The Town of Lexington has asked for $10M in the State Budget this year for a proposed Conference Center that is not in the Town limits. The request is sponsored by Reps. Calhoon and Wooten. Photo Michael Reed.
The Town of Lexington has requested $10 million dollars ($10,000,000) for a proposed Conference Center development with multiple usages. The budget “Member Request” was made by State House members Rep. Chris Wooten, R-District 69, Lexington, and Rep. Paula Calhoon, R-District 87, Lexington.
The Conference Center proposed project plans to include Multi-family/Townhomes: 940 units, Single Family Homes: 160 units, Hotel: 290 rooms, Conference Center: 50,000 square feet, Retail/Office: 40,000 square feet, Restaurant: 10,000 square feet, 290 Hotel Rooms, and 70 Hotel Villa Rentals.
Additionally, the proposed project plans to include: Lake front restaurants, retail shops, a 200 slip marina, and portends to provide public access to the lake. The proponents of the development, and in their House proposal, say that the project will have “minimal impact” on the local area. MacDougall said the same in a May 16th meeting held at Pilgrim Lutheran Church.
The property is a 93 acre property situated between Jake’s Landing and the beach area of the Lake Murray Dam. That property has seven tracts of land registered there owned by different corporate entities as was stated in a May 17th article written by Melissa Sprouse Brown in The Standard. Those parcels of land include Smallwood Cove, LLC; Kendrick Cove, LLC; Kendrick Cove II, LLC and Edisto Cove, LLC; all showing the same registered agent of Silas Calhoun McMeekin, Jr.
The only snag in the plan is that as of this writing the property is not in the Town limits. The property is in Lexington County and has not been annexed or deeded to the town. The proposed Conference Center has been the root of much controversy since Lexington Mayor Steve MacDougall broached the idea with town and county residents in the area.
The town of Lexington received a gift from the State of $1 million dollars just two years ago in the State budget. Mayor MacDougall was quoted by The State newspaper at that time as saying “The $1 million will go toward developing architectural plans for the future conference center, but “that $1 million doesn’t scratch the surface” of what will be needed to complete the project, the mayor said. The final project could cost around $35 million, and the town may seek additional funding from the state. The town of Lexington will provide utility services to the center, which would be owned either wholly or in part by the town or Lexington County.” Both Calhoon and Wooten were sponsors of the budget request then.
Many factors have got local citizens concerned about the project. One of those concerns is the potential traffic snarl that most likely will occur in the area. There were many voices who spoke up at the May 16th meeting. One who shouted that “traffic is already too much” in the area. Another spoke up saying that “it will be worse than Harbison Boulevard at rush hour.” The Mayor said he didn’t think there would be much traffic emanating from the project once completed.
Wooten said that he believed that the “McMeekin’s donated or traded a piece of property to the town to build the conference center.” The closest Conference Center around is the Columbia Conference Center in downtown Columbia, just about 15 minutes away.
“The property is a huge piece of land between Jakes Landing and the Lake Murray beach area that has never developed,” described Wooten. “It would be great for us to have our own Conference Center to bring people in from around the country and let them pay hospitality taxes to fix our roads.”
He admits the land is still in the county as of now and was unsure of exactly when the town will annex the property. He said, “as far as I know it’s going to happen”. He confirmed the town is proposing a restaurant, hotel and upper end homes, a new marina, and conference center. He also said that the town has “no developer yet.”
He added a “developer will pay for impact fees, roads around and sewer.” He says he supports the town’s vision to keep it a great place.
When asked if he was aware of backlash from Lexington citizens and billboards objecting to the project, he said he is aware of local billboards and advertising against the project. He commented “I don’t think it will ruin Lake Murray”. Wooten was quoted in 2021 in The State saying “I see it as an investment in our future.”
Unfortunately, the transactions in this project were not as transparent as was expected by many citizens of Lexington. The Mayor has mentioned “secret deals”, promises of immense wealth “for generations” to private landowners and requests for millions of taxpayer dollars for a property not even in the town for a legacy project.
