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Article published Oct 9, 2003
Research park gets go-ahead

ROBERT W. DALTON
Staff Writer

GREENVILLE -- Gov. Mark Sanford finally got the deal he wanted and has taken the brakes off a proposed automotive research park.Sanford, Commerce Secretary Bob Faith and Clemson University officials announced Wednesday that the university's private real estate foundation will purchase up to 250 acres at the intersection of I-85 and Laurens Road for its International Center for Automotive Research.Sanford hinted that even more good news -- details about the park itself -- could be announced as early as November.The Clemson University Real Estate Foundation will buy about 103 acres for $6.9 million by June 30.It has an option to buy an additional 150 acres for $14 million by 2007.The foundation will buy most of the land from the estate of the late John D. Hollingsworth. It will purchase about 56 acres from Miami-based Rosen Associates. Cliff Rosen, president of Rosen Associates, will build a complementary development on an adjacent 150 acres.Plans for the park were originally announced in 2002. But after his inauguration this past January, Sanford said he wanted time to study the deal. He didn't like what he found."I was positively pessimistic about the deal," Sanford said. "I saw a deal that included far too much for the developer (Rosen) and not enough for South Carolina."So Sanford enlisted the aid of William C. Smith Jr., a member of the Clemson board of trustees and a real estate developer, and went to work on forging a new deal. The final details were ironed out Tuesday, Sanford said.Under the original deal, Clemson would have paid $10.1 million -- $135,000 an acre for 75 acres. An additional 25 acres would have been donated. An option on the additional property was not included.The deal also included use restrictions, a 7.5 percent development fee and a 3 percent management fee -- both of which would have gone to Rosen. It also included unlimited use of the Clemson name and Tiger paw logo.Under the new deal, Clemson will pay $67,000 an acre for the 100 acres. There are no use restrictions, the development and management fees are both 3 percent and use of the Clemson name and Tiger paw logo is limited.Sanford said eliminating the use restrictions was crucial because it clears the way if a multinational corporation wanted to locate in the park.Sanford said the investment gain for the state -- the amount the property could be sold for if prepared for development -- is $17.1 million, an increase of $12.3 million over the original deal. And the reduction of the development fee saves the state an additional $11.3 million, he said.Sanford said the investment gain from developing the property could reach $194.8 million, an additional $111.3 million over the original deal. That assumes building 3.5 million square feet on all 250 acres over 20 years, with a 12 percent return.