The Sullivan’s Island Town Council and those who attended its Sept. 11 workshop heard all about the history of Jasper Hall and the Sand Dunes Club, while the company that wants to turn the historic property into a private club apparently has revised its proposal. And an outspoken member of the Council is still “extremely concerned about the precedence of granting a commercial zoning exemption in a residential district.”
Dr. Mike Walsh, referred to by Mayor Pat O’Neil as “our resident historian these days,” spoke in detail about the property on Atlantic Avenue, which made its first appearance on the island as a military beach recreation facility, burned to the ground six years later and was rebuilt and re-opened in 1933. Meanwhile, Sullivan’s Island Bathing Company will now be offering nonmembers of the proposed exclusive club the opportunity to use the pool on a limited basis.
“Most recently, we communicated the Ocean Club’s plan to offer a community membership to island residents, which offers use of the family pool and poolside food service two designated days a week between Memorial Day and Labor Day, excluding weekends and holidays,” Sullivan’s Island Bathing Club Manager Shep Davis said. “We look forward to sharing additional new details about the club and exciting amenities and programming via our newsletter.”
“Town Council has posed additional questions about the Ocean Club, and our team is diligently gathering this information to share with Council in the coming weeks,” he added.
Following the workshop, Bathing Club team members Brian Hellman and Jim Wanless said the community membership idea was part of the plan they originally presented to the town. They said membership would cost $500 per year and that they would be at the Council’s Sept. 19 meeting to address the questions posed by Council Member Scott Millimet. O’Neil said that as of Sept. 13, that item was not on the Council’s agenda.
Sullivan’s Island Bathing Company wants to spend $30 million to renovate the property and charge members $60,000 to join, plus $6,000 a year in dues.
Millimet called the proposed zoning change “a very bad precedent.”
“Let’s just say, hypothetically, they were granted a zoning exemption. In two years, they decided to sell the club. We don’t have any control over what goes in next because we already granted the exemption,” he said. “What is critical is the request to operate a for-profit business in an area currently zoned as residential. To me it opens a big old can of worms.”
Millimet said he wants to know how many similar properties the group has developed, how many they continue to have a financial interest in and how many of those properties have been repurposed or filed for bankruptcy.
Deputy Town Manager Joe Henderson explained that Davis’ group originally requested an amendment to the town’s zoning ordinance that would permit private clubs to operate in a residential district.
He said the Council is still deliberating whether to allow that proposal to move forward to the Planning Commission. He said the group submitted an application for a business license that would allow it to use the property as it was used by former owners South Carolina Gas & Electric and Dominion Energy. However, because the license had not been used for more than a year, town staff was unable to approve that plan. Davis’ group has appealed that decision to the Board of Zoning Appeals.
Walsh pointed out that his remarks “should not be taken as biased one way or the other.” He said Jasper Pavilion, included a diving board, slides, ropes and “various other paraphernalia appertaining to the enjoyment of surf-bathing.” There also was a 1,500-seat open air moving theater. The only remnant of the facility after it burned to the ground was a large stone fireplace.
In November 1932, the Army spent $9,000 to build an officers club at the same location that, in addition to the fireplace, included an elevated bungalow, a golf shop, a large assembly room, a coat room, ladies’ restrooms and a caretaker’s apartment. The first recorded use of the term Jasper Hall, he said, was in a July 27, 1933, newspaper article announcing a reception for a visiting Army unit.
Walsh’s research discovered a few photos of the inside of the building, including sort of a watch party for the 1944 Army/Navy football game.
In 1950, after the Army left Sullivan’s Island, the building was sold by the township of Sullivan’s Island to SCE&G for $27,500.
Walsh said his best estimate of the number of officers serving on Sullivan’s Island in 1944, and thus using the officers club, was fewer than 250. He also determined that the facility never had a full-service food operation. He pointed out that according to the South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control, there apparently never were any DHEC inspections of the Sand Dunes Club.
“There would have been inspections by the Health Department if it had been a full service operation. This indicates there was no full-service restaurant permit,” Walsh said.
He also pointed out that in addition to wedding receptions, family reunions and church covered dinners, the Sand Dunes Club hosted the swearing in of the town of Sullivan’s Island’s first Council and first mayor – Wilfred Edward Lipman.