In any public endeavor transparency is appreciated by citizens. Especially when spending their tax dollars. Many citizens feel like they were left out of the loop on this project and by public spending of their tax money. This was especially true when Mayor MacDougall said he had been working on a “secret deal” with the landowner and the citizens were not able to vote on the project proposal. This project may come back to haunt local elected representatives.
Regarding the House member budget request, Wooten said he thinks that the House will pass the budget on Wednesday when the members return for conference reports. Following passage of the budget it will then be sent to the Governor for his authorizing signature which may happen as early as next week if he agrees with it.
The following is a Town of Lexington overview and proposal forwarded by Rep. Wooten for examination of the project:
LEXINGTON CONFERENCE CENTER – SMALLWOOD COVE DEVELOPMENT PROJECT PROFILE
1. $733+ Million Iconic Lake Murray Destination Resort & Housing Community.
2. Project identified by Town of Lexington’s Vision Plan since 2012.
3. 93 Acres of developable lake front property.
4. 5 Acres being donated to Town of Lexington for Conference Center.
5. Minimal public investment.
a. Water & Wastewater to the site. (Town of Lexington)
b. Roadway improvements. (Town of Lexington)
c. 50,000 SF Conference Center. ($30 Million in State Support Requested)
6. 160 Single Family Houses in exclusive gated community.
7. 940 Townhomes and Condominiums.
8. 290 Hotel Rooms.
9. 70 Hotel Villa Rentals.
10. Lake Front Restaurants.
11. Retail Shops.
12. 200 Slip Marina to serve development.
13. Provides public access to the most premier lake front property in the state.
14. Minimal impact to Lexington One schools as most residents will not have school age children.
15. Project will have positive impact on other hotels & restaurants throughout Lexington County.
16. Project will generate destination tourism for Lexington County.
17. Project will be major attraction used by Capital City Lake Murray Country to promote tourism.
18. Project will create one of the most premier Wedding Venues in the Southeast.
19. Project will increase surrounding property values.
20. Thorough transportation study yielded minimal traffic impact.
APPROXIMATELY $135 MILLION IN LOCAL TAXES & FEES 1ST 20-YEARS
21. Provides approximately $47 Million in taxes to Lexington County.
22. Provides approximately $40 Million in taxes to Lexington County School District One.
23. Provides approximately $28 Million in taxes & fees to the Town of Lexington.
24. Provides approximately $20 Million in Water & Wastewater Fees to Town of Lexington.
ADDITIONAL PROJECT BENEFITS FOR STATE OF SOUTH CAR0LINA
25. Project will create at least 400 new full-time jobs.
26. In addition to local taxes, project will general substantial state tax revenue through sales tax, hospitality tax, individual income tax, and corporate income tax.
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As with any public concern it is the citizen who must be in touch with or contact your representatives at Local, State, and Federal level. Those representatives in this case are:
The Honorable Governor Henry McMaster, (803) 734-2100
Rep. Chris Wooten, R-District 69, Lexington, (803) 212-6897
Rep. Paula Calhoon, R-District 87, Lexington, (803) 212-6924
Lexington Mayor, Council, & Municipal Clerk may be reached at 803-996-3765 or 803-951-4635:
Mayor Steve MacDougall
Mayor Pro-Tem Hazel Livingston
Council Member Kathy Maness
Council Member Todd Carnes
Council Member Ron Williams
Council Member Todd Lyle
Council Member Gavin Smith
Lexington Town Council Meetings are held at 6:30 p.m.
1st and 3rd Monday of every month
Town Hall
111 Maiden Lane
Lexington, SC 29072
Michael Reed is Publisher of The Standard newspaper, print and online. You may find our videos available on Rumble. The bulk of TheStandardSC video media channel has been censored by dominant social media groups like YouTube. YouTube, owed by Alphabet (Google), removed and destroyed all of our video work without permission or remuneration. That has stopped all potential donations from our many supporters on that venue. If you want to continue to see independent thought and reports please “like”, comment, share with a friend, and donate to support The Standard on this page to assure the continued availability of news that is ignored too often by the dominant media.
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