Family Photographer in Bluffton, SC

While navigating the industry’s ups and downs, Chris Randolph of South Street Partners says his firm has learned that “you can’t rinse and repeat.”

This article is part of our latest special report on International Golf Homes.

When it comes to second homes and golf communities, South Street Partners has more than a dozen years of experience under its belt, riding the industry through economic ups and downs and the increased popularity of drive-to developments in the wake of Covid-19.

South Street, a private equity development firm based in Charlotte, N.C., and Charleston, S.C., has scored major acquisitions of the Kiawah Island Club in South Carolina and its two golf courses; Palmetto Bluff in Bluffton, S.C.; and the Cliffs development, which is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains and has seven separate communities in South Carolina and North Carolina.

With $1 billion in assets, the company’s strategy has been to primarily focus on the southeastern United States, which has experienced sustained population growth partly because of the migration of families and older adults to warmer climates.

Prices start around $2 million in their suite of developments, and Chris Randolph, a partner, says South Street is seeing no slowdown. In the coming year, South Street is building new homes at Kiawah and the Cliffs developments in South Carolina, particularly around Lake Keowee, and in Palmetto Bluff.

Golf remains, depending on where you live, a popular — and lucrative — attraction, so South Street is planning two new courses at Palmetto Bluff in the coming years: a nine-hole short course by King-Collins (architects of the Sweetens Cove course outside Chattanooga, Tenn., which has attracted investors like Peyton Manning); and another course at a private club.

At Kiawah, where Covid increased golf demand and drove up home prices, Beau Welling, Tiger Woods’ design partner, will work on a new course with a residential component. South Street plans to put a considerable amount of land into a conservation easement.

Mr. Randolph spoke about his firm’s investment plans and residential golf developments. The following conversation has been condensed and edited.

South Street just raised its first discretionary fund of $225 million. What does the fund allow you to do for the future, and how will it affect your existing portfolio of properties?

This is the first discretionary fund in South Street’s history and allows us to be more acquisitive of new properties while continuing to work with our legacy investment partners in the private equity and hedge fund space. At the same time, it will also allow us to do deals entirely on our own, to the extent we would like to do that.

As for existing properties, we will use the fund to make improvements at Palmetto Bluff, where we’re building a short course and a regulation 18-hole course, and Kiawah, where we will build a new 18-hole course, as well as other amenities and development activities.

How will you handle the golf real estate at both Kiawah and Palmetto Bluff? Has anything changed about how South Street views residential golf communities?

We may have a bit of a novel approach in that we’re not necessarily layering in real estate directly on the golf course. We want to create the best golf experience possible. From our perspective, that means what I would call a core golf course with little to no real estate impacting the golf experience.

Our theory is that if you create an incredible world-class golf experience, just the proximity of homes to that course will yield higher prices than a traditional fairway-lined real estate golf course development.

When you talk about giving the architects the best land, how much of that is member/customer-driven, and how much of that might be attributed to the average golfer’s growing understanding of what a good golf experience entails?

I think it’s both. We think the golf consumer has gotten far more sophisticated in terms of what they expect. To deliver on that, we need to find the best land for the best golf.

I used the term novel earlier, and I think it is probably still considered a little bit of a novel approach in our industry to not try and really integrate a ton of real estate on the golf frontage.

Another factor that’s driving this for us is that, at Kiawah, we actually see premiums for lots and homes on the parks that we’ve developed versus golf courses. The theory there is that people, especially young families, will pay more for frontage on a park they can access 24 hours a day versus a golf course where you really are only getting out there before and after the golfers play.

South Street has really made a push into offering turnkey homes at its properties. This seems to follow an industry trend. Is that consumer-driven, or simply the best way to maximize profit?

It’s very much consumer-driven and probably the biggest change to our industry, meaning high-end second-home communities. Fifteen years ago, the product of choice was the estate lots where you buy a lot, find an architect, find a builder, find a landscape architect and manage that all yourself.

Through the downturn of 2008 to 2010, people started taking a different approach, where they weren’t necessarily interested in taking on a project of that type. They still wanted a second home, but they were willing to trade some of the customization for a turnkey product that checked probably 90 percent of their boxes.

