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Michelle Mayer outlines Northpointe workforce-housing plan, seeks partners
Summary
Town staff presented a Northpointe workforce-housing plan focused on multifamily rental housing with on-site supports (child care, financial literacy, wellness, community garden) and transit connections; a 7-acre Muddy Creek site was identified and the RFQ was extended to May 6 as the town moves toward an RFP and shortlist.
Michelle Mayer, a town staff member, presented program updates on Actions 8.4 and 8.5 and described the town's Northpointe workforce-housing model for Hilton Head Island, saying it aims to pair housing with child care, financial education and health-and-wellness programming.
The plan centers on a multifamily rental development with on-site supports intended to help residents progress toward homeownership. "This will be a multi family development," Mayer said, adding the model also invites financial institutions to "provide courses and classes" to help residents save and eventually buy homes. Mayer identified child-care access, an early-childhood center, financial-literacy courses, fitness programs and a community garden among the focal amenities.
Mayer emphasized transit connections to employment hubs as a priority. "The idea of creating a network or a route…that brings the residents and workforce to their places of work, not just the beach," she said, arguing that reliable transit will make workforce housing more viable.
On sites and schedule, Mayer said the town extended its request for qualifications (RFQ) deadline to May 6 to broaden submissions and hopes to produce a shortlist of preferred development partners before issuing an RFP. She identified a specific opportunity: a roughly 7-acre town-owned parcel in the Muddy Creek neighborhood adjacent to Bryant Road and Money Creek Street off Spanish Moss Road. The town's stated preference is for single-family homes there but Mayer said development proposals that include two-plexes or townhomes will be considered: "it's very early on, and we don't wanna put anything off the table," she said.
A staff member in the meeting summarized likely density trade-offs: a multiunit building on seven acres could yield roughly "70, 80" units, while detached or attached houses would lower units-per-acre to about six or seven; the figure was presented as an estimate, not a formal projection.
The task force heard a proposal from Chester Williams, who identified himself as a local attorney and said he has a client interested in converting hotels into workforce housing. "There are no provisions of the code right now that allow for or regulate the conversion of an existing hotel to workforce housing," Williams said, and urged the task force to express interest at an upcoming meeting. A committee member pointed to Beaufort's examples of hotel conversions and a repurposed assisted-living facility on Main Street as potential models to inform the town's approach.
Mayer described the town's implementation strategy as phased: Phase 1 covers the RFQ evaluation and shortlisting; an RFP would follow and the town hopes to award a contract by the end of the year, while maintaining flexibility on timing. No formal votes or policy changes were recorded at the meeting; members emphasized continued community engagement and follow-up with potential development partners and regional peers.
Next steps: the RFQ process continues through the extended deadline, the task force will consider community and developer input at future meetings, and the town is expected to move from RFQ to RFP after shortlisting candidates.
