Town council advances transfer to enable 120-unit LiveWell Terrace affordable housing project in Buckwalter PUD

Miss Wood presented a request at a July 15 special meeting to transfer 60 town-owned residential development units to the developer Woda Cooper Group with authorization from Beaufort Memorial, and to amend the Buckwalter PUD development agreement and concept plan to attach a density bonus that would allow a 120-unit affordable rental project called LiveWell Terrace.

Miss Wood said the property at issue contains 10 acres and carries 10 acres of general commercial development rights. She told the council Beaufort County purchased the property from St. Andrews by the Sea in 2024 for $3,200,000 and that prior ordinances and a January resolution outlined conditions for conveyance. The proposed project would include a roughly 6,000-square-foot medical office; after that construction, the applicant would donate remaining commercial development rights back to the town—staff estimated roughly 9 acres of commercial rights would return to the town.

Under the town’s unified development ordinance, Miss Wood said, a percentage-based density-bonus table allows the municipality to allocate development-bank residential units and grant additional density; in this case the town-owned 60 units would be paired with a density bonus so the developer could build 120 units in total. Miss Wood told the council that staff had reviewed the package and determined that all review criteria in the staff report were satisfied and that the applicant faced a tight funding timeline that required advancing the first reading now.

Council members asked a series of questions. One member asked whether the town was providing tax credits; Miss Wood said the town had not submitted any economic-development tax-credit application and described the transfer of development rights as a commodity the town was providing to the project “for free,” and noted that the tax credits referenced in discussion were coming from the state. Another member asked about affordability tiers; the staff memorandum cited on the record shows the 120 units proposed as 30 units at 40% AMI, 60 units at 60% AMI and 30 units at 80% AMI. A council member stated Beaufort County’s 2025 AMI for a family of four is $112,500, and the percentage tiers are calculated against that county AMI figure.

After discussion, the council approved three related motions tied to the transfer, the development agreement and the concept plan amendment. Each motion was moved and seconded and carried on voice votes in which council members present said 'aye.' Miss Wood said the item will go to the Planning Commission for a public hearing on July 23 and return to the full council at its August meeting with a formal recommendation.

The meeting adjourned after the motions carried.