SPECIAL TO BEAUFORT TODAY

Local developer and entrepreneur Dick Stewart has a new title: Homegrown Champion.

Stewart was honored this week by the S.C. Department of Commerce whose “Homegrown Champion” program is designed to acknowledge and applaud those individuals who moved back to their hometown and have made an impact in the community.

A 1967 graduate of Beaufort High, Stewart went on to Georgia Southern University where he graduated in 1971. After first teaching school for a year, he embarked on a successful 25-year career in the wireless communications businesses in Atlanta.

Stewart “‘retired” to Beaufort in 1998, but soon formed 303 Associates, believing that the inevitable growth coming to the Lowcountry needed to be properly planned and managed in order to protect the charm and essence of Beaufort.

In 2001, he was named Economic Development Ambassador for Beaufort County and served as a member and chairman of the boards of many local organizations, including the Greater Beaufort-Hilton Head Economic Partnership (now doing business as the Lowcountry Economic Network); the United Way of the Lowcountry; the Beaufort Regional Chamber of Commerce, and the Coastal Community Foundation.

He also served four years on the Beaufort County Council and is a four-time recipient of the Main Street Beaufort Awards for Excellence for property rehabilitation and renovation.

His latest project is the Beaufort Town Center located on Boundary Street. It is home to the recently opened 115-room Hilton Garden Inn and is being developed as showcase example of mixed-use development, complete with retail, commercial, residential and recreational amenities.

He recently announced plans for a 29,000-square foot meeting center for the Town Center which would seat up to 850 for business meetings.

“I’m honored that The SC Department of Commerce has given me this recognition and thank the Lowcountry Economic Network and the Chamber of Commerce nominating me,” Stewart said during a ceremony Wednesday at the Hilton Garden Inn. “I am fortunate to be able to return home and contribute positively by redeveloping areas in a way that meets the ‘Smart Growth’ test.”