addressing trees in the soon-to-named Patriots Annex, Town Senior Planner Peter Stone reported that trees are a requirement in the PD carried over from Gateway Waterfront. The current trees on site aren't faring well, he said, as they've proven not to be saltwater tolerant. The "purpose and intent" of the trees would to serve as avian habitats.

On that note, Councilmember Laura Hyatt communicated her wish to see oaks and other shade species planted there in addition to palmettos.

Bennett Hospitality's attorney James Wilson referenced elevations prior to the committee vote, affirming that that main hotel (SeaFair Village) would remain under 50 feet, with smaller cottages in front of the primary structure. Details of those buildings insofar as precise shape and architecture haven't been decided yet, he added.

In a previous meeting, it was noted that Patriots Point would pour revenues from its leased land to help preserve its historic warships.

Once completed, as previously reported by the Post and Courier, the hotel and cottages will replicate the look and appeal of Mount Pleasant's Old Village, as described by Bennett Hospitality Founder Mike Bennett.

MOUNT PLEASANT – The ban on condos, apartments and townhomes that was in place for more than seven years has expired. Now, developers will have access, albeit limited, to a finite number of building permits for the first time since 2017.

Originally proposed as a temporary 180-day halt to any new multifamily developments to update infrastructure, town leaders moved to extend the life of the moratorium four times, with the final extension approved in March last year.

"The moratorium … was initially intended as a short-term measure, aimed at allowing time for necessary infrastructure improvements and updates to the zoning code. Though it was supposed to last only a few months, it extended far beyond that, reaching over seven years," Councilman John Iacofano said.

According to the Municipal Association of South Carolina, moratoriums are generally temporary measures to implement changes to zoning codes or slow development for a short period of time.

Mount Pleasant’s moratorium sought to do both.

Growth rates slowed, road improvements made

The language of the moratorium ordinance stated that "significant growth negatively impacts the overall character of the Town, causes undue traffic congestion, causes urban sprawl and leads to inadequate public services."

The moratorium would give the town time to get ahead of these issues, as well as complete an update to the town's comprehensive plan and zoning code rewrite.

"It was not just reactionary," Mount Pleasant Mayor Will Haynie said. "There was a method to it, which involved the new comprehensive plan and the new zoning code. That's why I voted that once we had those two in place, we could lift that moratorium."

In some areas, they were successful.

A handful of transportation projects that sought to calm traffic were completed in the span of the seven-year moratorium.

The town spent roughly $9.6 million to widen Park West Boulevard from two lanes to four, another $18 million on Coleman Boulevard improvements, and last year completed intersection upgrades at U.S. Highway 17 and Mathis Ferry Road.

The $10.6 million Vaughn Ed Kee Parkway, a connector road between Highway 17 and Billy Swails Boulevard, was completed in 2023.

Minor progress at U.S. Highway 41 has been made. Charleston County reconfigured intersections and changed signal timing at the intersection of U.S. Highway 17 and 41.

Mount Pleasant's growth rates have slowed down, too.

From 2012 to 2017, the population grew by nearly 20 percent. In the first five years of the moratorium, from 2017 to 2023, that growth rate declined to just under nine percent.

According to data from the U.S. Census Bureau, the town's population grew by roughly 8,000 between 2017 and 2023, compared to the 15,202 jump from 2012 to 2017.

The comprehensive plan update was completed in 2019, and the zoning code rewrite, which was the reason for extending the moratorium in 2021, was completed in January 2025.

The zoning code update took more than three years. It was the first time the ordinance that regulates construction and building guidelines was overhauled since 1979.

When it came time to consider extending the ban again or letting it expire, leaders chose to let it expire at the end of 2024.

"It was really to try to put some more long-term measures in place to manage the growth," said Mount Pleasant Planning Director Michele Reed. "I think it definitely served its purpose."

Moratorium impact on housing prices

Critics of the stop-growth measure say the moratorium actually added to the issues it was designed to solve.

