New development unveiled for town - News-Times: News

New development unveiled for town - News-Times: NewsPosted: Wednesday, October 10, 2012 12:00 pm

BEAUFORT — Town businessman and developer Bucky Oliver unveiled plans Monday to construct a 90-room inn and 300-person convention space and bistro at his development project at the east end of Front Street.
The announcement came at the beginning of the town board of commissioners’ regular meeting, held in the train depot on Broad Street.

Mayor Richard Stanley, when introducing Mr. Oliver to the audience, spoke not only of the project’s benefits, but also his appreciation of the man behind the plans and the impact he has had on the
town in the past decade.
“I kept thinking, wow, this guy is something else,” Mr. Stanley said, referring to Mr. Oliver’s purchase and development of the former Beaufort Fisheries menhaden site, now home of Front Street Village. “I couldn’t tell you what this guy has meant for the town,” he said.
The inn and bistro are part of the Front Street Village project, a planned-unit development off Lennoxville Road, along Taylors Creek.
Renderings of the inn show a three-story building totaling 78,345 square feet. The two-story bistro will seat about 60 inside and more people on decks on the upper floor. The downstairs area will feature a meeting area for up to 300 people with a full bar and food service.
The inn and bistro were in the original plans for Front Street Village, drawn up in 2007 and approved by the town in 2008. Mr. Oliver told a packed house Monday that this is a new partnership that brings additional capital to the project. “Our investors are betting on Beaufort,” he said.
“I’m extremely proud of our team’s progress.”
Once complete, the development has the chance of being the 10th largest employer in the county, Mr. Oliver continued. His goal is to receive site plan approval by the town this year, move forward with construction drawings in 2013 and open in 2014.
“I’m extremely pleased we’re going to see this investment in our town,” he said.
A press release from Front Street Village cites a 1999 Convention-Conference Feasibility Study that indicates a strong need for such facilities in the county. Carol Lohr, the executive director of the Crystal Coast Civic Center, said while the study is dated, that information still holds true. “I think the announcement last night was fabulous,” Ms. Lohr said. “I think it will be a win-win situation to have additional resort rooms in historic Beaufort and it will be great for the Crystal Coast and North Carolina.”
Finding a convention space in the county became a little harder this year, as the Sheraton Hotel in Atlantic Beach has been shuttered since Hurricane Irene caused significant damage in August 2011. While that facility is expected to eventually reopen under new management, Ms. Lohr said staying on Bogue Banks and staying in Beaufort would provide two very different experiences.
At the meeting, the mayor spoke about the impact the development would have on the town, including adding millions in dollars to the town’s tax base and employing as many as 200 people. “We’re extremely proud to hear this,” he said.
“It’s an exciting project, or a continuation of it,” added Commissioner Marianna Hollinshed.
So far, the development of Front Street Village has exceeded expectations. The first step of the project was the construction of the Boat House, a drystack marina for 225 boats as well as a clubhouse and ship’s store. Mr. Oliver said the original business model estimated it would take four years to fill the drystack. Now, 28 months after opening, there are only 10 open slips left.
Construction has also begun on the first of seven units in the first phase of residential development. A total of 28 residential units will be built in the first and second phases.
Mr. Oliver isn’t the only developer looking at bringing a hotel to the area, but it appears he seems to have the fewest hoops to jump through. The development group Beaufort Partners LLC, whose manager is Joe Thomas of New Bern, presented drawings to town planners in September for a four-story, 81-room hotel on Cedar Street, at the site of a former gas station and Arby’s restaurant. That project is in conjunction with a marina project.
However, the developers want the town to consider increasing its height ordinance so the facility can exceed 35 feet.
Contact Ben Hogwood at 252-726-7081, ext. 232; email ben@thenewstimes.com; or follow on Twitter @benccnt.