St. Johns Yacht Harbor launches sales, plans resturant

Boat slips recently went on sale and a new restaurant has been added to the plans at St. Johns Yacht Harbor, a new marina that will replace the former Buzzard’s Roost and Stono marinas off Maybank Highway on Johns Island.

The Stono River property is being redeveloped by IBG Partners LLC, part of a Washington, D.C., firm that is also developing the 500-acre Rushland Plantation, an upscale residential community off River Road.

St. Johns Yacht Harbor will have about 400 boat slips, a waterfront pool and Jacuzzi, and a snack bar with facilities for cooking fresh caught fish, among other amenities. A Captain’s Retreat will be perched above the marina and fuel dock, where boaters will have Internet access, television, gaming tables and satellite weather and navigational equipment for charting courses.

The community also plans a cluster of townhomes, which will be located on the north end of the property, formerly Buzzard’s Roost. The developers have not yet decided how many townhomes will be built, but sales associate Mandy Coleman said the homes will be “Kiawah-esque” and will blend in with the area.

A restaurant will be built at the south end of the property on the tip of the former Stono Marina. Coleman said the restaurant will be casual enough to accommodate patrons in boating attire and a community dock will be located nearby so the general boating public can patronize the restaurant. A Noisy Oyster restaurant was formerly located on the property adjacent to Buzzard’s Roost Marina. The restaurant closed in the fall when IBG began work on the project.

IBG purchased the two marinas in August for about $22 million. The company intends to comply with the Certified Clean Marina Standard, transforming parking to pervious surfaces, reducing negative impacts of storm water runoff, working with environmental groups and landscape architects to preserve the natural landscape, and following other eco-friendly programs and practices.

Coleman said the 62 dry slips on the north side of the project, adjacent to the wet slips, were sold out in two weeks. Work has not yet started on the south side, where more dry slips may be added along with wet slips. Since May 10, 40 wet slips have been sold, Coleman said, with prices ranging from $3,000 to $4,050 linear per foot.

By Kathleen Dayton, staff writer - Charleston Regional Business Journal