CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) – Developers are suggesting the rezoning of a property to make room for medical health and wellness access points, housing and retail.
The Island Park Place development is pitched as a mixed-use facility with a health and wellness village serving Kiawah Island, Seabrook Island and Johns Island. The property is located along two parcels of Betsy Kerrison Parkway and sits around 130,000 square feet.
For comparison, the location would be two-thirds the size of the existing Freshfields Village, which is a two-minute drive from where the new development would go. The Town of Kiawah Island municipal center sits between them.
The build would require those two sites to be rezoned from Residential-Four to Planned Development.
The project was first proposed by developers in 2021 under the guise of protecting healthcare access to Sea Island communities. The problem was its scale compared to surrounding areas.
In February, Charleston County Council voted against the proposal in a 4-3 vote after receiving a unanimous recommendation for disapproval from the planning commission.
In public hearings on Monday and Tuesday, dozens of neighbors also voiced their concerns. There were some who supported the project under the impression that many residents take half or full days off a work week to transport relatives off the islands for needed care.
Others suggested it does not fit Charleston County’s scale and comprehensive plan and should be dialed down to fit the needs of community members.
Councilmember Jenny Costa-Honeycutt is one of several in the meetings who claimed this does not fit the county’s idea of “smart development.”
“Put density and commercial developments in appropriate locations. Particularly, highlands and areas that are designated as commercial,” Honeycutt said. “When you look at areas like this, on the Urban Growth Boundary, there is an expectation of a buffer. This does not provide that type of buffer. It is right on top of residential communities. One community member spoke about how the wastewater treatment facility on this site would be adjacent to her property.”
Councilmember Joe Boykin also voiced his belief that the idea threatens the county’s protected Urban Growth Boundary and it belongs instead along Maybank Highway, considered a center district for medical use.
Kiawah Town Mayor Bradley Belt believes the argument is not “anti-development” related, but more so about doing it correctly for the area it serves.
“We’re looking at a lot of land use issues going forward. We’re looking at issues related to resiliency for the island. What kinds of strategies should we be putting in place to deal with the issues of flooding and stormwater? Make sure development is smart development. We’re dealing with traffic pressures,” Belt said.
Belt claimed the developer has not been present with community interaction, despite invites to public meetings.
“They did not come. They did not respond to the request. Extraordinarily unfortunate, hard to fathom,” Belt said. “They need to sell the property to the community. Now they’re just trying to sell it to the council.”
The project also falls in the same timeline as more hospital facility builds are introduced on the islands, including the Medical University of South Carolina and Trident Medical Center.
The project will go to the council for a public vote on Dec. 19th. The last chance to provide public comment was this past Tuesday.
If the rezoning request fails, the developer will still have an obligation to build within the current zoning standards of Residential Four. This includes housing.
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Proposed medical village for Sea Island community receives mixed reviews
