February 2014
D i g e s t
The Official Publication of the Kiawah Island Community Association
Townsend Clarkson: Transition After a Quarter Century On Kiawah
Two Development Philosophies
Townsend has seen a philosophical shift in development practices
since South Street Partners acquired KP. He explained:
“Kiawah has seen three key ownership transfers since development
began. The first was the Charleston partnership group’s purchase of
the island from the Kuwait Investment Corporation; the second was
Bill Goodwin’s acquisition of the resort properties; and the third was
South Street Partners’ purchase of KP last summer. We are lucky to
have another developer at the helm that is financially sound and has
the business experience necessary to run a luxury residential resort
community, a private club, a real estate firm, and the utility company,
none of which are a drain on the firm’s capital. All of these are strong,
as well as the community association, the resort and the town.
Townsend Clarkson’s career on Kiawah spans 25 years, Kiawah
Partners’ (KP, formerly Kiawah Resort Associates) full tenure on
Kiawah. “I couldn’t have been luckier,” he said about the opportunities
and experiences of making Kiawah a premier destination, branching
out internationally, and now returning to an intense focus on Kiawah
under the new developers.
Townsend grew up near Columbia, SC, and attended the University of
South Carolina, graduating with a BS in accounting from the business
school. He then earned his CPA certification and worked for several
years at a regional accounting firm, until Fripp Island near Beaufort,
one of his clients, lured him away to become its chief financial officer
(CFO), running the accounting department and overseeing the utility
company. He next moved to Amelia Island in Florida as vice president
of finance.
In the spring of 1988, a headhunter contacted Townsend about an
opening for a CFO position at a resort near Charleston. His family has
a home on Edisto Island, and he wanted to return to South Carolina.
He came to Charleston and interviewed with Charlie Way, Frank
Brumley and Buddy Darby. In June, once their purchase of Kiawah
from the Kuwait Investment Corporation was completed, they offered
him the job. After a few years, Townsend became president of the
Kiawah Island Utility Company (KIU) - he had been involved with its
management since his arrival - and after six years, the chief operating
officer (COO) as well as the CFO of Kiawah Partners. He held the
three titles for more than a decade before hiring another CFO.
The previous developers had a multi-generational view of development;
they were building for future generations. They developed a group
of operating entities, including (KIU), the Kiawah Island Club (the
club), and Freshfields Village. They would use the resources from those
entities, along with real estate development, to provide distributions
to the partners and cash for new ventures - Doonbeg in Ireland and
Christophe Harbour in St. Kitts. Once each project was secure, they
moved on to the next: first, Kiawah’s infrastructure and staff, next
Cassique and then Freshfields, and finally Doonbeg and St. Kitts.
Unfortunately, when Doonbeg was established in the marketplace, but
not yet financially sound, the market collapsed.
Going overseas was fun and interesting, with new opportunities. The
hardest part of developing in another country was getting in tune with
their culture. We could do it because we had the best talent in people
like Mark Permar, Charlie Arrington, Ray Pantlik and our architect
John Haley. We had roughly 500 people employed here, plus 150 at
Doonbeg and 100 at Christophe Harbour at the peak.
The new developers have a whole new way of looking at things, and
they have taught me a lot. I believed in the previous developers’
philosophy and I firmly believe in this one. They don't want to
be distracted by supplemental projects not related to Kiawah and
so they are selling those. They have sold the KP office property in
Charleston, the Christophe Harbour development, and the office/
retail portion of Freshfields Village. They want to focus their time
and resources on the residential development of Kiawah, Cassique
and Freshfields, as well as on the Club and the real estate company.
That is true for the staff as well. For example, Robbie [Crawford,
Kiawah Island Club manager] was previously closely involved with
the managers of the clubs at Doonbeg and St. Kitts. The same is
true for other departments, such as accounting, development and
marketing. KP does plan to continue to operate the Club and the
real estate company."
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