If you look at our home building activity, we are now the largest home builder at Kiawah and the largest home builder at the Cliffs. We will soon be the largest at Palmetto Bluff, because we believe fully in that strategy of delivering a finished product and doing so with scale and efficiency.

On Lake Keowee [at the Cliffs], we just set a record with a purchase price of $6.3 million. We designed it, built it and did the interiors, all the way down to the forks and knives in the drawers.

To that point, what are other major developments you’ve noticed in the last 10 years, and where do you foresee things going in the next five years?

As we enter into whatever this recessionary — whether it’s deep, shallow, long or short — environment, we’re going to be very conscious of what that means for our buyers.

The good news is we’ve got a very long-term outlook at all of our projects of 10-plus years, if not more. So, we don’t concern ourselves too much with slowdowns in the market in terms of our business plan, but we also want to be conscious of overdeveloping during a time when sales might not be there.

So, we’ll continue to build our amenities. We’ll continue to build the clustered neighborhoods around those amenities. Maybe we’ll scale back a little bit on some of the larger spec homes, but I don’t think it changes our business plan much at all, if any.

One thing we know is that you can’t rinse and repeat. That might have worked in another time, in different cycles. We’ve got to create unique products and, more than anything, we have to deliver the best product possible from both a club and resort experience.

At the end of the day, that’s what people are buying: the private club experience we can offer. The home is important, but you’re buying a lifestyle. Our buyers have worked a long time to have the ability to buy into these communities. The service, amenities and experience we offer need to be just world class.

With an important school referendum on the upcoming Nov. 8 General Election ballot, members of the Hampton County School District administration and school board will be visiting town hall meetings and hosting informational forums for the public.

At stake in this election are decisions that will impact the immediate future of public education in Hampton County. Not only will voters have the opportunity to select several members of the new consolidated school board through a new district/zone voting plan, citizens can also vote yes or no on a school-funding referendum.

Recently, the South Carolina Department of Education, through various funding sources, procured $52 million to help construct the new consolidated Hampton County High School, to be located on US Highway 601 South near the Hampton radio station. But this funding isn't enough, and district officials say a referendum is needed to approve a school bond.

The referendum question, as it will appear on the ballot, is:

"Shall the Board of Trustees of Hampton County School District, South Carolina (the “School District”) be empowered to issue, at one time or from time to time, general obligation bonds of the School District, in a principal amount of not exceeding $25,000,000, the proceeds of which shall be used to finance a portion of the costs (including architectural, engineering, legal and related fees) of constructing and equipping a new consolidated high school, including land acquisition? If the voter wishes to vote in favor of the question, select “Yes, In Favor of the Question”; if the voter wishes to vote against the question, select “No, Opposed to the Question.” Yes, In Favor of the Question No, Opposed to the Question."

If the referendum is approved by voters, HCSD Superintendent Dr. Ronald Wilcox has publicly stated that district officials believe they can build this comprehensive new school, which will include a career and technology center, without raising taxes for county citizens.

To help inform and educate the public on this referendum and school project, Dr. Wilcox and school board members will be attending several public sessions, as well as participating in the HC Chamber of Commerce's Oct. 4 Candidate Forum at the Palmetto Theater in Hampton.

"This is to try and pass out information to the public abou6 the new high school, communicate to the people how we came to the decisions we have made, and to give them an opportunity to ask questions," said Wilcox. "All we can do is give them the facts, and then they have to decide."

The schedule of public sessions includes:• Oct. 3 – Gifford Town Hall (Ralph Campbell Community Center) 6 pm• Oct. 3 - Hampton County Council meeting 6 pm• Oct. 4 – Candidate Forum (Palmetto Theater) 6 pm• Oct. 5 – Brunson Town Hall 6:30 pm• Oct. 6 – Estill High School Forum 5:30 pm• Oct. 6 – Regular HCSD Board Meeting 6:45 pm• Oct. 11 – Yemassee Town Hall 6:30 pm• Oct. 12 – Estill Town Council 6:00 pm• Oct. 13 – Wade Hampton High School Forum 5:30 pm• Oct. 17 – Varnville Town Hall 7 pm• Oct. 18 – Fennell Elementary – Yemassee Forum• Oct. 18 – Fennell Elementary – Regular HCSD Board Meeting 6:45 pm• Oct. 25 – Furman Town Hall Meeting 6:00 pm• Nov. 8 – Election Day

Four Florida men were arrested and charged with a misdemeanor for picking berries in the Bluffton woods.

