|
Beach renourishment project waving tourists away
Folly Beach project brings noise, limited access to beach
By Shannon Cavanaugh
Contributing Writer
Sounds of the waves, breathtaking views of the ocean and salty summer breezes are not enough to entice tourists to pay $1,385 a week to stay at the Dancing Dolphin this summer.
The vacation rental with its circa 1938 Folly Beach charm is located at 12th and East Arctic, just a footpath away from the sand and surf and two blocks away from the start of a six-month, $12 million project to renourish nearly 5.5 miles of hurricane eroded shores on Folly Beach.
“No one wants to be there if the bulldozer is running round the clock. I don’t blame them. They’re spending thousands of dollars. I’m obligated as an ethical businessperson to explain this to the guests what renourishment means to their vacation,” says Mitsi Wood, owner and manager of the Dancing Dolphin.
“I’m frustrated. I don’t know what to tell people as to when the bulldozers are going to be in front of my house. I’m totally in the dark about the time-line. This is my livelihood. I’ve had three guests cancel from Tennessee, North Carolina and Maryland. That last cancellation was for three weeks.”
Wood says her rental is usually booked from now until the end of fall, but reservations are down by half. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District is working on a Web site that will give property owners like Wood a projected time-line and progress report to make booking guests easier. However, that’s not available until next month and the tourist season has already started.
“We’re doing everything possible to make this a minimum impact. We’re going to mark off areas where not to go,” says Alicia Gregory, spokeswoman with the Army Corps of Engineers Charleston District. “We’re using special lights with covers so at night the lights won’t shine on the residences. And our bulldozers, well they do make noise and once the sand is pumped to the shore, we’re not sure how long it will take to push it in place.”
To avoid harming turtle nesting, pumping was to have started in April, but is now scheduled to start May 1 at 14th street by the “Wash Out” and move east up the beach toward the old U.S. Coast Guard Station. Contractors will operate equipment 24 hours a day, seven days a week with bulldozers spreading 300-500 feet of sand each day. Once the east end is finished, the Corps will return to 14th street and head west. Gregory estimates bulldozers will reach the Folly Beach Pier by the Fourth of July and reach the west end of the island by mid-September.
“They will restore one block every two days depending on the weather,” says Toni Connor-Rooks, city administrator with Folly Beach. “All in all this is a history-making event. Sure, it’s inconvenient, but a section of beach will always be open for tourists. And with more than 40 beach crossovers, we’re one of the most accessible beaches on the East Coast.”
Commercial brokers are notifying customers up front about possible noise and having to walk two to three blocks to find a spot on the beach. They want to ensure there are no surprises as some families have booked their vacation rental two years in advance and expect an ocean view with sea gulls, not hard hats.
“Some people ask what part of the beach is better to stay on and we tell them we’re playing it by ear,” says Lajuan Kennedy, broker in charge with Fred Holland Realty, who watched the Army Corps renourish the beach 12 years ago.
“With all the trucks and lights, some people find it fascinating. They sit on the front porch and watch as they move the mighty Atlantic back and raise the level of the beach. Others are ticked off by the noise and see it as an inconvenience. Moving them to another location is an option or giving them a discount. Actually our business is up a bit this year.”
Islands West Real Estate, which handles vacation rentals on Folly Beach, is ready to hand out concessions to keep guests happy and coming back.
Free dinners, family passes to the South Carolina Aquarium in Charleston and Magnolia Plantation and Gardens are just a few. In March, Islands West mailed a letter to all their customers explaining the renourishment project.
A few called back with questions, but property manager Rosanne Cutrone says, “No one’s cancelled yet.
“We go out of our way to make our customers happy. There is some talk of doom and gloom, but we tell them there’s plenty of beach maybe not just right in front of their house,” says Cutrone.
Just as the beaches are fragile and precious to Folly’s past so is the beach to it’s future with tourists spending millions of dollars for the perfect summer vacation. Wood is offering a $500 discount on a stay at her beach home and hopes to schedule guests at the end of June when bulldozers have moved on down the beach.
Fred Holland Realty and Islands West are prepared to shuffle guests from house to house, a luxury that private homeowners, like Wood, do not have.
From now until the end of the tourist season, 2.3 million cubic feet of sand will be pumped to shore from the bottom of the ocean three miles out. And “the Edge of America” will again move back some 20 feet.
|
E-Mail This Article
Printer-Friendly Version