Friday, November 1, 2013

PUMPKINS AND FALLING ACORNS ON HILTON HEAD ISLAND, S.C.

Arrangements of pumpkins and dried cornstalks that rustle like palmetto fronds in a capricious breeze can be seen all over the island.  The pumpkins and falling acorns announce our fall season which brings gorgeous weather, sighs of bliss, and the smell of wood smoke.

The conceptual plans for a new $20 million-plus Harbour Town Clubhouse in Sea Pines were presented to the Town of Hilton Head Design Review Board recently after being approved by the Sea Pines Architectural Review Board.

The 18,000-square-foot, three-story building with locker facilities for tournament players and regular guests will include an expanded pro shop, a new restaurant, private dining and meeting spaces that can accommodate tournament sponsors.  If final plans are approved, demolition of the existing 11,000 square-foot facility, which opened in 1969, the year the Heritage began, will begin after the 2014 Heritage in April.  The new clubhouse is scheduled to be completed for the following year’s PGA Tour event, the RBC Heritage Presented by Boeing.

The much heralded Hilton Head Island Motoring Festival and Concours d’Elegance has selected Porsche as this year’s honored marque.  Honorary event chairman is Hurley Haywood, a legendary race car driver who has been whipping Porches around tracks for over 40 years.

In conjunction with the event, the Savannah Speed Classic will be held on nearby Hutchinson Island with a series of races.  The dates are October 25-27; event dates on Hilton Head are November 2-3.  Two of the 20 classes to be judged at the Concours d’Elegance are classic Porches, competing in either the Pre-9ll or the Post-356.

Haywood’s racing career includes five wins at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, three wins at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and two wins at 12 Hours of Sebring, making him the top winning driver in the history of endurance classics.  Some 16,000 attendees are expected at the Hilton Head event this year.  Throughout the weekend around 100 different cars will be stationed each day on the first and 18th fairways of the Planter’s Row golf course at Port Royal Plantation.  In the British Marque division there will be a 1961 Lotus, a 1932 Aston Martin, and a Jenson 541.

The real estate industry on Hilton Head continues an upward sales spiral.  Closed sales are up 12% island-wide. In Sea Pines, villa sales are up 17%.  Lower-end product has almost sold out.  As the end of the year approaches, we are seeing more price reductions in inventory that has not sold yet.  These are sellers who want their property sold before the end of the year.  Adjusting value is just a given in a competitive market.  Currently there are many great buys all over our area, which is interesting to see because it isn’t always that way.

One special property that you should see is in a beautiful up-scale development just over the bridge from Hilton Head called Colleton River Plantation.  The house is priced at a low $12,600,000; 17,000 square feet, riverfront on 9-plus acres in a live oak and magnolia forest.  The estate is buffered on one side by a large freshwater pond and on the other side by a 100 year old forested conservancy for total privacy.   

The front gate entrance to the estate was made in Romania.  A nearby three bedroom guest house features a soaring, vaulted ceiling, a pool, spa, waterfall, and outdoor room complete with grill.  The main house has a 4-foot thick concrete foundation; most walls are 21 inches thick.  There is a 50 year roof, windows and doors were made by the Hope Company of New York, constructed of steel and brass.  All ironwork was forged on site.

The leaded glass ceiling in the Tea Room came from a New York hotel built in the late 1800’s.  There is a gold Baccarat chandelier in the Embassy Room (approximate cost was $100,000 when the house was built in 2004).  The Embassy (Music) Room has hand-carved paneling from 1830 accented in gold trim and was originally in the Hungarian Embassy in Paris.  Similar paneling sold in New York City two years ago for $2,000,000.  The dining room (large enough for a ballroom) wallpaper was hand painted in China. The hand-carved fireplace mantel took almost two years to carve.

There is stone flooring from France and marble from Italy.  The master suite has a river view and includes three fireplaces, His and Her bathrooms and dressing rooms and a fully functioning Salon Room.  The maid’s quarters features a full kitchen, large bedroom and living area for staff.  There is a mirrored exercise-spa treatment room complete with full bath and tiled massage shower. The motor court includes five garage parking places, two of which are year round climate controlled.

In 2009 the house was appraised for Wachovia Mortgage for $18.5 million; in 2012 the estimated replacement cost by an insurance company was $19.2 million and did not include land value.

Colleton River is a golfer’s paradise.  It has one 18-hole golf course designed by Pete Dye, another 18 hole golf course designed by Jack Nicklaus and a 9-hole par 3 course as well as a tennis complex and elegant clubhouses.  Fishing and boating in the Colleton River is excellent.  Watching fish tail-dancing on the Colleton River is a magical experience.

If you or your friends are interested in this property, please contact me.

Contact Diann at: diannwilk@roadrunner.com