Proposed Hardeeville Resort Would Create 2,250 Direct Jobs (United States)
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Proposed Hardeeville Resort Would Create 2,250 Direct Jobs (United States)
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Category: North America & West Indies / Carribean islands - United States - Industry economy -
Hotel projects
This is a press release selected by our editorial committee and published online for free on 2012-03-01
An investment group led by prominent South Carolina businesspeople announced preliminary plans to build a first-class hotel/casino resort entertainment complex in Hardeeville that would create 2,250 jobs on-site with estimated employee compensation (wages, salaries and benefits) of $92 million a year.
In addition, it is estimated that another 1,600 jobs in the Low Country (Beaufort, Jasper, Colleton and Hampton counties) would be created with $64 million in employee compensation as a result of economic activity generated by the resort, not including the construction jobs to be created.
The spinoff in business generated outside the Low Country would produce another 860 jobs and $29 million in wages, salaries and benefits for Palmetto State businesses.
In all, the total impact on South Carolina is estimated to be more than 4,700 new jobs with nearly $185 million in employee compensation, not including the construction jobs.
The economic impact analysis was conducted by Marquette Advisers of Minneapolis and Seattle, an international real estate consulting firm.
Plans for the resort entertainment complex, which would be located within the recently built mixed use resort community of Hilton Head Lakes on Highway 278 three miles off I-95 Exit 8, were discussed Thursday night during a meeting with Hardeeville City Council and Jasper County Council. The Councils passed a Joint Resolution of support for the project, and requested the support of other governments for the project as it goes through the approval and permitting process.
Investors in the resort complex own Hilton Head Lakes, which is a 4,600 acre mixed use community that includes an existing Tommy Fazio championship golf course, clubhouse and lake amenities.
The proposed resort entertainment complex would include a 400-room, 4-diamond quality hotel and casino, the existing 18-hole championship golf course, various restaurant facilities and a 1,500-2,000-seat multi-purpose events center.
The exact location of the resort within the Hilton Head lakes property has yet to be determined.
The resort would be owned by the United Keetoowah Band (UKB) of Cherokee Indians in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, working in conjunction with SB Investment of Myrtle Beach and Stratford Land of Dallas, Texas.
SB Investment is a partnership with 40 years of successful development in the Carolinas. Included in its portfolio are Cyprus River Plantation, Plantation Lakes, River Landing, and Wild Wing Plantation, along with several developments in North Carolina (HiltonHeadLakes.com).
Stratford Land has a quarter century of successful land management investment on behalf of institutional investors (StratfordLand.com).
SB Investment and Stratford Land jointly own Hilton Head Lakes in Hardeeville, SC.
The UK Band of Cherokee Indians is a federally recognized Indian Tribe, with most members living in Oklahoma. In its federal designation, the Tribe traces its history and ancestral territory back to South Carolina.
The economic impact analysis of the resort estimates it will attract more than four million annual visitors, with about 70% coming from outside South Carolina.
"We are talking about a tremendous economic surge for the entire area," said Ralph Teal of Myrtle Beach, managing partner of SB Investment/Development. "People from out of state who normally bypass South Carolina will bring their money here, which will benefit businesses and individuals throughout the Low Country and South Carolina."
Other findings in the economic impact analysis indicate the resort will generate:
$15.7 million in federal income taxes
$8.4 million in state income taxes
$20.3 million in statewide sales taxes, including $14.2 million in the Low Country
$17.4 million in employer/employee payments to Social Security
$4 million in employer/employee payments to Medicare
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