Land use
New proposal would bring sixth grocery store to Pawleys Island
A Charleston-based developer has revived plans for a sixth grocery store in the Pawleys Island area. It is proposed for the same tract on Highway 17 at the corner of Petigru Drive where the grocery chain Lidl proposed building a store in 2017.
A request to change the zoning to allow a 19,423-square-foot grocery store on a site currently approved for four buildings containing a mix of office and retail space is up for review today by the Georgetown County Planning Commission.
Holly Richardson, the county planning director, she was told the proposed store is Aldi, a privately-held German company. Earlier this year, the company bought 400 Winn-Dixie and Harveys supermarkets as part of an expansion in the Southeast.
Josh Walls, an owner of the property, said he couldn’t comment.
“The grocer is under contract,” he said, but added that it was “bad luck” to discuss it before the approvals are in place.
The public relations firm that represents Aldi said “we do not have any information to share regarding developments in Pawleys Island.”
The property, known as Pavilion Square, was the first “flexible design district” approved by the county. The zoning district was created to replace “planned development” zoning in the wake of a state Supreme Court ruling that planned developments needed a mix of residential and commercial uses to comply with state law.
With all commercial uses, Pavilion Square was zoned as a flex district in 2015 to allow multiple buildings on the 4.8-acre parcel, including two fast-food restaurants. Its original “general commercial” zoning would have required subdividing the property since only one principal use is allowed on a lot.
The flex district limited the number of curb cuts on Highway 17 to one for southbound traffic. It also required more landscape and pervious surfaces to reduce stormwater runoff.
In 2017, the flex district zoning was changed to allow a 35,962-square-foot Lidl supermarket. That change eliminated the fast-food restaurants. Area residents questioned the need for another grocery store, especially one across the street from the Publix that opened in 2015.
Lidl pulled out of the deal in 2019. The owners at the time, Jody Tamsberg and Guerry Green, asked the county to restore the zoning to the original flex district concept. They sold the property last year to 3J7B Real Estate of Charleston, which opened a 7 Brew drive-thru coffee shop on the site.
Traffic on Petigru Drive was a concern when Lidl, also a German-based firm, was approved. Richardson said that a study showed the grocery store increased traffic overall, but reduced the peak volume because the fast food restaurants were removed from the plan.
The study wasn’t revised for the proposed grocery store since it is smaller than the Lidl and would generate less traffic, Richardson said.
She is recommending approval subject to approval from the state of an additional curb cut on Petigru, shared parking, a connection with adjacent commercial property and a limit on outdoor lighting.
The building must also comply with the design code for the Highway 17 corridor.
The commission meets at 5:30 p.m. today in County Council chambers.
