Fort Mill land donated to former county museum foundation sold for $10 million

The Culture and Heritage Foundation that once helped financially support York County’s public museums has sold 274 acres of land in Fort Mill for $10 million.

Until recently, officials with the foundation and the county have been embroiled in arguments and a lawsuit over control of the land and other donated assets. As part of a settlement agreement to end the lawsuit, the foundation agreed in September to put nearly $8 million from the sale of the land into an account that the county can use for its museums.

Charlotte-based development firm Crescent Communities bought the land, which is located near Sutton Road and Interstate 77, bordering the Catawba River. The company had been under contract to purchase the property for nearly a year.

The former foundation property is slated to make up about half of a large residential development that could also include some neighborhood office or retail uses. Crescent already owns some property next to it.

In total, the town of Fort Mill has approved plans for Crescent to build up to 1,365 homes on nearly 560 acres.

The 274 acres that have been sold were donated to the foundation in 1998 by Jane Spratt McColl and her family. The gift totaled 400 acres. Since then, some of the land has been sold for a future elementary school and a hospital. Money from the previous land sales went to pay the foundation’s debt associated with a development deal that fell through several years ago.

Part of the recent lawsuit settlement provides that 60 acres of McColl’s original gift is set aside for a future York County museum. Deeding the 60 acres to the county and selling the remaining land to benefit public museums fulfills McColl’s intent for donating the land, said Bill Easley, chairman of the Culture and Heritage Foundation board, this week.

As part of the lawsuit, McColl signed an affidavit saying she supported the foundation’s use of and vision for the land.

York County sued the organization last summer after the foundation changed its mission from solely supporting York County museums to financially supporting a broader range of cultural and historical preservation efforts in South Carolina.

Before the suit was filed, foundation officials had pledged that donations given for the county’s museum would only be used for that purpose, despite the mission change. The change was necessary after the County Council voted in 2011 to sever formal ties with the foundation, Culture and Heritage Foundation representatives have said.

In addition to bickering over the donated McColl land, county and foundation officials have disagreed about other issues related to fundraising and spending for York County museums. In the lawsuit filed last year, York County officials alleged that the foundation had used assets intended for the museums for other purposes.

The foundation has denied that allegation and other claims made against it in the lawsuit.

To resolve the legal battle, foundation officials have agreed to a forensic audit that will probe the organization’s spending and money management. York County representatives will submit to an independent auditor a list of their concerns about fraud or wrongdoing on the foundation’s behalf, according to the settlement agreement.

Those concerns will not be made public, officials have said. Foundation officials have said they expect the audit will clear their names against the county’s claims of wrongdoing.

The county and the foundation are behind schedule in choosing a firm to perform the audit. It was expected, under the settlement, that the two sides would agree on an auditor last month.

An attorney for York County told The Herald this week that foundation and county officials are still working together to ensure that potential auditors understand the expected scope of the work. Both parties plan to share the cost of the audit.

If the audit does not uncover financial wrongdoing, county officials have agreed to issue a statement confirming that no fraud was found. Easley says the foundation will continue operating as a nonprofit organization.

But, the group will change its name and not include the words “culture” or “heritage” to avoid confusion with York County’s museum commission. The foundation’s leadership plans to meet soon, Easley said, to discuss its future goals and what causes or organizations it will support.

John Marks of The Fort Mill Times contributed.

This story was originally published November 7, 2014 at 5:31 PM with the headline "Fort Mill land donated to former county museum foundation sold for $10 million."