North Litchfield
Plan to buy tract for park awaits IRS approval to turn pledges into cash
North Litchfield property owners have gathered close to $1 million in pledges to help fund the purchase of 6.7 acres to keep it from being developed.
But over the three months since the fundraising began they have yet to secure nonprofit status for the group they call Boyle Park.
“We’re really frustrated,” said Elliott Powell, who is leading the effort.
A community meeting is scheduled for Saturday to talk about the Boyle Park project.
The group is working with the office of U.S. 7th District Rep. Russell Fry to help move their application through the IRS.
“It’s hard for them to predict how long it will take,” Powell said. “We want it to be approved already.”
Without nonprofit status to make donations tax deductible, Boyle Park can’t turn the pledges into donations that will provide earnest money to accompany an offer on the property.
“We’re knocking on the door of $1 million in pledges,” Powell said. “We need to convert those pledges into actual dollars.”
The property is owned by members of the Floyd family who sought to change the zoning earlier this year from “neighborhood commercial” to “general commercial” so a convenience store could be built on the site. That drew opposition from area residents and the request was dropped.
The property is on the market for $2.8 million.
The proposal to purchase the tract and preserve it as green space was presented to the Litchfield Beaches Property Owners Association in May. No one raised any objections, and Powell said he hasn’t heard any since then.
“Hopefully, it will set a good example for the community to take it upon themselves to help preserve green space,” he said.
The property on the corner of Boyle Road and Highway 17 at the entrance to North Litchfield also borders the Bike the Neck path.
Powell has discussed the plan with Beth Goodale, the director of Georgetown County Parks and Recreation. “She’s very positive about the plan,” he said.
If the IRS doesn’t approve the nonprofit status soon, Powell hopes the county will act as the fiscal agent for Boyle Park as it did for Bike the Neck.
Goodale could not be reached for comment this week.
“We’d be willing to donate the land for them to maintain it as green space,” Powell said.
The goal is to keep it from being developed. Undergrowth has been cleared from a portion of the property visible from the highway to highlight the live oaks. Powell said he can envision what it would look like if cleared for development.
“It would change the complexion of North Litchfield,” he said.
Boyle Park hopes to get at least 80 percent of the 667 property owners at North Litchfield to contribute. The target is to raise $2 million, which Powell said would provide the Floyd family with a return on its investment.
They don’t want to get into a fight over the zoning, he added.
“The donations have slowed down a little bit, so this meeting on Saturday is very timely,” Powell said.
Saturday’s meeting at St. Paul’s Waccamaw Methodist Church starts with a coffee hour at 9 a.m. The presentation begins at 10 a.m.
