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SEABROOK ISLAND — The Inlet at Seabrook Island, a new construction townhome neighborhood, broke ground Jan. 15 in a ceremony that included Mayor Bruce Kleinman.

The boutique residential community at 1780 Longbend Drive will be made up of 11 townhomes designed and developed by resident Paula Murphy and her son, Keith Murphy, of Island Architects.

Prices start at $1.6 million.

Although zoning permitted more than double the number of residences on the Seabrook Island site, Keith Murphy said they intentionally limited the community to 11 townhomes to preserve the live oak corridor and the surrounding wetlands.

“Our approach was to listen to the land and let it guide the design,” Murphy said. “By limiting the number of homes, we were able to focus on thoughtful siting, strong proportions and architecture that complements its surroundings rather than competes with them.”

The three-story units will range from 2,330 to 3,239 square feet with three- and four-bedroom layouts. Each will have a private three-stop elevator, a first-level two-car garage and a dedicated golf-cart parking area.

The community will be constructed by David E. Looper & Company. Daniel Ravenel Sotheby's International Realty will be the exclusive sales broker.

“With only 11 residences available, The Inlet represents a rare opportunity for brand-new construction on Seabrook Island,” said Ruthie Ravenel, CFO of Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty.

Townhome and condo sales on Seabrook Island increased in 2025 with 79 closings, up 11.3 percent year over year, according to data from Charleston Trident Association of Realtors. Median prices also rose 13.8 percent year over year to $660,000, fetching 93.7 percent of asking price.

Like elsewhere in the Lowcountry, days on market rose in Seabrook with townhomes and condos sitting 55 percent longer in 2025 at an average of 90 days.

In comparison, the 100 single-family home sales on Seabrook Island were flat year over year, with a 5.9 increase in median price at $1.46 million. Days on market until sale rose even further on average in 2025, sitting 68.9 percent longer at 76 days — which is still within a healthy range of three months.

Overall, about 5,400 single-family homes and 1,748 townhomes and condos sold in Charleston County in 2025.

Paula and Keith Murphy participate in the groundbreaking ceremony for The Inlet at Seabrook Island, an 11-unit luxury townhome development expected to be completed this fall. (Photo/The Inlet)Mother and son duo Paula and Keith Murphy broke ground on 11 luxury townhomes at The Inlet at Seabrook Island.

The three-story townhomes will range from 2,330 to 3,239 square feet with both three- and four- bedroom floor plans, a private elevator, two-car garage and golf cart parking, according to a news release.

“As a resident, this project is incredibly personal to me,” Paula Murphy, co-developer of The Inlet, said in the release. “From the very beginning, our goal was to build with care and restraint, ensuring these homes respect the land and the community we love. Seeing that vision come to life at the groundbreaking was both special and deeply rewarding.”

Built on a live oak corridor, The Inlet developers said the townhomes were constructed to protect the surrounding marsh where it is located.

The townhome interiors will have open-concept layouts, hardwood floors, gas fireplaces and kitchens with quartz countertops and personalized fixtures, according to the release.

“Our approach was to listen to the land and let it guide the design,” Keith Murphy, co-developer and architect with Island Architects, said in the release. “By limiting the number of homes, we were able to focus on thoughtful siting, strong proportions, and architecture that complements its surroundings rather than competes with them.”

Construction is led by David E. Looper & Co. and sales for The Inlet are represented by Daniel Ravenel Sotheby’s International Realty, a luxury brokerage with deep expertise on Seabrook Island and throughout the Lowcountry. Island Architects led the property’s design.

Construction on The Inlet is expected to be completed this fall.

KIAWAH ISLAND — A property owner’s association wants to relocate an environmentally sensitive inlet between Kiawah and Seabrook islands, an area two conservation groups say is a “Holy Grail” habitat for local endangered species.

The Seabrook Island Property Owners Association is asking state and federal regulators for permission to relocate Captain Sams Inlet (which forms Captain Sams Spit) to a position it previously occupied.

The work would require the excavation of 10 acres of sand and the filling of 10 acres of water, according to a public notice for the project.

The peninsular spit is attached to the southern end of Kiawah. The plan calls for excavating a channel through Sams Spit, thus forming a new mouth for the Kiawah River. The current inlet then would be closed off with a berm of excavated sand, according to documents submitted to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

The operation could result in the excavating and relocation of close to 300,000 cubic yards of sand.

