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ISLE OF PALMS — A combination of king tide cycles and a nor’easter pummeled each end of the island, severely eroding an already-weakened beach.

At the island’s northern tip, the Ocean Club Villas stood tall, undergoing another facelift. Cloaked in vibrant blue netting and scaffolding, the Wild Dunes condominiums were bearing the brunt of some of the worst erosion.

The four-day stretch of tides, storm surge and rain pushed back the dune system at the Ocean Club and nearby properties about 15 feet, according to a post-storm report from the city’s contracted coastal engineering firm. At the king tide’s highest point, a roughly 8.5-foot swell, waves lapped at the base of the scaffolding. Water undermined the concrete slab.

Since the building’s construction in the 1980s, the tide has crept closer and closer to the condos. The dry, sandy beach has shrunk with each passing year. Despite this, renovations at the Ocean Club Villas press on.

Crews with Hill Construction are currently replacing exterior doors, windows and balconies to make the condos watertight. They’re adding more insulation, too, and an extra water-resistant layer on the outside of the building.

But at times, protecting the building and the people who stay there has come at the expense of the beach the condos stand upon. The renovations highlight the complexities—and risks—of maintaining property so close to the water.

Construction debris did reach beach, dunes

Portions of the Ocean Club stand in the critical area of the beach, a protected portion of the shore that requires approval from the state Department of Environmental Services before it can be altered in any way.

The environmental agency has the final authority on what takes place in the beach’s critical area, and issued Charleston-based construction firm Hill Construction a conditional approval to begin renovations in June.

Before work could begin, the building needed to be surrounded with scaffolding and netting to prevent loose debris from entering the water or beach environment during construction, along with other measures to keep the site clean.

“Any area of dry sand beach and/or dune vegetation impacted by the construction must be restored to pre- project conditions,” the June 25 notice to Hill Construction stated.

At the city level, Isle of Palms Administrator Douglas Kerr said the project was permitted without any special stipulations or added oversight, despite its proximity to the ocean.

But debris from the construction has not been wholly contained, concerning nearby residents who routinely walk along the beach. The state environmental agency confirmed construction-related material has been escaping the blue netting surrounding the building since at least June, and has worsened over time.

Styrofoam pieces, light as air, flittered from the construction site and into the marsh grass, dunes and water around the site, photos reviewed by The Post and Courier show. Sheetrock and spray foam insulation were strewn about near the work site as well.

In late September, countless foam pieces were reported on the Isle of Palms. The white, pea-sized pieces dotted the wrack line for blocks, nestled in the area where driftwood and reeds are deposited by the tide.

Shortly after the foam balls were discovered, the agency notified Hill Construction it had violated the terms of the maintenance agreement. Similar Styrofoam debris found at the work site were found stretching about four miles down the coastline, the agency said in the notice on Sept. 25.

“As time progressed, the blue netting was damaged, and the department believes that the debris that was being contained by the netting was released into the beach environment,” Adam Gantt, a coastal enforcement project manager wrote in an email to the Ocean Club board on Oct. 9.

“Every effort should be made to immediately clean-up/remove all unauthorized debris/materials found within the beach environment and adjacent waters, to prevent the further spread of these materials,” Gantt wrote.

The litter, particularly the foam, can be detrimental to a marine environment, Charleston Waterkeeper Andrew Wunderley told The Post and Courier after the foam balls were discovered.

“They're going to continue to degrade and into smaller and smaller bits,” Wunderley said. “It's impossible to clean up once they've been spilled. You can make your best efforts, but once they scatter in the wind and the rain and the tide and the current, the waves, it's impossible to clean it up.”

An Ocean Club representative overseeing the renovation denied that the round foam pieces originated from the construction site, though agreed that some debris had escaped it previously. Measures to better address the litter were put in place, like a trash chute and more netting.

After the state notified Hill Construction about the documented litter and subsequent violation, the Ocean Club board sent a newsletter to owners updating them on the status of the renovations. The unsigned note also referenced the litter, stating that the project was now “under a microscope” following a Post and Courier report.

“May we suggest to any owners concerned that rather than taking steps that cost everyone time and money, that they organize and volunteer to walk the beach regularly and just pick up any errant items that escape containment. This would be to everyone’s benefit," the letter stated.

Board members assured the agency after a site visit on Oct. 6 that crews had made significant progress on picking up the site; DES confirmed the agency has not issued any penalties or fines for the litter, either.

Fighting fleeting sand

The waterfront condos are situated in a precarious area on the northern end of the Isle of Palms. Extreme erosion has plagued this part of the island for years, and will continue to, according to reports coastal engineering firms prepared for the city.

Without frequent large-scale renourishment projects, the sand supporting many of the Wild Dunes developments closest to the beach will continue to disappear. The last time the Isle of Palms saw one of these projects was in 2018, and likely won’t be ready for another one until next year, at the earliest.

In 2018, the city spent roughly $15 million, with the help of some federal funding, to restore the beach. The upcoming project is poised to cost more than $16 million.

Both Wild Dunes and the city have undertaken efforts to fight against the fleeting sand. The renovations, however, have come under scrutiny for leaving a mess behind on the beach and in the dunes.

