USC Beaufort's first downtown student housing to open soon

(Updates at the bottom.)

For the first time, the historic Beaufort campus of the University of South Carolina Beaufort will have student housing.

First announced in February 2011, 802 Carteret Street in the Old Commons Neighborhood will be previewed to the public on Thursday, August 16, from 4 to 6 p.m.

The university will also honor the home's former owner: Grace White, the first female lawyer in Beaufort.

Here's a bit more on the event from a release:

As USCB grows its Studio Art program on the Historic Beaufort campus, the community is invited to celebrate the opening of the first student residence in this location, as well as the life of the former owner of the house, Grace White. There will be an opportunity for those who knew Grace White to write down their favorite memories of her in a book that will remain in the house indefinitely.

About Grace White: Born on July 7, 1910 into a Marine family, Grace grew up surrounded by the local spirit of Beaufort. After graduating from Beaufort High School in 1928, she pursued her goal of becoming a lawyer. In 1934, Grace graduated from George Washington University as the only woman in the class. She subsequently passed the bar exams for the District of Columbia and the state of South Carolina. She returned to Beaufort and began practicing law in 1937 as the first "woman attorney" in Beaufort. Later in the same year, Grace's father finished remodeling an old house on Carteret Street, and the family moved there. Grace lived in this house until she was ninety-eight, and it continues to be known as the Grace White House as part of the Historic Beaufort Campus.

About USCB:  Located in the heart of the Carolina Sea Islands, the University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) is a senior institution of the University of South Carolina system serving the southeast coast of Georgia and South Carolina. USCB has been the fastest growing baccalaureate institution in the USC system since becoming a four year university in 2004.The University has two campuses which serve a diverse student body of 1874 students. The Historic Beaufort campus, located on Beaufort's downtown waterfront, houses an innovative baccalaureate studio art program in close proximity to Beaufort's many art galleries. The Hilton Head Gateway campus in Bluffton, S.C., offers cutting-edge Computational Science and Nursing laboratories and is the home to Sand Shark athletics. 

Update August 16: The Island Packet has followed up with more information on the buildings renovations and notes that it could house up to 16 students (read the report here).

Students will begin moving into the new dorm this Sunday, August 19.

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