2
May 2017 November 2017 5
The Sandcastle , A History ( Continued From Previous Page )
The board appointed a committee of long-time property owners , headed by the late Chet Barrand , to propose solutions . The committee surveyed the membership and presented its findings in October 1993 . Questionnaire results “ indicated that a majority of owners favored the construction at an early date ” of a recreation center , according to KICA records . The report stated that Kiawah was adding “ 100 new property owners a year ,” and the pool served 5,000 participants annually with 12,000 summer visits , 70 % by part-time owners . The now 17-year-old complex was “ outdated and inadequate to meet our expanding island requirements ...[ with ] little or no potential for expanded and upgraded family recreation facilities and amenities ...[ and ] does not take advantage of the ... spectacular views of the beach that this unique site provides ." The questionnaire showed priority for a grill room for family dining , aerobics and exercise rooms , space for meetings and social functions , extensive decking overlooking the ocean , continued operation of the snack bar , and a heated pool .
Based on these results , the committee developed a plan that proposed an upscale recreation center :
• The beach and ocean would be viewable from both levels .
• The pool and food operations would be outsourced , as it had been for two years .
• The grill room would provide “ a vacation type dinner at reasonable prices ” year-round , and other meals as demand justified , such as lunch in summer .
• The fitness space would be managed by contract and fees charged for classes .
• A Pool Operating Committee ( POC ) of members would manage the entire facility with volunteers .
• The POC would also manage room and event rentals .
• The pool would have lifeguards May through September and remain open the rest of the year without guards .
• The pool area would not change , except to move the entrance to the parking lot .
• The cabana would be demolished .
• A leisure trail with beach access would be built on the east side of the property .
• Parking would increase to 93 spaces , but no trees would be removed .
To make the proposal viable , particularly to provide land for parking and for the possibility of future expansion , the developer , KRA , which had bought Kiawah from the KIC several years before , offered to donate land toward the beach and east of the existing pool property . Materials sent out with ballots in the referendum of the membership in 1994 said that the center would increase property values , add “ badly needed space ” for social activities , provide a facility independent of the resort ( through which most social and fitness needs were provided at the time ), provide a place to host private parties , and be a focal point for the community with “ food , recreation , leisure , swimming , beach ...[ and ] fitness ...” Operational costs were to be covered by an annual amenity assessment , an annual user fee for
Sandcastle Groundbreaking on Aug . 7 , 1995 . Pictured Left to Right : Jerry Hupy , George Intemann , Sean Driscoll , Townsend Clarkson and Chet Barrand .
full-time residents , and an “ initiation fee ” of $ 572 for improved and $ 286 for unimproved ( without dwellings ) properties . Future owners , including buyers of existing homes , would pay the same , and lot owners who added homes would pay the $ 286 balance . The referendum passed with 3,655 votes , 53-47 %.
Construction began , and Nat Malcolm - who with his wife , Linda , owns Indigo Books , once at Island Center and now at Freshfields and had just retired from a 26-year Navy career - became the manager about a year before the August 1996 , opening . “ I made design inputs , such as wire cables on the balcony ,” he remembers , because the proposed boards would have blocked the ocean view , and he supported the decision not to heat the pool because of expense .
The building was to be called the Property Owners ’ Recreation Center , and owners were involved in the construction . Chet Barrand was a woodworker , and he created handiwork such as the bar in the third room upstairs , now called the Barrand room in his honor , and the handrails at the entrance . “ Chet was the pool committee in the early years and kept the cabana and pool operating almost single-handedly ,” Nat remarked . “ He is the real ‘ father ’ of the Sandcastle and truly deserves the plaque in the upstairs lounge ."
Nat nicknamed the project “ the Sandcastle ” because the original plans called for four turrets . Three of the turrets disappeared because of cost constraints , but the name has endured .
Controversy erupted over the building ’ s roof and siding . Plans specified a cedar shake exterior , but two people collected over 1,500 signatures on a petition to use Hardie Shake , which they said would be cheaper and safer . The Architectural Review Board ( ARB ) denied the request , and the petitioners asked the KICA board , with four developer and three property owner directors , to overturn the ARB . They refused . Discussion about the siding was heated but the cedar shakes stayed in the plans .
When the building opened , the first floor held a single fitness room with aerobic equipment , a large multipurpose weight machine called a Trotter Gym , and class space ; and the Sand Dollar Snack Bar , staffed initially by members during the summer season . On the second
Continued on Next Page ...