Premier Golf, Yachting, and Tennis Community in the Heart of Hilton Head Island PO Box 4100, SC 29938.       111 Wexford Club Drive, SC 29928.       Tel: (843) 686-8810.       Fax: (843) 686-6210.

The Birth of Wexford Plantation Part 3

The "Planner's" Perspective by Ken Skodacek

Interesting facts, Interesting People

Clubhouse Under Construction

Interesting Facts

A few pertinent facts of interest: The lock system cost approximately $1,000,000 in 1983 dollars. You may not have noticed it, but the lock sits right in the middle of a powerline easement. There is a major powerline which crosses under the waters of Broad Creek, coming up at a small sub-station behind the 18th Green. It used to then travel overhead to connect to the existing overhead lines which now begin at the sub-station next to the chipping/bunker practice green to the right of the driving range. It cost The Hilton Head Company $1,600,000 in 1983 dollars to have the powerline buried in conduit and placed under the lock. A spare conduit runs the length of the buried cable for future expansion of the powerline. Also involving the power company was the raising of the remaining balance of the overhead powerline by 30 feet around the southern border of Wexford from just right of the 2nd tee to behind the 5th tee, at a cost of $3,000 per power pole. This allowed for the placement of the excess excavated material from the harbor construction over and above that which was used on the golf course. It became known as "The Great Wall of Wexford".

Many People Contribute

Many people and organizations deserve our thanks for the uniquely fine community we sometimes tend to take for granted: People like Rick Terrell, the project manager for The Hilton Head Company, who brought the project in both ahead of schedule and under budget (there are certain advantages to bidding a large project in the midst of a recession); Thomas & Hutton Engineers, who worked with the San Francisco engineering company that came up with the concept for residential locks. T&H adapted the California design located in upper San Francisco Bay, which I visited, researched and photographed. The Wexford version had to be substantially modified to handle both larger boats and greater tide ranges and to add a bridge above the inner lock gates to accommodate golf cart and pedestrian traffic; Willard Byrd for the initial golf course design and for allowing me the opportunity to be such an integral part of planning this prestigious community; Ken Venturi, whom I worked with in 1999 and 2000 to renovate the golf course after years of neglect during Wexford's "dark days" as being part of the properties impacted by the sale of The Hilton Head Company to Bobby Ginn, his subsequent bankruptcy and the ensuing years as part of the Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC) administration of the many bank failures of the late 1980's.

Emerging From Recession

Lastly and most importantly, not enough can be said for the efforts of The Hilton Head Company and its parent, Marathon Oil Company, under the local leadership of David Axene, who has since retired on the Island. Without the strong economic backing and corporate leadership of Marathon Oil, our Island would have languished in the recession of the early 1980's far longer than it did. The dollars poured into Wexford Plantation, in rehabilitating both Shipyard and Port Royal Plantations and putting in the initial infrastructure into Indigo Run Plantation, were the principal reason our Island came out of those tough economic times far ahead of the rest of the nation.

Information & services on these pages apply only to members of the Wexford Plantation Homeowners' Association.

Updated: Feb/1/08 Copyright 2008