Ocean Club owners tried in 2016 to install removable wave dissipation devices to stave off erosion. A few years before that, a buried wall hidden beneath piles of sandbags was uncovered.

The state ordered the removal of both structures.

Isle of Palms has historically deployed emergency sandbags to the area after storms, including Hurricane Erin in August and again after the October nor’easter.

Soon those sandbags will be placed along the beach and the base of the building—another attempt to protect the property against the water, as crews continue work to keep the condos themselves watertight.

The fortifications serve as an example of responding to the impacts of coastal living, taking place throughout hurricane season and through tide cycles that are routinely higher than they’ve ever been.

In the meantime, the hum of construction machinery continues to mix with the dull roar from the crashing waves, the water inching toward the condos that jut out onto the sand.

ISLE OF PALMS, S.C. (WCSC) - Leaders on the Isle of Palms heard from dozens of residents on its island mobility at an open house on Monday night.

The city is partnering with the Berkeley-Charleston-Dorchester Council of Governments for an ongoing mobility study to evaluate existing bike and pedestrian infrastructure on the island. The study is designed to identify gaps and deficiencies that create safety, connectivity and maintenance concerns.

“The purpose of the mobility study is to really help us identify areas of the island that we can have that connectivity, so that we can get from point A to point B around the island, much more safely,” Isle of Palms Councilman Rusty Streetman says.

Officials say another goal of the study is to identify mobility needs and improvements for the Isle of Palms. As residents came to the open house, they heard more about the study, had the opportunity to ask questions and shared feedback to help shape the future of mobility on the island.

Mary Anne Chalmers, an Isle of Palms resident, says being able to interact with city officials in person helped her better understand what feedback they’re looking for. Her main concerns are walkability and signage.

“Since the population has grown in the area all around and there’s just way more people coming to the beach when you’re trying to walk around,” Chalmers says. “I walk my dogs on the beach and I walk them around in the town and sometimes you almost get hit crossing Palm Boulevard or on some of the streets.”

Potential projects to improve mobility include new sidewalks, protected bike lanes, improved wayfinding and signage, additional shade from trees and protection from weather, traffic calming, improved lighting and security and additional pedestrian amenities.

“My hope is between golf carts, bikes and mopeds, we will provide an easier way to traverse the island,” Isle of Palms Mayor Phillip Pounds says. “I think there’s interconnectivity and infrastructure that we can put up that would help folks get around.”

Reisdents who did not have the opportunity to attend the open house can fill out an online survey by Oct. 31. The survey asks questions about what modes of transit are most popular, what they are used for, future connectivity improvements residents would like for the city to prioritize and safety issues.

Streetman says it’s good to see so many Isle of Palms residents get involved with the study and hopes to continue to see that effort with the online survey.

“Our residents are concerned about the safety of the island and being able to get around much more effectively and efficiently,” Streetman says. “I think they’re very interested seeing improvements on the island, on the sidewalks, the streets, bike paths, areas like that so that we can have a better, safer environment for our residents and our visitors that come here also.”

ISLE OF PALMS — A Mexican restaurant on the Isle of Palms is preparing to shut down the grill.

Papi’s Taqueria announced on social media that it is closing Nov. 2, hoping to go out with a bang and after Halloween and Day of the Dead celebrations that involve revelry and, often, tequila.

The restaurant at 1012 Ocean Blvd. has operated out of a coastal cottage-style building with views of the Atlantic Ocean since 2018. It was opened by Wyatt Durrette, a songwriting collaborator with the Zac Brown Band who toured with the group for almost 10 years, and the band's executive chef, Rusty Hamlin.

The business posted online that it was “time for us to close this chapter,” stating that a new concept will take its place in the space.

“Although we can’t reveal what’s coming next, believe us when we say that our baby is in very capable hands and there are great things to come. Sometimes the best endings make room for beautiful new beginnings.”

The news comes as Canchita’s Kitchen — which operated the kitchen at Papi’s for the past three years and also runs a Mexican food truck in Mount Pleasant at 1340 Chuck Dawley Blvd. — announced that it plans to open a new brick-and-mortar location at 6 Market St. in downtown Charleston.

It’s backfilling the former home of Tabbuli Restaurant near The Cooper, the forthcoming luxury hotel and waterfront resort.

Tabbuli opened in 2011 and operated for more than a decade before its tumultuous end that involved issues with the city of Charleston’s Livability Court and the U.S. Department of Labor’s Wage and Hour Division, which cited the business for 72 violations.

Beachfront homeowners on Wild Dunes say this weekend's erosion is the worst they've seen in decades.

Sit, listen, and wait.

That’s all beachfront homeowners in the Wild Dunes community of the Isle of Palms say they could do this past weekend as a nor’easter whipped up surf that pounded their homes.

“You’re helpless,” says Jimmy Bernstein as water washes over mountains of sandbags that are supposed to protect his home.

“It’s mental anguish,” he says.

So much sand has washed away from beneath Bernstein’s raised, beachfront home, the concrete inside his garage may crumble, again.

“I’m in danger of the slab falling into the ocean,” he says. “It would be the fourth time.”

