Presenter outlines workforce‑housing plan for Hilton Head Island sites, urges regulatory changes

A presenter outlined a workforce‑housing strategy during a task force meeting that ties programming at the recently broken‑ground Northpointe neighborhood on Jairus Creek to development of a seven‑acre town‑owned parcel in the Money Creek neighborhood.

The presenter said the town is pursuing a programming model intended to serve workforce housing neighborhoods islandwide, with partners providing homebuyer education, down‑payment assistance, fitness and wellness programs (including local health providers such as Novant), a community garden and renewable‑energy education. “We would love for this programming model to serve all of the workforce housing neighborhoods on the island,” the presenter said.

Why it matters: the effort links housing production with services and transportation that officials said are necessary for low‑ and moderate‑wage workers to reach employment hubs. The presenter emphasized public‑transit connections that would move residents from the new neighborhood to jobs rather than only to recreational or retail destinations.

Site and procurement details: staff identified the Money Creek site as seven acres of town‑owned land adjacent to Bryant and described an RFQ→RFP procurement sequence. The presenter said the process is in phase 1, during which qualifications are reviewed and a shortlist prepared; an RFP would follow and staff “would love to award that by the end of this year,” though the presenter added the schedule remains flexible.

Design and zoning questions: a committee member asked whether the site must be single‑family homes, noting that current LMO requirements can limit unit counts. The presenter replied the project is early in design and that staff wants to encourage “excellent design” while keeping options open, including single‑family homes or townhouses if feasible.

Regulatory barrier flagged: another committee member said a client is interested in converting existing hotels to workforce housing but that “there are no provisions of the code right now that allow for or regulate the conversion of an existing hotel to workforce housing.” That speaker said they have presented proposed amendments to the LFO to the task force and urged members to express interest at the next task force meeting on Thursday.

Examples and outreach: a committee member noted a successful hotel‑to‑housing conversion across the Broad River and suggested inviting representatives from that project to brief the LMI task force about what worked.

What’s next: staff will continue the RFQ evaluation and shortlist process, issue an RFP after that review, and pursue partnerships for programming and transit. The task force will discuss proposed LFO amendments at its upcoming meeting; no formal motions or votes were recorded in the transcript.