C of C board still undecided

The College of Charleston still can't decide whether to buy historic McLeod Plantation.

The board of the College of Charleston Foundation, the group that would purchase the property if the college decides to buy the plantation, discussed the deal in a closed-door session Monday but took no action on it.

The college is considering purchasing the 40-acre property on James Island from the Historic Charleston Foundation for $4 million. The college recently got an extension on its "due diligence" period until Feb. 28.

George Watt, executive director of the college's foundation, said after this latest meeting that part of the due diligence process includes looking at alternatives that meet the college's needs, including other properties.

The college has considered other properties, he said, but he would not say specifically which ones, citing concerns about contractual matters.

If the college decides to purchase McLeod, Watt said, school leaders would ask the college's Board of Trustees to approve a "resolution to proceed," he said. Then, the college foundation's Board of Directors would have to call another meeting to vote on the purchase.

Neither board has a regularly scheduled meeting before Feb. 28.

College leaders have said they need more time to decide whether they want to purchase the property and if it's worth the $4 million price tag.

College President George Benson has said college leaders are uncertain how they would use the property if they buy it. The school could use the plantation for many academic programs, including archaeology and historic preservation, he has said.

He also proposed possibly building intramural sports fields, which he said the landlocked campus desperately needs.

But Friends of McLeod, a 600-member group formed six years ago to preserve and protect the plantation, is opposed to the college using the archaeologically sensitive fields for sports.

And the Gullah/Geechee Cultural Heritage Corridor Commission issued a statement that said McLeod "should be preserved, protected and interpreted because of its importance to the history and culture of the Gullah/Geechee people." The statement did not specifically address sports fields.