Though growth rates slowed in town and some large-scale road projects were completed, the measure likely drove up the cost of housing and put a strain on the markets of surrounding communities, Josh Dix, the vice president of advocacy for the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

He called the moratorium a "short-sighted" solution unable to successfully address the core of Mount Pleasant's growth issues.

The lack of new apartments, townhomes and condos have driven up the price of existing housing stock. This trend can mostly be seen in single-family homes, Dix said.

"When you limit townhomes, condos, apartments, that puts pressure on all the other housing sectors. In Mount Pleasant, in particular, you've seen housing prices for single families more than double because you're limiting options," Dix said.

Since 2017, median sales prices for single-family have doubled in both upper and lower Mount Pleasant, according to market reports compiled by the Charleston Trident Association of Realtors.

In upper Mount Pleasant, the median sales price in 2017 was $485,000. By the end of 2024, median sales prices grew by 101 percent, to $975,000.

Sales in lower Mount Pleasant surpassed the million-dollar mark last year at $1,125,000 — a 118 percent jump from 2017's $516,000.

High prices can limit residents' abilities to stay in Mount Pleasant, with young homebuyers unable to afford their first home and seniors unable to age in place, Dix said.

"We are cutting off future generations of Mount Pleasant folks living in Mount Pleasant, and that's kind of sad, because that's how you lose cultures and the dynamics that make our community so great," Dix said.

Limits still in place

The building permit allocation system was put in place in 2019, and extended for another five years in 2024. Permits for residential buildings are capped, another method of controlling growth in town.

"These measures are designed to carefully manage our town’s growth, ensuring that development is sustainable and aligns with our community’s capacity and needs," Iacofano said.

With a ban on apartments, townhomes and condos no longer active, developers will now have access to the 500 building permits allocated for multifamily developments until 2029.

Attainable and workforce housing developments were exempt from the moratorium and the permit allocation system, as were a handful of planned developments like Carolina Park.

Only one attainable housing development came online during the span of the ban. Gregorie Ferry Towns was completed in 2022. The development featured townhomes that were listed for under $300,000 off of Highway 41 and quickly sold out.

It's unlikely the town will see any more large apartment or townhome developments, Reed said. There's been little interest in the available permits, too.

"There's really no multifamily zoning available. Everything's developed," Reed said.

Mixed-use developments, properties that are zoned for commercial uses but have a mix of retail and residential units, are more likely to take advantage of the permits now available, she said.

"With something like that, we're talking about 10 units, 15 units, if even that," Reed said. "Nothing really big is out there that we've heard of or that we're aware of."

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The intersection of the I-526 interchange and Johnnie Dodds Boulevard was filled with cars and sledding Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Jonathan Bennett, 16, uses a boogie board as a sled Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Ice drips from tree branches Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Kevin Holler pushes his daughters Harper Holler,12, and Hayden Holler,10,down the snow covered hill at Johnny Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Ethan Willis treks up the hill at Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange with his cardboard box to try sledding for the first time Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Few cars drive Highway 17 as snow covers the roadway Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Johnnie Dodds Boulevard is covered by snow early Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025 morning in Mount Pleasant.

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Sledders speed down the hills on the Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Will Silcox skis down the hill at I-526 interchange near Johnnie Dodds Boulevard Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 interchange Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Michael Spellman plays in the snow with his grandson Wells Spellman,6, at the I-526 interchange at Highway 17 Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant. Michael Spellman, born and raised in Charleston, said he was just as excited as his grandson to be sledding on the hill.

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The hill at the intersection of Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and the I-526 was full of sledding on boogie boards Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Austin Yokeum relaxes at the top of the Johnnie Dodds Boulevard and I-526 interchange after early morning ski trips down the slope Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

Snow covers Highway 17 seen from the 526 overpass in Mount Pleasant on Wednesday, January 22, 2025.

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A tiny bird jumps on top of snow Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Charleston native Sarah Simmonite bundles for warmth to venture out in the snow Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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Boogie boards, surf boards and cardboard boxes were used as sleds for the snow Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.

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TJ Harris and his mom Shanna Harris sled Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025, in Mount Pleasant.