Land use
New owner of former tech site won’t pursue townhouse plan
The new owner of Georgetown County’s former technology park site doesn’t have immediate plans for the 14.4 acres. But its future plans don’t include the 90 townhouses currently approved for the site or the 182 apartments that were previously proposed.
“Absolutely not,” said Tom Keith, interim executive director of the Frances P. Bunnelle Foundation. “It’s not going to be 150 apartments over there.”
The foundation bought the property this month for $1.2 million from the county Alliance for Economic Development. The sale was to One Georgetown Realty, a company set up through the Coastal Community Foundation. That was done to help support the Bunnelle Foundation, which is an affiliate, said Darrin Goss, the community foundation’s chief executive.
The Bunnelle Foundation’s goal is “some kind of housing initiative over time that will be a real asset to the Pawleys Island area,” Keith said. “It’s part of the bigger vision for Bunnelle.”
The housing will allow people who work in the community to live here. “The hospital and the school system say they need housing for their workforce,” Keith said.
The initiative by the foundation began under Geales Sands, its first executive director who retired this spring after 21 years. Keith, former president of the Columbia-based Sisters of Charity Foundation, is serving as interim until the Bunnelle board hires Sands’ replacement.
The foundation recently completed an affordable housing study of the entire county. It has also held community meetings on the subject, Keith said.
While those provided a background, he said that planning for the former tech park, known as the Mercom tract for a former partner, will involve the local community.
“The plan is to be deliberate and be thoughtful,” Keith said. “Ultimately, down the road, we will have a thoughtful plan.”
The current plan was sought by the alliance in order to sell the property to a private developer.
Georgetown County’s approval of the 90 townhouses is being challenged in court by neighbors and citizens groups. A Circuit Court judge dismissed the suit, but the plaintiffs asked the Court of Appeals to overturn that decision, arguing that it was premature. A three-judge panel heard those arguments last week.
The alliance has asked the Appeals Court to remove it from the cases since it is no longer the owner of the property.
The Bunnelle Foundation is not a party to the suit, nor does it want to be, Keith said.
He expects the Bunnelle board to establish a timetable for the housing initiative, that could extend over months, “maybe years,” Keith said. “There’s no rush.”
Before the current townhouse plan was approved, County Council Member Bob Anderson proposed turning the 14.4 acres over to Habitat for Humanity. He envisioned the county and utilities providers helping with infrastructure and Habitat building 20 to 30 homes.
“I would have done that in a heartbeat,” he said.
He said he isn’t concerned by the sale to the Bunnelle Foundation, but is concerned that the council wasn’t involved in the decision. The alliance acquired the property with a $950,000 loan from Santee Cooper. That was repaid by the county.
Anderson said in a op-ed published this week that the council needs to reconsider the role of the alliance, a nonprofit that was created by the county but operates independently.
“It isn’t the use, it’s the process,” Anderson said.
Will Howard, who chairs the alliance, said that they have tried for years to sell the property, ever since they decided it was not going to be used for economic development.
The alliance board met Wednesday and voted to reimburse the county for the cost of the Santee Cooper loan, Howard said. He added that was the intention of the alliance all along, but it required formal action. “We marketed the property numerous times over the years,” he said. “We wanted to get rid of that property so we could focus on the mission of the alliance.”
The Bunnelle Foundation was the first buyer that made it through the process, Howard said, and the alliance didn’t talk with them about their planned use.
“I think the plan will evolve,” Keith said. “The first step was to see if we could get the property.”
The next step will be to gather input before creating a plan, he said.
“If you want an owner with the best interest of Pawleys, that neighborhood and the community, that would be Bunnelle,” Keith said.
