Jan. 5, 2021 • Volume 24, Issue 1 • Complimentary • BlufftonSun.com
WEAR A MASK!
INSIDE • Sun City comes through with wreaths for veterans 14A • Concert set as fundraiser for Gullah museum 16A • Nonna Rosa to be featured in ‘prime’ time show 18A • USCB student interns for Rep. Clyburn 14A • Photographer captures visuals of migrant pelicans 55A
Bridge at Calhoun offers new potential, concerns some locals By Gwyneth J. Saunders CONTRIBUTOR
If all goes according to plan, there will be a groundbreaking before the end of January for a new, ambitious, multi-faceted enterprise on a one-acre lot along Calhoun Street between Green and Bridge streets. The Bridge at Calhoun plan features three two-story buildings, each less than 7,750 square feet. The top floors will be a mix of 1- and 2-bedroom apartments along with one 3-bedroom. The street-level spaces will be filled with a mix of three industries that owner Matt Cunningham said goes “into the arts direction.” “One of those is culinary arts. People are going to The Farm because they’re going for good food, Michelin-star level. This could be a destination for foodies,” he said. The second industry is contemporary art. “Obviously Calhoun Street is known for its arts. Amari Ferris is going to have his studio in that space. He and I started a nonprofit in March looking at how do you grow art as an economy,” said
Cunningham. As part of increasing contemporary art in the downtown area, a number of rotating murals will be incorporated into the walls of the buildings. “You can say things through art – poetry, song lyrics, visual arts – that you can’t say in normal conversation.” The last thing is artists in retail. “This is a retail space. We are looking at encouraging entrepreneurs, and business ownership is part of it. Who is currently participating, who is benefiting, who will be there five, 10, 15 years from now,” Cunningham said. “Twenty-five percent of the business owners in Bluffton are women and seven percent are African American. If you look at that specifically – and community growth – when you invest with women business owners, more often the dollars will flow back into the community, and they will be reinvested.” He added that in the “inside of the bridge that I am helping to grow, there’s a specific interest in women and African American entrepreneurs. I think it will demonstrate economic value, which will cause more investment.” Cunningham moved to Hilton Head Island in 2007, working for CareCore
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A rendering of the Bridge at Calhoun, viewing the corner of Calhoun and Bridge streets. The building in the middle is the former site of the original Eggs ’n’ Tricities boutique.
National before it was renamed eviCore Healthcare. He worked with the late Don Ryan, co-founder and CEO of CareCore, who moved here and believed in helping make Bluffton grow. Cunningham said he believes the same thing. “Part of this is because I moved to
Bluffton and really love Bluffton. It’s not that I moved here to make an investment,” he said. He and his family moved into the Promenade three and a half years ago. “I like that multi-use space above shops. Your neighbors see
Please see BRIDGE on page 8A