A DIVERSE, INCLUSIVE MASTER PLAN
The keys to success for most planned unit developments (PUDs) include location, accessibility and interconnectivity, anchors, rooftops, environmental and economic sustainability, and technology. The vision and the master plan for the Buckwalter PUD and its commercial core, Berkeley Commons, have all of these and much, much more.
A MASTER PLAN THAT SPARKLES
RESIDENTIAL COMMUNITIES:
The Team is committed to encourage and/or provide a wide range of housing options and choices. Eleven communities are well underway on or near Buckwalter Parkway, including five of these by the nation's leading homebuilders (i.e. Centex, DR Horton and Toll Brothers):
|
· Hampton Hall
(RRZ & Toll Brothers)
Featuring an 18-hole Pete Dye Signature golf course |
· PineRidge
(Centex)
· Woodbridge
(Craft Built Homes) |
· Rose Dhu Creek
(Legacy)
· Edgefield
(DR Horton) |
|
· The Farm
(DR Horton) |
· Sandy Pointe
(Craft Built Homes) |
· Arborwood
(Craft Built Homes) |
|
· Pinecrest
(Centex) |
· Shell Hall
(Laurel One) |
· Summer Isle
(The Lane Company) |
In addition, eight other communities (i.e. Sun City by Pulte Homes, Berkeley Hall, Rose Hill, Eagle's Point, Island West, Belfair, Old Carolina, and Palmetto Bluff) lie adjacent and/or within 3 miles of Buckwalter Parkway. More than 6,500 homes are planned in the Buckwalter PUD alone, with construction significantly ahead of schedule. Construction in communities surrounding the PUD are expectd to at least double these amounts.
OTHER DEVELOPMENTS: 
The plan also calls for a wide range of balanced businesses, services and amenities designed to bring both nearby residents and visitors into Berkeley Commons. The plan also includes a "Town Center" of shops and restaurants to give residents and the expansive tourist population a special place unlike any other in the Lowcountry. Initial developments include entertainment uses with a cineplex, restaurants, financial institutions, and churches. A medical care center, an upscale hotel, and other developments are anticipated to further enhance the development. Other Community-Oriented Projects In Place Or Currently Planned Include:
- Bluffton K-12 school campus
- Two private schools (Hilton Head Christian Academy and the Episcopal School)
- Three churches (Lord of Life Lutheran Church, Church of the Lowcountry and Church of the Cross)
- A 100-acre regional multi-purpose park with all the amenities (six soccer and three baseball fields, tennis and other active recreation)
- Bike paths for additional interconnectivity
- The 82-acre potentially extroardinary Okatie Regional passive park showcasing the biodiversity of the Headwaters of the Okatie River (one of only two river headwaters systems in southern Beaufort County)
- Bluffton's potential "downtown" possibly including a municipal center, walkable compact residential neighborhoods, a technology village, a hospitality component, and a commercial/entertainment core. The town is planning a new town hall and perhaps even a performing arts center here
- Many, many more projects to come!!!
ACCESSIBILITY
The Buckwalter PUD has unmatched accessibility to SC 170, SC 46 and to the area’s major access road, U.S. 278, that runs from I-95 just eight miles to the west to Hilton Head Island just six miles to the east. Additionally, existing roads are planned to be widened and more infrastructure is in the planning stages.
CUTTING EDGE TECHNOLOGY 
The vision is to have Buckwalter set the pace for the anticipated technological revolution in the Lowcountry. Buckwalter is being designed as a place for the techno mavericks, who will be implementing technologies into the homes and businesses of the region, and for those applying their specialized expertise in cutting edge technologies to their customers worldwide. Businesses, consumers, students and residents in Buckwalter will enjoy the advantages of the very best in technology. Two of the communities, (i.e. Hampton Hall and Sandy Point) are already providing fiber optic cable to every home. Indeed, fiber lines will be available throughout the entire PUD. The Bluffton School Campus has the region’s first high-tech high school. All the students will have access to laptops and high-speed wireless capabilities, assisted by computer proficient instructors. The high school is opening in fall 2004 and the K-8 wireless campus is fully operational. This K-12 campus is anticipated to become the K-12 technological template for the State of South Carolina.
Plans call for the Lowcountry’s first Technology Village in Buckwalter. Strategic alliances with Palmetto Electric providing reliable power to Berkeley Commons, and with all the educational institutions in the region including linkages to the new USCB campus, which is just two miles from Berkeley Commons, are in the works.
In addition to all of this, more announcements positively impacting Buckwalter’s technological environment are anticipated soon.
|
