From The Blog

West Beach: Looking To The Future

Kiawah Island is a haven for those of us fortunate enough to hold a piece of it. Whether we live here full-time, come to re-energize ourselves, or own property primarily as an investment for our future, property owners share a strong emotional bond to this Atlantic jewel.

We are now poised on the threshold of our future, with a unique opportunity to contribute to how our neighborhoods will evolve.

The 2005 and 2010 development agreements between the Town of Kiawah Island (TOKI) and Kiawah Development Partners (KDP) and the Kiawah Island Golf Resort (KIGR) respectively,
provide the framework for developing large tracts of land in both West and East Beach. The resort’s demolition of the old Kiawah Island Inn is nearly complete. While KIGR plans for West Beach Village are still being developed, the plans are expected to include redevelopment of the inn property as well as the Straw Market.

In just 15 months, the resort will host the PGA Championship televised to a worldwide audience. This event will spot light Kiawah’s extraordinary natural beauty and quality of life. This will be a boon to island business. The combination of KIRG redevelopment plans for West Beach Village and such a singularly important island event presents the chance to enlarge the scope of community rejuvenation to the entire West Beach area. Individual members in neighborhoods and regimes have an exceptional opportunity to reinvent their neighborhoods, for example, updating and renovating their existing structures and landscapes.

The KICA Board of Director’s strategic goal is to foster alignment among all entities including KICA, ARB (Architectural Review Board), TOKI, KIGR and KDP, to develop a common vision for the look, feel and functionality of the island, with initial focus on West Beach. Reaching out and listening to members will be an integral part of the process in shaping and sharing the future vision.

The KICA board has introduced a new business plan project this year called “West Beach: Looking to the Future.” The West Beach area is located from the Kiawah Island utility tract at Sora Rail, westward to the most western portion of the island. It runs across both sides of the Kiawah Island Parkway from oceanside to the river side. The idea behind the project is to bring new life to these neighborhoods, making Kiawah’s first neighborhoods more lively, marketable and beautiful than ever.

There are 1,100 properties encompassed in the West Beach area. As part of an on-going conversation with owners, the board will first seek to understand who these members are – what brought them to West Beach, what their hopes and concerns for the future are. Watch for a survey this summer, and monitor www.kica.us for West Beach developments.