Richmond-based Riverstone Group announces major expansion for Kiawah Island resort

Richmond-based Riverstone Group LLC announced a major expansion Tuesday for its Kiawah Island Golf Resort in South Carolina.

A series of projects, including a new 150-room luxury beachfront hotel, are planned for the resort, located on a barrier island 21 miles south of Charleston.

The company, which also owns the Jefferson Hotel in Richmond, said it has broken ground on the first stage of redevelopment. Work will continue through the end of 2020 in time to host the PGA Championship in May 2021.

The project will provide these new amenities:

A beachfront hotel with dining, spa, retail and ballroom, 
A 10,529-square-foot conference center with core meeting space and 11 breakout rooms totaling 3,815 square feet, 
A clubhouse with a full-service pro shop, sports tavern, a bar and locker rooms, 
A villa check-in, 
A 150-seat chapel connected to The Sanctuary hotel, 
Two two-story, four-bedroom rental cottages adjacent to The Ocean Course Clubhouse, 
Consolidation of all tennis programs at Roy Barth Tennis Center with 10 new Har-Tru HydroCourts and resurfaced existing courts, as well as the addition of locker rooms,
An enhanced Night Heron Park, with a new nature center, pavilion, other activities spaces and dining, including the relocation of The Town Center Market. 

“These developments mark an exciting chapter in Kiawah Island Golf Resort’s notable history,” Kiawah Island Golf Resort President Roger Warren, said in a statement.  “The developments will completely revitalize the West Beach area, which formed the nucleus of the resort when it was first developed in 1976, but it will also enhance and complement the world-class facilities, amenities and programs that Kiawah has been proud to offer its guests over the past decades.”

The general contractor for the project is Choate Construction Co., managed from its Charleston offices.all  The buildings in the West Beach Village and The Ocean Course Cottages are designed by Robert A.M. Stern Architects in New York.