The goal, according to the Property Owners Association, is to stabilize and maintain the inlet within a set area, and mitigate erosion on the northern end of Seabrook, along which the inlet runs.

“This strategy allows Capt. Sams Inlet and its associated bars and shoals to freely migrate along thousands of feet of ocean-facing shoreline while maintaining space for developed uplands as well as particular habitats,” according to a Property Owners Association flyer for the project. “Using this approach, both Kiawah and Seabrook islands have managed relatively healthy beach ecosystems for decades without needing a large-scale dredge-based project.

Captain Sams Spit erodes and accretes mass, and it’s a “highly mobile piece of land,” according to the Coastal Conservation League.

Similar relocation projects have been undertaken in 1983, 1996 and 2015, according to the Army Corps application. Between the 2015 relocation and 2020, the inlet shifted naturally southwest (towards Seabrook) at a speed of about 100 feet per year. Migration has since sped up, and the inlet’s now moving southwest at about 200 feet annually.

The zone of land created by the relocation of the inlet is protected from development and set aside as habitat for local species, according to Army Corps documents for the new project. It’s also kept empty to account for the river mouth’s natural migration.

Some aren’t buying the group’s conservation claims.

In a public comment submitted in opposition to the project, the Conservation League and South Carolina Environmental Law Project wrote that the beaches and dunes on the northern end of Seabrook are in fine shape, and no structures there are at risk of erosion. They also question why it’s necessary to keep the inlet within a defined area.

They allege the project is an attempt to “stockpile sand to, at some point in the future, replenish the southern parts of (Seabrook) island where structures are experiencing more severe erosion.”

“ The sand tip of the spit that would be cut off would migrate and attach onto the north end of Seabrook,” said Amy Armstrong, the Law Project’s executive director. The longshore current that runs along South Carolina’s coast would then carry the sand southward to Seabrook’s eroding southern tip, Armstrong said.

“It’s free sand for Seabrook,” she said. “ It's very expensive to do a renourishment project where you have to go three miles offshore, identify beach-compatible sand, and then pump it on shore.”

Steve Hirsch, the director of engineering for the Property Owners Association, disputed that claim.

“Any temporarily stockpiled sand during construction will remain within the Captain Sams Inlet system and is not intended for use at other parts of Seabrook Island,” he wrote. Although the Property Owners Association’s flyer does list a “continuous supply of beach sand from Kiawah towards Seabrook” as one of the project’s benefits.

Across coastal South Carolina, communities spend millions of dollars a year to keep their shores sandy — both to support the state’s lucrative tourism industry and protect seaside structures from erosion. From 1979 to 2023, the Department of Environmental Services estimates that the state’s coastal communities spent more than $400 million on beach renourishment, The Post and Courier previously reported.

As sea levels rise and warming waters power a new generation of stronger hurricanes, the cost to keep the Palmetto State’s beaches pristine is rising. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration predicts that water levels in the region will rise roughly a foot by 2050, increasing the reach of the state’s highest tides.

In their letter, the two conservation groups wrote that the shores of the inlet are “the holy grail of habitat for important threatened and endangered species.” In its review of the project, the Army Corps identified 18 species that could be found in the project area that are considered either “threatened” or “endangered,” or have been proposed for inclusion on the federal Endangered Species list.

Hirsch wrote that each previous relocation, and the proposed new one, has included “significant pre- and post-construction habitat and endangered species monitoring which has confirmed increased habit availability for endangered species and more publicly accessible beach.”

The project still needs approval from both the state Department of Environmental Services and the Army Corps.

It’s the latest entry in a complex years-long saga over the unassuming, yet controversial, corridor.

In a separate case, the Town of Kiawah Island, Kiawah Island Community Association and Kiawah Conservancy are suing a private developer to regain ownership of parts of Captain Sams Spit and put other areas under conservation easement.

From 2008 to 2022, Kiawah Partners sought permits to build 50 luxury homes on the property, in addition to infrastructure to protect the area from flooding and erosion, The Post and Courier previously reported. Those plans have been blocked by years of legal wrangling in the state’s courts — including five different rulings by the S.C. Supreme Court.

In a joint statement, the Town of Kiawah Island, Kiawah Island Community Association and Kiawah Conservancy declined to comment on the excavation proposal by their southern neighbors, citing the ongoing litigation.