Hilton Head’s iconic Harbour Town is getting a new look. Take a peek at Sea Pines’ plans
The iconic Harbour Town Yacht Basin on Hilton Head Island’s south end is getting a new look.
While the candy cane-striped lighthouse is staying put, The Quarterdeck restaurant next to one of Hilton Head’s most well known landmarks will be redeveloped to reflect a new Harbour Town experience, according to an announcement from Sea Pines Resort Thursday night.
The restaurant, which has a large patio for outdoor seating, will be rebuilt to offer panoramic views of the 18th green on the Harbour Town Golf Links course, the yacht basin and Calibogue Sound.
Quarterdeck’s redevelopment will also include the construction of a rooftop oyster bar with flexible glass walls to open to the outdoors.
The bar will open to a 270-degree view of the surrounding Harbour Town.
A casual, walk-up market on the ground level will serve as a place to grab a quick bite to go or to stock up on local shrimp, seafood and ice cream for the day. It will open toward the entrance to the Harbour Town Pier, which was rebuilt after being destroyed by Hurricane Matthew in 2016.
The contractor for the project will be chosen next week, Director of Resort Development Cliff McMackin told The Island Packet.
“We’re going to be reorienting how it sits on the site and focusing on those primary views of the marina, the 18th hole and the sunsets over Calibogue Sound,” he said. “That was a critical point in the design process.”
Commentators on Facebook were thrilled to see the plans as they were unveiled Thursday night.
“How classy!” one user wrote.
“Roof top bar will have the best sunset view on HHI,” another person chimed in.
Construction is expected to begin this spring, according to a Facebook post by Sea Pines Resort.
It is scheduled to be finished in spring 2022, the post says.
“This new restaurant will serve as the cornerstone of Harbour Town and is destined to become the most desirable dining venue on Hilton Head Island,” Steve Birdwell, president of The Sea Pines Resort, said in a press release.
Harbour Town history
When visitors think of Hilton Head, the first image that often comes to mind is the Harbour Town lighthouse.
In the summer of 1950, Charles Fraser worked in his father’s island logging camp and fell in love with the island. He loved the area so much he convinced his father to develop Sea Pines, according to The Hilton Head Island-Bluffton Chamber of Commerce.
“He was inspired to create a low key, unpretentious, special community that was respectful of nature,” Jim Chaffin, one of Sea Pines’ first real estate agents, told the chamber. “At the time, only the beach property was considered valuable for developing but Charles wanted a community that was more than just a beach place. He wanted to add value to the entire area.”
Fraser wanted to create a gathering spot that would include boating.
“He really wanted a joyful, celebratory destination. When he first put out the rocking chairs around Harbour Town, people laughed and asked him what he was doing,” Chaffin said. “He would answer, ‘It’s a place for people just to sit.’ Even now you see people in the rocking chairs reading the paper and enjoying a sense of place.”
Nelle Smith recounted the construction of Harbour Town to the chamber of commerce.
“I remember during the early planning stages of Harbour Town, the children in our neighborhood were all upset that something was going to be built on their favorite oyster gathering place,” Smith said. “They used to ride their bikes to that area with crocus sacks, fill up their bags with oysters, and ride home for a family roast.”
In Harbour Town, Fraser envisioned a landmark that would attract people not just to Sea Pines but to the Island.
Lighthouse keepers’ homes that were in present-day Leamington were moved to Harbour Town, and the 90-foot lighthouse was completed in 1970.
This story was originally published December 18, 2020 at 10:00 AM with the headline "Hilton Head’s iconic Harbour Town is getting a new look. Take a peek at Sea Pines’ plans."
