County officials 'thrilled' with work completed at former Ashford Campus
Apr. 18—CLINTON — Clinton County officials got a tour of the former Ashford University property late last week and say they are thrilled with the enhancements made since the property was sold to a new owner in February.
Board of Supervisors Chairman Jim Irwin, who was among a group of county and local economic development officials who toured the property at 400 N. Bluff Blvd. on Friday, said new owner Dr. Akif Aydin has completed a lot of work on the property as he turns it into a boarding school and prepares for students' arrival in June.
Irwin said Monday that the kitchen is operational, the science labs and library are cleaned up and the dormitory is ready. Roofs are repaired and new windows will be going in next week. Work also has been done in the Durgin Center.
"I'm tickled to see what they've done over the last couple months," said Irwin, who along with Supervisors Dan Srp and Erin George have a strong interest in the repairs happening at the 103-year-old campus because of a development agreement the Supervisors and Aydin signed earlier this year.
The agreement
The property for decades was home to Mount St. Clare College, and in 2005 was purchased by Bridgepoint Education and became Ashford University. The Ashford campus closed in 2016. Confucius International Education Group then bought the property and ran an international education academy there from 2018 until it closed in 2020.
With CIEG owing $1.3 million in unpaid property taxes on the campus, and buildings falling into disrepair, Aydin, of the South Carolina Dialogue Foundation, last fall learned the property had been put up for sale in an online auction.
SCDF then sought to purchase the campus from CIEG and would have become responsible for the unpaid property taxes. Because the county holds the tax sale certificate on the property, it had the authority to make decisions about an agreement to cover how the owed property taxes would be paid.
As he worked toward buying it, Aydin made it clear that he wanted to start work on improving the campus and its buildings immediately after he purchased it so it would be ready to host a student camp at the end of June. Students would attend classes there beginning in August under the Foundation's plan, he said.
The development agreement addressing the taxes was then created to provide for a compromise and abatement of the real estate taxes as an incentive to Aydin.
The agreement notes South Carolina Dialogue Foundation's costs to redevelop the property, including completion of minimum improvements, would be approximately $5.1 million. Under that five-year agreement, signed Feb. 13 shortly before the sale, Aydin will have to invest in "minimum improvements" beginning no later than March 15, 2023 and complete them by March 1, 2028.
The minimum improvements include interior improvements to the facilities to address safety and functionality of the buildings, including drywall and finishing, ceiling, electric, heating and cooling, plumbing, the fire sprinkler system and the fire alarm system. Also required on the list are exterior improvements to the facilities to address safety and functionality of the buildings, including roof and gutter, water proofing, exterior brick work, exterior doors, exterior windows and painting.
As those improvements are made, the county will abate owed property taxes in five installments in what Supervisors have described as a dollar-for-dollar plan.
Beginning Dec. 1, 2023, Aydin must provide to the county a certification of the components of the minimum improvements completed in the prior 12-month period, and the actual expenses he incurred and for which he paid. The first installment, due Dec. 1, will be the submission of proof that he has completed $265,564 in repairs, which is the actual amount of 2022 tax charges.
Aydin will continue to prove he has made a certain dollar amount of improvements for the previous 12 months on Dec. 1 of each year. The second installment is $271,464.79 for 2022 special assessments; the third is $534,028.79 for 2021 tax charges; the fourth is $551,006.75 for 2021 special assessments; and the fifth and final installment will be $1,310,158.75 for 2018, 2019, and 2020 tax charges.
By holding the 2018 tax charges until the end, the county retains authority over the property until all terms are met. Aydin also will have to pay charges and fees related to the installment amount, including interest that will continue to accrue.
The future
The campus will serve as home to The Lighthouse Schools' boarding and computer-based self-learning program as well as after-school curriculum activities and leadership programs.
Irwin said Monday that 40 students will attend a camp there beginning June 1. Forty more will arrive the next week and another 40 the following week.
Srp said Aydin's goal from the beginning has been ambitious and "that he has done a ton of work already."
Irwin agreed: "The passion he's had since early on is still there. He's still on fire."