But these were not just any berries — they were saw palmetto berries, which can sell for anywhere from $1-3 a pound.

They harvested nearly 2,000 pounds of the berries at the Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve, according to the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

On Oct. 8, some contacted the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources who reported their trail camera had recorded men carrying buckets and bags into the woods at the preserve, a 977-acre public area flush with trees like the live oak, cabbage palm and slash pine and featuring hiking trails, wildlife viewing and bird watching, according to DNR.

The next day, officers went to the area and caught the men after seeing them illegally picking pine-saw palmetto berries, said Greg Lucas, a DNR spokesperson. The berries are about the size of an olive and are used in medicines to treat benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is the enlargement of the prostate gland, according to the Mount Sinai Medical Center.

Saw palmetto capsuls are not regulated and sold over the counter and online.

The men were taken to the Beaufort County Detention Center and released Monday on bond.

The men, Lucas said, “regularly” came to South Carolina from Florida because of the “strict laws and regulations on harvesting the berries in Florida.”

“The estimated value of what they had in possession was approximately $3,000, and they had harvested berries previously on multiple other days,” Lucas said.

The sheriff’s office estimated in its report that the men had collected $15,000 worth of berries in 40-50 50-pound bags. The total amount of the berries collected by the men and their value was unknown.

Taking anything from land designated as a Cultural Heritage Preserve — the highest form of protection to land — is illegal under the Heritage Trust Act, a law created to protect endangered species sites.

At a kiosk at the Victoria Bluff Heritage Preserve, Lucas said, there is a sign posted advising guests that they cannot damage or alter the wildlife in the area.

The men were charged with a wildlife management area violation, Lucas said. This violation is a misdemeanor and, if convicted, they could face a fine of anywhere between $200 and $500, a 30-day prison sentence, or both. Additionally, anyone convicted of this violation is not allowed back on the land for two years and cannot hunt or fish on the land for one year, according to DNR.

The Island Packet and Beaufort Gazette do not identify people arrested on misdemeanor charges unless they are people in positions of public trust.

An SC Election Commission review has determined that 3,237 Beaufort County voters were not put in the proper districts during the redistricting process, which resulted in 70 voters initially receiving the wrong ballots in the June primary election. The SEC said it has since corrected these errors.

According to the State Election Commission (SEC) and the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration & Elections, the 70 voters who received the wrong ballots were across 15 precincts: Bluffton 1D, Bluffton 2B, Bluffton 4B, Bluffton 4C, Bluffton 4D, Bluffton 2A, Bluffton 2E, Hilton Head 1B, Hilton Head 4D, Hilton Head 4B, Hilton Head 2C, Hilton Head 4A, Hilton Head 4C, Hilton Head 5A, and Hilton Head 5B.

The SEC found that within in those 15 precincts, 2,038 voters weren't properly redistricted, but these voters hadn't received their ballots yet. According to the review, out of approximately 135,000 voters in the county, 3,237 voters in all of the precincts weren't redistricted correctly.

The Beaufort County Legislative Delegation met on Oct. 14 to review the SEC's findings.

Delegation Chairman, Rep. Weston J. Newton, said the review was to determine "what we need to do to ensure that this does not happen again and to ensure the citizens in this part of South Carolina that the election was fair, it was appropriate, these errors were dealt with in a timely manner, the election was audited, and the results were proper."

The review presented to the delegation detailed the timeline of the county's redistricting and early voting period. In this timeline, the SEC provided examples of when the County Board of Voter Registration was notified of errors with the redistricting of county residents.

The review stated that on Jan. 24, the county had the final reading of its redistricting plan, and on Feb. 16, it submitted "decode changes" for the SC House, Beaufort County Council, and School Board districts.

According to the SEC review, "When decode changes are made, county offices begin adjusting street files to match decode changes. The 'street file' is how the voter registration system knows what districts are associated with individual street addresses."

