Charleston County weighs $3.07 million toward 608 acres next to Hollywood’s Dungannon preserve

A conservation group wants Charleston County to help buy 608 acres in Hollywood and fold them into an existing state nature preserve.

The Open Space Institute Land Trust is asking for $3,072,300 from the county’s Greenbelt Program for the Dungannon-Hanahan tract, according to the program’s list of applications. The county lists it as a fee-simple purchase, meaning full ownership.

The land sits directly next to the Dungannon Heritage Preserve and would become part of it, WCSC Live 5 reported. The station said the addition could nearly double the preserve’s size.

The Greenbelt Advisory Board recommended the request on Oct. 21, and council’s Finance Committee approved it with a condition on Nov. 5, according to the Greenbelt Program, which did not spell out the condition. Full council was scheduled to consider final approval at its meeting Tuesday, Nov. 10. No result had been reported as of 9:45 p.m. Tuesday.

The trust is bringing more than $10.5 million in matching support, including a state grant application and donated land value from the current owner, Chris Dubuque, deputy director of the county’s Greenbelt Programs, told Live 5.

“There’s no question Ravenel and Hollywood face a tremendous amount of development and growth currently,” Dubuque told the station. He said the project would provide public access, protect wildlife habitat and strengthen the area’s flood resilience.

If council approves the money, the trust hopes to close on the land before the end of 2026, Live 5 reported. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources would then acquire the property from the trust and manage it with the existing preserve.

The application estimates the land could open to the public in one to five years, Live 5 reported. Dubuque said it would be open for fishing, hunting, hiking and wildlife observation.

The request is the second-largest of nine Greenbelt projects before council, behind the trust’s $10 million request for the 2,364-acre Avocet Tract in Adams Run, the county’s list shows. Together the nine requests cover about 3,049 acres.