More pickleball (and now basketball) coming to a park in Beaufort. Here are the details

Beaufort County plans to build two additional pickleball courts — and a full-length basketball court — at Southside Park in Beaufort, which also serves residents of Port Royal.

The moves were welcomed by city officials in Beaufort, which is planning $6 million in improvements of its own in the part of the park the city controls.

The county’s plans for Southside are part of improvements it is planning at five county-run parks using money from the sale of two county-owned properties in Beaufort.

Beaufort County and the City of Beaufort manage different sections of the 34-acre Southside Park, one of the largest in Beaufort.

And both are working on major improvements in their areas of the park, which fronts Battery Creek Road and Southside Boulevard in the Mossy Oaks neighborhood.

News of the pickleball courts and basketball court are the newest developments in the plans. Beaufort City Manager Bill Prokop mentioned them during a Sept. 27 City Council meeting.

Beaufort County spokesman Chris Ophardt confirmed the county’s plans Thursday, saying the county had hired Woods+Partners to design plans for not only building the two pickleball courts and full-length basketball court but also improving a connecting trail between the county and city portions of the park and upgrading restrooms.

Construction of the pickleball courts would double the number of courts in the park to four.

Last year at Southside, Beaufort County tore out a tennis court and built two pickleball courts in its place in an effort to address growing demand for courts due to the sport’s increasing popularity. It also redid the lone remaining tennis court.

The two additional pickleball courts, and the full basketball court, will be built on the open field adjacent to the existing pickleball/tennis courts, Ophardt said.

Previously, only a half-court basketball court had been discussed.

“It’s great they are doing a full court instead of half court because it’s really needed,” said Beaufort City Councilman Neil Lipsitz, who lives in the area and has lobbied for improvements at Southside.

Lipsitz also is pleased that the walking trail connecting the city and county sections will be improved. The current trail, he said, is a “little creepy.”

“They are going to improve it,” Lipsitz said, “and make it more walker friendly.”

When the city began its discussions about Southside improvements, Beaufort Councilman Mitch Mitchell said, he raised concerns that the plans did not include a basketball court at all. The omission, he said, resulted in “grumbles” from some residents. Now, Mitchell says, “the county has agreed to provide a full court at South Side Park.”

Money for the work will come from the sale of county property at 1407 King St. and 600 Wilmington St. in Beaufort, along with Parks and Recreation Capital Improvement Funds, Ophardt said. The properties are former county office buildings that had been leased to the state Department of Health and Environmental Control.

Those funds also will help pay for building repairs at the Charles Lind Brown Center in Beaufort, field and light repairs at Scott Center on St. Helena Island, a lighting project at the baseball fields at Coursen-Tate Park on Lady’s Island and building repairs at Booker T. Washington Center in Yemassee.

The appropriation for each facility, Ophardt said, has not yet been determined and will depend on whether Beaufort County can do the work or needs to hire a contractor.

Meanwhile, the City of Beaufort is pushing ahead with $6 million in improvements it is planning for its section of the park including construction of a playground, a large event pavilion and improvements to the dog park and restrooms. The work will be completed in phases.

In September, the City Council approved a $412,000 contract with the engineering firm Davis & Floyd to perform engineering and permitting services at Southside for the playground. At $1.6 million, the playground improvements are the most most expensive part of the plans. The contract includes services by subcontractor Woods + Partners.

On the recommendation of City Manager Prokop, Beaufort is planning to use $630,000 it receives from the the sale of the old federal courthouse on Bay Street to Beaufort County for the Southside park work. The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office is moving to the old Courthouse and will use the land for parking.

As it stands now, said Lipsitz, the Beaufort councilman, “there’s no place for the kids” on that part of town. With the improvements to the park, he said, there will be additional options for for them including the playground and basketball courts.

The park will have “a little bit of everything,” Lipsitz said. “A family park.”