June 2014
D i g e s t
The Official Publication of the Kiawah Island Community Association
KICA Amenities Evaluation Considers Potential Projects
KICA Chief Operating Officer (COO) Jimmy Bailey then formed an
advisory group, the Amenities Planning Group, with representatives
from various demographic factions of the Kiawah community. After
extensive consideration of that group’s recommendations, the ASTF
report and the survey findings, including member interest in various
activities, the KICA board authorized the McMahon Group to prepare
options for potential improvements. These options were associated
with the three primary functions of KICA’s amenity programs offered
at the Sandcastle: 1) fitness and wellness, 2) meeting and event space,
and 3) swimming pools.
Potential Projects and Locations Considered
Thorough Research Leads to Recommendations
After 18 months of research, in 2012 the Amenities and Services Task
Force (ASTF) published its findings that while Kiawah is a unique
residential and resort community almost unparalleled in its beach,
natural beauty and leisure trail system, the community association
risks falling behind other high-end communities because of
limitations in the amenities and services package that KICA provides
for its members. The ASTF report recommended that KICA engage a
consultant with national experience to survey Kiawah property owners
and recommend upgrades to ensure that the island remains at the top
of its class.
The KICA Board of Directors subsequently engaged the McMahon
Group, a consulting firm specializing in membership surveying and
research, strategic and facility planning, and with more than 30 years of
experience working with over 1,600 clubs and communities. The ensuing
2013 membership survey achieved a statistically significant 23% response
rate (25% is typical of “like” communities). Among the findings were:
• Insufficiency of community rooms, the size of the fitness center,
and the pool are sources of dissatisfaction across all demographic
segments in the community.
• The proportion of association members expressing overall
satisfaction with Kiawah’s offerings was low for high-end
communities: 78% “satisfied,” compared to 90% typical of
other “top communities;” and 21% “very satisfied,” compared
to 40% typical in other top communities. Included in the 78%
satisfaction response were extraordinarily high rankings for the
beach, leisure trails and natural beauty.
• The desire for better fitness/wellness facilities is higher among
younger members and recent purchasers; older members attach
more importance to community space.
As a starting point, the committee evaluated options for keeping all
three functions at the Sandcastle site. The analysis included a wide
range of options; everything from minor tweaks to consideration of
whether to demolish the entire building and replace it with a larger,
park-under structure. The planning group and board concluded that
height restrictions, parking requirements, and practical concerns about
aesthetics and other factors prevented a single-site solution.
The committee next addressed which functions might remain at the
Sandcastle, and which could be located to an alternate site. The members
considered that fitness is primarily a day-time indoor activity, and fitness
users trickle in one or two at a time; therefore, fitness facilities create little
impact on traffic, noise and other livability concerns. Facilities that host
parties, special events and other similar functions have large numbers of
people arriving at the same time, both day and night. The committee also
looked at the impact of other Kiawah clubhouses and facilities on their
respective neighborhoods and concluded that fitness can successfully
coexist with nearly any neighborhood setting. The Kiawah Island Club’s
Sports Pavilion at Cassique, a full-service fitness center with social space
and outdoor tennis and swimming, is an example of a fitness facility that
is successfully integrated into a neighborhood setting. The Sandcastle,
many resort facilities, and Kiawah Island Club facilities all are thriving
in residential neighborhoods.
The committee and board agreed that moving fitness to an alternate
site opened options for improving the pool and community meeting
space at the Sandcastle. However, a suitable location had to be identified
for fitness. KICA owns hundreds of acres of road right of ways, cul de
sacs, ponds, etc., but little property large enough for amenity expansion.
The KICA-owned common property at Rhett’s Bluff is over six acres,
centrally located, with beautiful views, and is currently underutilized
by the membership. At less than two-tenths of a mile from Bass Pond
to the property entrance, the access road is considerably shorter and less
serpentine than roads serving the Sandcastle and other island facilities.
With this in mind, the committee worked with the McMahon group to
develop a concept for considering fitness as an option for Rhett’s Bluff.
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