Plans for eco-friendly resort, villas on Beaufort County sea islands raise questions

Sarah Haselhorst
·4 min read

After abandoning plans for an ecotourism resort on Bay Point Island, developers have a new proposal to build an ecologically-conscious resort, spa and residential community that would span three of Beaufort County’s sea islands.

The sprawling project would include a resort, spa and village homes on Daufuskie Island, according to a Wednesday news release from Six Senses, a Thailand-based hotel and resort developer. Residential villas would dot Bay Point Island. And a development on Hilton Head Island would include a restaurant, retail outlet and launch point for access to the other two islands.

Dead trees, sand dunes and sea oats line the Atlantic Ocean shore of Bay Point Island.
Dead trees, sand dunes and sea oats line the Atlantic Ocean shore of Bay Point Island.

Partners of the Six Senses South Carolina Islands plan — Whitestone, Redrock Portfolio Inc., and Six Senses — announced an opening date of 2026. The project “redefine(s) living spaces with a commitment to ecological mindfulness,” said Whitestone Resource’s president, Tim Pitcher, in the news release.

But many questions remain unanswered.

Beaufort County’s Planning and Zoning Department had not received an application or any inquiries on the project, county spokesperson Hannah Nichols said Friday. By Friday afternoon, Pitcher had not commented to the Island Packet about whether an application was submitted.

Nichols said the county couldn’t comment on what approvals might be required for the project because details of it have not been submitted.

It is also unclear whether current zoning of the three islands would allow for the plan’s developments.

Hilton Head and Daufuskie plans

The Six Senses plan detailed that Hilton Head would have a retail outlet and restaurant near the embarkation point where guests and residents could take either a hybrid yacht or electric boat to Daufuskie or Bay Point, according to the news release.

The majority of resort guests would head to Daufuskie, a rustic barrier island south of Hilton Head that’s inhabited by about 550 people. Under the resort plans, the Six Senses development would offer guest rooms, private suites, cottages, guest residences, a spa, a beach club and eateries.

However, it’s not known the capacity limit of the planned resort or the number of structures.

Mark Lawson, the Beaufort County Council member who represents the island, did not respond to a request for comment.

The ocean is visible through trees on Daufuskie Island, which is only accessible by boat.
The ocean is visible through trees on Daufuskie Island, which is only accessible by boat.

Bay Point plan

At a smaller scale, Bay Point, an undeveloped island north of Hilton Head that’s at the mouth of the Port Royal Sound, would offer residential villas under the plan.

The villas are described as modular, Category 5 hurricane-resilient, biophilic and self-contained. Neither Pitcher nor spokespeople for IHG Hotels & Resorts, which owns Six Senses, commented on the number of villas planned at Bay Point. However, a limited number will be for sale in 2024, according to the news release.

Infrastructure and waste handling, renewable energy, reverse-osmosis water supply, and helical piling to limit soil disruption and lighten their footprint would be built on Bay Point, which currently has no infrastructure.

Former plan for Bay Point

In April 2020, Bay Point Island LLC’s application showed the island’s owners and developers intended to spend $100 million to build dozens of beach bungalows, spas and restaurants as part of an environmentally friendly project by Six Senses. A solar field, 10 septic fields and stormwater ponds were also in the proposal. The project would’ve included about 50 acres of the mostly vacant island.

In September 2020, the Beaufort County Zoning Board of Appeals denied Bay Point Island LLC’s request for a permit that would have allowed the resort a special ecotourism use under current zoning. Among one of the reasons stated by the board was that Bay Point Island LLC failed to demonstrate to resort operators how it would meet ecotourism requirements

Environmentalists spoke out against the project, as did Gov. Henry McMaster, former Democratic U.S. Rep. Joe Cunningham, state Sen. Chip Campsen, R-Charleston and state Rep. Shannon Erickson, R-Beaufort. Several nonprofits opposed the project.

They expressed concern over lack of emergency services, the island’s high erosion rate, shifting shoreline, saltwater intrusion, the island’s shorebird population, and a plan for a septic system that the Coastal Conservation League said would be an “environmental catastrophe.”

In July, Bay Point Island LLC dropped its appeal of a circuit court decision that upheld the denial of a special permit

While the new Six Senses project proposes constructing residential villas instead of a sweeping resort, environmentalists have the same concerns. Jessie White, South Coast Office director at the Coastal Conservation League, said Thursday evening that any reference to development on Bay Point is “extremely concerning.”

“The island has no infrastructure — no roads, water, sewer, or power — and is only accessible by boat or air,” White said. “It is a dynamically shifting piece of sand, and siting new development there is irresponsible. “

Neither Pitcher nor spokespeople for IHG Hotels & Resorts responded regarding the project’s timeline.