$5M hotel rehab turning 150 rooms into apartments in Beaufort. ‘It will be a hot spot’

A rendering shows The Pearl Studio Apartments.

A $5 million remodel of an old four-story Quality Inn hotel in Beaufort will bring 150 new affordably priced apartments to Beaufort. Rent at The Pearl Studio Apartments, 2003 Pearl Street, which will include utilities, internet and trash service, will range from $1,100 to $1,200. The rental package also includes a membership to The Foundry, a large fitness facility in Beaufort Town Center.

Zumper.com says 85% of available rentals in Beaufort fall within the price range of $1,500 to $3,000. Apartment.com says the average rent in Beaufort for a studio apartment, not including utilities, is $1,335 a month.

At this time, there is no income cap to apply for a rental but the market-rate facility is designed to serve as workforce housing.

One analysis said Beaufort County rents were among the fastest growing in the nation during the COVID-19 pandemic, jumping some 30% from the first quarter of 2020 and the first quarter of 2022.

The Quality Inn is the second motel/hotel in the Beaufort and Port Royal area to be overhauled into affordable tiny apartments in the past three years.

El Segundo, California-based Vivo Living, a private real estate investment and property management company, acquired the two-story former Days Inn on Ribaut Road in Port Royal for $5.3 million in 2022, according to Beaufort County property records. Vivo remodeled the property into 145 studio apartments. In October 2024 Vivo sold the property to Nextgen Vpr LLC of Jupiter, Fla. for $12.8 million, property records show.

The Quality Inn building, while older, is “solid,” with its ceilings, walls and floors made of concrete, said Courtney Worrell, CEO of 303 Associates, a real estate investment and redevelopment company that owns the property and Beaufort Town Center where it is located. And its location just off of Boundary Street, one of the city’s main thoroughfares, also is ideal because it provides easy access to a Food Lion, restaurants, fitness centers and a variety of retail stores located in Beaufort Town Center. Located a stone’s throw from Starbucks and City Hall, other perks include stately live oak trees a view of the marsh.

“We think it will be a hot spot,” Worrell said of demand. The Quality Inn in Beaufort closed in January and 303 Associates went to work remodeling it into apartment units. 303 Associates bought the hotel in 2007. It was originally build in the late 1970s as a Holiday Inn and expanded in the early 1980s.

With a number of new hotels opening along Boundary Street and U.S. Highway 21 in recent years, investments in an older hotel did not make sense and the decision was made turn the property into long-term rentals, Worrell said.

“It helps address a growing need in our community — and that’s affordable housing,” Worrell said.

Dunbar Construction is gutting each room and adding kitchenettes that include a two-burner stove, a microwave/convection oven, full refrigerator and sink. Amenities of the large property include a pool, laundry facilities, game room and communal areas where tenants can work and socialize.

The estimated cost of the makeover is $5 million with the biggest expense running new electrical lines to each room.

The outside of the building, known for its white pillars adorning the front and back, will be redone as well.

The apartments are expected to be ready for move-in by August. 303 Associates will begin taking applications in May.

Read more at: https://www.islandpacket.com/news/local/community/beaufort-news/article303522031.html#storylink=cpy

-By Karl Puckett, The Island Packet