After the county submitted these "decode changes" the SC Revenue and Fiscal Affairs office provided Beaufort County an error report on April 6 "with a list of 2,600 possible County Council (District) errors." On April 8, the Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration returned a Decode Signoff Form to the SEC, stating that all Beaufort County voters had been moved to the correct districts.

On April 13, the SEC requested all counties review their data as a final check, "before finalization of election databases." On May 26, Will Roberts, who was employed with the SC Senate Judiciary Committee at the time,performed a secondary review of the state's counties and sent an error report to counties that identified "any lingering redistricting errors." Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections was sent an error report that listed 3,200 voters that could be in the wrong county council districts.

On May 27, the SEC found that "Beaufort County updated the streets identified in the May 26 error report with correct district codes." The review stated that the SEC hadn't received confirmation from the county that the "mass redistricting" of voters was complete. On June 7, the SEC received confirmation forms from the County Board of Voter Registration and Elections that, "showing the county’s election databases were correct, the county’s ballots had been proofed and tested, and that all redistricting was complete."

On June 8, Michael Covert, candidate for the Beaufort County Council, "attempted to vote at his polling place and discovered he was not on his own ballot," according to the SEC review. Later on June 8, Beaufort County Board of Voter Registration and Elections Director Marie Smalls contacted the SEC and reported that "a number of Beaufort County voters" received the wrong ballots.

The SEC worked with Beaufort County to correct this issue by updating the voter registration system and providing affected voters with the proper ballots. The SEC also created a second election database for voters in the affected precincts so they had the proper ballots.

Following the election, the SEC performed a full review and audit of the election process to identify how these errors occurred. Through this review, the SEC found that the Beaufort County Board of voter registration "understood voters needed to be redistricted at the County Council level, but never redistricted them nor asked the SEC to manually redistrict any voters."

The SEC reported that other counties with fewer resources and less experience were able to successfully redistrict prior to the election. The commission also found in its review that the county board of voter registration demonstrated that it understood the redistricting process.

Smalls shared with the legislative delegation on Oct. 14 that when the board of voter registration received the error message in May, her team believed that it had completed redistricting. She said she thought all of the addresses were updated at the time. Smalls disputed the SEC's statement that the county was provided multiple error reports, and Smalls said she notified the SEC when she was made aware of the issue in June.

Following this review, the SEC will request the hiring of a permanent manager who will oversee the counties' redistricting and provide "quality assurance." Outside of redistricting years, the manager's role will be to ensure that voters moving throughout the state are in the proper districts.

BLUFFTON, S.C. (WTGS) — Beaufort County residents gathered in Bluffton on Saturday for the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s.

Over six million Americans are living with Alzheimer’s, which means over 11 million family members and friends care for people living with the disease or other dementias.

The Bluffton walk brings people together who have experienced dementia in many ways. Participants carried a flower to symbolize their experience with this disease.

Event chair Amanda Phillips walked with a purple flower, a symbol to other participants that she is one of the millions who have lost a loved one to Alzheimer’s.

“Actually, a few years ago, my father passed away from early onset Alzheimer’s, and so instead of getting frustrated or angry, I wanted to be a part of a cure," Phillips said.

Others carried a blue flower to signal that they are living with the disease. Some carried an orange flower to symbolize their support. Yellow flowers represented caregivers for those with Alzheimer’s or other memory diseases.

Corrie Van Dyke has worked in hospice and care management for many years, and he has seen the effects this disease has had on many families and patients.

“Alzheimer’s is a disease that takes you on a journey farther and farther away from yourself. And I think it’s hard for people to see someone who looks very much like the person that they’ve always known, but inside their mind is not working the way it used to," Van Dyke said.

He said that it’s frustrating not only for the person with the memory loss but also for the family members.

“I think it really takes family members a lot of education and really empathy and compassion to really just support their loved one with memory issues," Van Dyke said.

Phillips said the walk brings people together to celebrate loved ones, raise awareness and raise money for policy and research to one day find a cure.

“The Bluffton Walk to end Alzheimer's and just the Alzheimer’s community is like an extended family. We network with each other to brainstorm ideas on respite care and also to provide support to each other," Phillips said.

Over 400 people walked on Saturday, and they are still fundraising through Dec. 31. They have raised over $82,000 of their $126,000 goal.

You can find more information on the Alzheimer's Association and how to donate here.