Charleston County moves toward its biggest Greenbelt deal, $10 million for a 2,364-acre Adams Run timber tract

Charleston County is one vote away from the largest project in the history of its Greenbelt Program.

County Council’s Finance Committee on Nov. 5 approved a request from the Open Space Institute Land Trust for $10 million to buy the 2,364-acre Avocet Tract in Adams Run, WCSC Live 5 reported. The land would become a public forest protected from development and would be transferred to the S.C. Forestry Commission, the station reported.

“If council approves, it will be the largest greenbelt project funded to date since this program has started,” Chris Dubuque, the county’s deputy director of greenbelt programs, told Live 5.

Charleston County records list the tract’s owner as Avocet Timber LLC, which has a Charlotte, N.C., mailing address and paid about $6.9 million for it in 2016. Neither Live 5’s report nor the county’s list of Greenbelt requests gave the total purchase price.

“Between Charleston County and Dorchester County developing and growing in this region, there’s really not that much left that hasn’t been platted for division,” Justin Park, associate director of land protection for the land trust, told the station. Park said the land could open to the public in about two years if council approves.

The Avocet request is one of nine that the county’s Greenbelt Advisory Board recommended Oct. 21, according to the program’s website. Together they cover about 3,049 acres, the site says. By Charleston Business Report’s calculation, the nine requests add up to about $16 million in Greenbelt money. County Council is scheduled to consider them Nov. 10.

The second-largest is a $3.07 million request, also from the Open Space Institute Land Trust, for the 608-acre Dungannon-Hanahan tract in Hollywood, which the advisory board recommended with a condition. That land would join the Dungannon Heritage Preserve, and the project’s total cost is more than $13 million, WCIV ABC News 4 reported.

The Greenbelt Program has helped preserve more than 28,000 acres since 2004 and is funded by a portion of the county’s transportation sales tax, according to its website. By Charleston Business Report’s calculation, the Avocet Tract alone would add about 8% to that total. Voters approved extending the half-cent tax Nov. 3 with about 64% in favor, according to unofficial results from the S.C. Election Commission. The county’s plan for the extension sets aside $690 million of a projected $4.25 billion for the Greenbelt Program over 25 years.