City of Beaufort requests $1 million from county ATAX for Waterfront Promenade design

A City of Beaufort representative told the ATAX committee that the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park promenade has been closed since June 2025 for safety reasons and asked the county for $1,000,000 to cover design, engineering, environmental review and permitting. "The million that we are requesting from the county...would be dedicated specifically to design, engineering, environmental review, and permitting," the presenter said.

The speaker said the city has secured approximately $2,000,000 in other funding — $1,000,000 from local ATAX, $1,000,000 from local HTACs — and has set aside park bond funding of about $925,000. The project was described as a large capital effort with an early estimate near $70,000,000; the presenter characterized the design/permitting phase as roughly 10–12% of that total. Committee members asked about economic downside and timeline; the presenter pointed to multi‑year economic benefits tied to downtown visitation and tourism dollars if the promenade is restored. The committee will consider the city’s request during its recommendation process.