Hilton Head Plantation's property owners have already scored the five projects in the POA's 10-year capital plan. Gate technology came first and a dog park came last, with the leisure paths, Plantation House and Spring Lake in between. Nobody saw a price tag when they voted. The next survey will carry cost ranges, and that is where the ranking will be tested against the thing that has long set HHP apart: some of the lowest annual dues of any community in the Hilton Head area.
The Scores From the First Survey
At the September 24 Coffee with the Board, the board read out how residents had rated each focus area on a one-to-five scale. The full session is on the POA's recording.
| Focus area | Resident priority score, 1 to 5 |
|---|---|
| Security operations, gate access and technology upgrades | 4.76 |
| Leisure paths | 4.26 |
| Plantation House | 4.02 |
| Spring Lake recreation improvements, including dedicated pickleball courts | 3.66 |
| Dog park | 2.22 |
The board called that first survey information-gathering and said the second one would be built to support decisions. The difference matters. A 4.76 tells you residents want a better gate. It doesn't tell you what they would pay for one. Halff, the national planning and engineering firm hired to study the five areas, hasn't yet given residents the scale, timing and cost ranges that would turn these scores into trade-offs.
The Top Score Is About Who Waits at the Main Gate
Here is what the gate upgrade means in practice. The Island Packet reported that nonresidents coming through the main gate now stop so a guard can check their ID against their permission to enter. With license plate reading tied to gate entry, guests and vendors holding valid passes could drive straight through, according to General Manager Peter Kristian.
HHP already has license plate reading cameras. They just don't open the gate. Kristian told the paper the current system photographs vehicles and lets staff search the images. Much of the hardware is already in place, so the top-ranked project is mostly about connecting it to gate access. That may be one reason it scored so high.
The Paths Rank Second but Get the Most Daily Use
The leisure paths scored 4.26, half a point behind the gate. At the coffee, the board also said they are the most-used amenity in the community, with 85% of residents reporting daily or weekly use. The Island Packet put the network at 10 miles, including the trails through the Whooping Crane Pond Conservancy.
The plan describes the path work as repairs. It doesn't propose new features. So the item the most people use every week is also the most familiar kind of spending: fixing what already exists. When the second survey puts prices beside each project, path repair will likely be easier to support than a new building, because almost everyone uses the paths and the work is maintenance.
Plantation House Will Set the Price Range
Plantation House scored 4.02, and it brings the biggest unknown. The developer donated the building to the community in the 1980s. Kristian told the Island Packet that it needs constant maintenance, that its HVAC is less efficient than it could be, and that it isn't insulated to modern standards. He also said the layout could work better for both large and small events.
The paper reported that renovating versus tearing down is "still being debated." Kristian said he favors replacing the building. The complication is that several clubs meet there, and one option is to keep the old building open while a new one goes up next to it.
At the coffee, the board said a scope wasn't ready to price: "Until we have size, scope, scale, design work, it could be $7 million, it could be $12 million." That $5 million spread is larger than any other figure discussed for the plan so far. Of the five projects, Plantation House is the one most likely to change the overall cost of the plan, and it is also the building where much of the community's club life takes place. Residents with a calendar entry there already know it well. The HHP Women's Club, for one, has a monthly meeting at Plantation House on November 10 and a Deep Well Toy Drive there on December 2.
Pickleball Scored Fourth and Already Has a Recommended Site
Spring Lake improvements, including dedicated pickleball courts, scored 3.66. That's below Plantation House but well above the dog park. Pickleball also had a rough start in the process. The board acknowledged at the coffee that the word "pickleball" didn't appear in the first survey, said this was not intentional, and apologized. According to the Island Packet, a 2021 community survey had already identified pickleball courts as a highly desirable amenity.
Today's courts are limited. The Dolphin Head Recreational Area got a multipurpose basketball and pickleball court in 2023. Don Flora, who works with the Hilton Head Plantation Pickleball group, told the paper the group wants "pickleball in addition to tennis."
The coffee added a location. A board representative said Halff had looked at multiple sites. If courts are built, the recommendation is to place them inside the Spring Lake complex, so they are part of the racquet sports operation and managed by the staff already there, with sound-dampening options still to be chosen. For residents who live near Spring Lake, that recommendation matters more than the 3.66 score.
Every Project Runs Into the Dues Number
Each of these rankings will eventually meet the same constraint. As of 2026, HHP owners pay $1,432 a year in POA dues. The Island Packet compared that with $2,282 in Port Royal and $23,380 in Wexford. When a home in HHP sells, the buyer also pays a one-time transfer fee of one-quarter of 1% of the sale price into the capital improvement fund.
The same article noted that transfer-fee money isn't always enough to pay for everything owners or their POAs want, or to pay for it as quickly as they want it. Kristian put the trade-off this way: "A lot of it is going to be based on their tolerance for pain. Everybody wants a shiny new thing. But when they find out how much the shiny new thing costs, sometimes they shy away from that."
So the low dues and the wish list sit side by side. Gate integration and path repair are the top two scores, and they are also the projects that build on what HHP already has. Plantation House carries the cost range that could change the dues conversation. The resident blog HHP360, in its September 29 post, said owners were waiting on Halff's final report and expected a debate over POA fees.
This post is general information, not legal or financial advice. Owners should confirm how any change to dues, assessments or transfer fees would apply to them through the HHPPOA and their own advisors.
The Calendar Through the End of the Year
The board described this sequence at the September 24 coffee.
- September 30. Target date to receive Halff's assessment report.
- October. Further detailed work on the report.
- October 22. Scheduled meeting with Halff to review the full report.
- November. Work begins on the second resident survey, which will give scale, timeline and cost ranges for the projects.
The board also explained that the boards shown at the August workshop were concepts, not designs. Design work will come after the projects are prioritized. Kristian has said residents will have "plenty" more chances to give input, and another community meeting is planned once Halff has clearer renderings and cost estimates. The most recent POA newsletter, "Plantation Living October 15 - November 15 2026," was posted to the HHPPOA Engage site on October 16.
Owners who drive in from the north end of the island have a second planning process to follow. On September 15, Town Council adopted the William Hilton Parkway Gateway Corridor Master Plan. Its immediate priorities include a $900,000 continuous green-T at Squire Pope Road and Chamberlin Drive. The Town says adopting the plan doesn't authorize construction or commit funding.
The second survey will be the first time owners see a cost range next to each project. HHP owners who want to talk about how capital planning, dues and transfer fees fit into their long-term plans for their home can reach Thomas Kersey at SCLuxuryHomes. Get a Private Consultation, and we'll follow the November survey with you.
