12/27/07
Glad Tidings
Beach Co. letter delivers good news for S’ton
By Jerriod Grizzle

Submitted Photo

Vice President Kevin O’Neill will serve as project manager for The Beach Company’s Clarendon County project.

The Town of Summerton has a bright future. Growth is destined for this small but historically significant Clarendon County town that could well change the economic picture of Summerton.

Mayor Jay Bruner and the Summerton Town Council received a letter from The Beach Company’s president John Darby, formally updating the town as to their progress in planning The Beach Company’s nearly 4,000 acre Lake Marion property. The Beach Company acquired the tract in 2005.

In the letter, Darby said that the planning, design and approval processes necessary at the property location were ongoing.

“The South Carolina Department of Transportation prepared an ‘internal study’ and recently concluded that the location is warranted for certain governmental approvals,” said the letter. Beach Company officials are exploring the possibility of adding an Interstate 95 interchange near the development.

Darby said that The Beach Company was optimistic in pursuing that opportunity.

He said that timber had been cleared at several locations to better understand the topography of the property. Darby encouraged town council to walk along the property stating the views through the clearings greatly exceeded the company’s expectations.

“We are busy working with the creative minds to decide exactly what we want to do with this property,” said Kevin O’Neill, Vice President of Beach Development, a division of The Beach Company.

Although the company is ready to move forward with the development, a schedule has not been prepared to begin work as a result of the present condition of the lake and the extremely low lake levels.

“We’d love to see the lake return to full pool but it may take quite some time to do that. Similarly, we’d like to see the real estate market locally and nationally return to more normal levels,” he said.

The letter said that Beach Company representatives intend to come to Clarendon County to discuss further options about the property sometime early in 2008.

The property is considered to be one of the largest undeveloped lakefront parcels in the region.
The project is expected to bring a wide range of housing options to the county as well as retail, restaurants and services, all within a resort-style, amenity-rich community.

“We expect that it will become the premier location on the lake,” said O’Neill. “In keeping with The Beach Company’s approach to community development, no detail will be overlooked.”