Bernstein says this weekend’s high tide of more than eight feet, coupled with last week’s king tide, has created chaos on the island. There’s no escaping the sound of large waves crashing beneath his back deck and around the sides of his home.

“It just pounds against the house, constantly,” he says.

Bernstein’s neighbor, John Kirkland, meets with utility workers outside. He says his family has owned his beachfront property for more than 30 years. This is the worst erosion he’s seen in decades, so bad his power lines are exposed. He’s having to shut down power to his entire home.

“Hurricanes are almost better than this because hurricanes come and go,” Kirkland says.

“This has been days of relentless high tide, high tide, high tide.”

And the high tides are far from over. Two more king tides are expected in November and December.

SULLIVAN’S ISLAND — King tides and a rainy nor’easter just delivered a one-two punch to beaches along South Carolina’s coast.

Folly Beach, Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island all saw some of their sand sucked out into the stormy sea this past weekend. As sea levels in the region rise, erosion events like this one could become more common and severe.

An escarpment over 6 feet tall at Sullivan’s Island’s Thomson Park highlighted the most extreme erosion the island suffered from the 8-foot king tides and the weekend nor’easter.

The beach at the southern end of Sullivan’s Island, where the maritime forest has cropped up on accreted sand, remained wide and flat after the rains. A handful of beach walkers trekked up and down the shore, still wet from the weekend deluge. Aside from some water that had pooled at the town’s public access paths, it was business as usual on that part of the island.

Heading north, toward Breach Inlet, is where evidence of the king tides and heavy rains became apparent. The gradual slope that normally connects the dunes to the dry sandy beach sharply dropped off; the high tides created a substantial shelf, about 6 feet tall.

This section of the beach is where around 20,000 dump-trucks-worth of freshly dredged sand were placed, courtesy of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The supplemental sand was a beneficial use project. Isle of Palms and Sullivan’s Island both benefitted from the dredge spoil.

The town spent $646,000 last year moving a portion of that sand higher onto the beach and build up the dunes at Breach Inlet and behind Marshall Boulevard.

After the king tides and the rainy weekend, about half of that sand is gone, Sullivan’s Island Administrator Joe Henderson said.

“The dunes served their purpose,” he said.

The Isle of Palms didn’t fare as well.

Both the southern end of the island, near Breach Inlet, and the northern tip that encompasses the Wild Dunes neighborhoods and resort, were inundated by the high tides. The Ocean Club Villas, currently surrounded by scaffolding and blue netting, were hit hard by the king tides — waves reached the condominium’s foundation.

Some of the homes on the island, still recovering from damage caused by Hurricane Erin, had piles of tan sandbags stacked behind them. City leaders spent $550,000 in August to deploy hundreds of these bags to Breach Inlet, and portions of Wild Dunes, including the Ocean Club Villas and homes on Beachwood East, a highly-eroded section of the island.

A handful of Ocean Boulevard properties were guarded by the sandbags, piled several feet high to block the waves from the property. Still, a tall shelf of sand dune could be seen behind the row of houses, along with exposed roots from the grass planted to stabilize the dunes.

Folly Beach in a warming world

Across South Carolina, island communities spend millions of dollars each year to renourish their beaches. Folly Beach last October wrapped up a $22 million renourishment project, Hilton Head Island is mid-way through a massive $47.5 million renourishment and Isle of Palms in May finished moving 120,000 cubic yards of sand to protect Wild Dunes Resort as part of a $750,000 project to harvest sand from a developing shoal.

The state Department of Environmental Services estimates that South Carolina’s coastal communities spent more than $400 million in federal, state and local funds on beach renourishment from 1979 to 2023. But as the climate changes and tides rise, beach towns likely will have to pay heftier sums to keep their shores sandy and the multi-million-dollar oceanfront homes protected.

So why keep paying for sand if it’s just going to wash away?

“ Because the public infrastructure and homes are not getting washed away,” said Nicole Elko, the president of the Folly Beach-based Elko Coastal Consulting. Elko works with Folly and other coastal communities on sand renourishment and erosion issues.

South Carolina’s sea islands naturally erode and accrete mass. Sand is generally carried southward from one island to the next, and additional sediment is built up from river mouths. Folly Beach is the exception to that rule.

Folly has to undergo regular renourishment that is (typically, but not always) paid for by the U.S Army Corps of Engineers. The Corps built jetties just outside Charleston Harbor in the 19th century that disrupt the flow of sand to the island.

“Before this renourishment program began in the ’80s and ’90s, Folly didn't just lose houses, they lost entire roads,” Elko said. “ Our memories are short, but our policies are good, and we do this for a very important reason: to protect this treasure that we all love and enjoy — the beach. And in turn, the beach protects us.”

The last renourishment project on Folly Beach concluded in October 2024 to the tune of $22 million — all of which was covered by the Army Corps. While work is ongoing to determine how much sand was lost, Elko said this past weekend marked the largest erosion event since that project wrapped.

Even if the sand inevitably gets pulled away, the accounting still works out. One 2021 report by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers found that every dollar spent on renourishment resulted in $1,200 in economic development generated by beach tourists, and $130 for federal, state and local tax coffers.