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Thirty years of giving back to Hilton Head Island.
Greenwood Communities and Resorts is celebrating its 30th anniversary this month. A family-owned company located in Greenwood, the company is most recognizable locally for its development of Palmetto Dunes, but the company has a long relationship with Hilton Head Island.
Jim Self Jr., president of Greenwood Mills, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of a textile company at the time, was approached by Charles Fraser in the early 1960s. Fraser wanted to build a golf course on the island and went to Self with the idea of an executive course. Self, however, thought Hilton Head Island needed a championship golf course and sent construction equipment and mill crews to the island to build the course for Fraser. They built the Ocean Course at Sea Pines, Hilton Head’s first golf course.
Bubba Self, a member of the executive committee and the family that owns Greenwood Communities and Resorts, said the company was looking to diversify 30 years ago in 1978, and his grandfather, father and uncle thought real estate development was a good area to get involved in.
Self said the acquisition of Palmetto Dunes in 1978 and the other acreage they acquired on Hilton Head Island was a milestone for the company. “Greenwood has grown up with Hilton Head, and I feel it has helped develop our personality,” said Jay Nexsen, president of Greenwood Communities and Resorts since 1999. Nexsen’s predecessor, John Davis, believed amenities in a resort should be an asset, something that was forward thinking at the time. That model has been a big part of Palmetto Dunes’ success, as well as other Greenwood communities.
“Hilton Head is a big part of who we are and what we do, and the community has always been good neighbors to us,” said Self. “We’ve always strived to be good stewards and neighbors to the community in return. Greenwood has given back to the community in the form of kindly donating land for the hospital and the Arts Center of Coastal Carolina.
Nexsen stressed that what makes 30 years so important is the number of successful communities the company has developed - not just financially, but also successful in terms because of satisfied customers. “Every one of our communities from the first to the last has stood the test of time,” Nexsen said. Also adding to the success of the communities is the people. “We have had great employees from day one and we still have employees that were with us when we were started. That longevity continually amazes me and always amazes outsiders when they discover this.”
Joy Steverson was among the first employees of the company and is currently the vice president of sales and marketing. “One reason for our success is that we never developed into a one-size-fits-all company,” Steverson said. “We let the land tell us what to do.”
