College seeks piece of history

McLeod Plantation, the most intact of the 17 plantations that once stretched across James Island, is expected to be sold for $4 million to the College of Charleston for use by students studying archaeology, historic preservation and other pursuits as well as for recreational fields.

The Historic Charleston Foundation announced the pending deal Friday, almost nine months after the American College of the Building Arts shored up its finances by selling the historic site back to the foundation.

The foundation considers the deal a perfect marriage, given the College of Charleston's preservation track record, educational mission and deep pockets, said foundation Chairman Bradish Waring.

"This sale fits our mission to a 'T,' " he said, adding that the college was one of the many groups that originally inherited an interest in the property after Willie McLeod died in 1990. "It's funny how we came full circle. I think (McLeod) would be delighted with this solution."

A core value of the college revolves around the Lowcountry's history, traditions, culture and environment, and McLeod will advance the school's work on all those fronts, College of Charleston President George Benson said.

"More than expertise, we have the motivation, the interest, the incentive," Benson said.

The sale could close by late December.

The college's downtown campus is proof of its ability to preserve historic buildings and open them to the public, said Katharine Robinson, executive director of the Historic Charleston Foundation.

"We feel as if we're giving a present to the community of Charleston -- to James Island and beyond," she said.

It remains to be seen if the pending deal will be welcome on James Island, where McLeod's rich history and high visibility have stirred passions in the past. The property's open field and oft-photographed row of slave cabins sit next to the busy intersection of Folly Road and Maybank Highway.

Several James Islanders grew so concerned about the American College of the Building Arts' plans to build several new workshop buildings at the edge of a field that they formed a nonprofit group six years ago to stop it.

Dottie George, chairwoman of the Friends of McLeod, reacted cautiously to the possible sale.

"I like the College of Charleston. I'm a graduate," she said. "I think whatever they do, they would do a good job, but I'm just not sure at this time what they're going to do and if it will go along with our mission."

The Friends of McLeod not only wants to see the main house and many outbuildings preserved and opened to the public for educational purposes, but also wants all of its land conserved.

Benson said the college's site planning remains in the early stages, but he hopes its large field could provide recreation space for students playing intramural sports, such as flag football or soccer.

"We're not talking about stadiums. We're not talking about lights," he said. Such a use might involve building a small restroom and a storage building.

The Charleston County Park and Recreation Commission also was interested in buying McLeod and preserving it for the public, but its talks with the foundation never really got going, and commission Director Tom O'Rourke said that's too bad.

"We had a plan. We never got a chance to tell them what our plan was," O'Rourke said. "That's the part that I guess is most frustrating, to not even get to the table."

Others also approached the foundation about buying it and renovating it as a site for weddings, among other ideas.

The college already owns another West Ashley plantation, the 860-acre Dixie Plantation outside Hollywood, but that has no significant antebellum buildings and is 17 miles away from the main campus.

If no problems arise during the 90-day due diligence period, the college would come up with the $4 million from its own foundation, which has about $45 million, including several million dollars in discretionary funds, said George Watt, executive director of the College of Charleston Foundation.

The deal has been in the works for about six months, but both sides signed a confidentiality agreement preventing them from going public with any plans.

Once the sale is complete, Benson said, the college would begin restoration of some buildings and seek more public input about the site's future. "It's tough to do that early on," he said. "(But) we will definitely do that."

As the college's use of McLeod increases, public access would follow.

The foundation will continue to have legal agreements that give it some control over any changes the college would want to make at McLeod.

For instance, those easements will prevent the slave cabins from ever being occupied or having electricity or plumbing.

Benson said the college has no plans to expand its enrollment of about 10,000 undergraduate students and 1,500 graduate students because of McLeod.

"This is not being thought of as a branch campus," he said.

Reach Robert Behre at rbehre@postandcourier.com or 937-5771.