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The controversial sale of a county-owned technology park for a new housing subdivision came one step closer to reality after a Lexington County Council vote on Tuesday, even as the member representing the area spoke out against it.
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The county council on Tuesday approved second reading of the $200 million sale of the Chapin Business and Technology Park at Brighton to a private developer planning to put a mixed-use development on the site just outside Chapin. Only one more vote of council would be needed to finalize the sale, leading to the construction of 600 new high-market homes on the land.
Councilwoman Charli Wessinger, who represents the Chapin area, spoke against the plan ahead of Tuesday’s vote.
“A vote to approve this sale could expose Lexington County and its citizens to significant potential litigation,” she said. “Citizens of Chapin entrusted council to protect their homes, their neighborhoods and their commitments previously made to their community.”
The proposed sale has heightened tensions between Lexington County and the town of Chapin, which has made no secret of its opposition to the plan. Chapin Mayor Bill Mitchell has said he won’t lift a moratorium on new sewer connections to the town’s system to accommodate the new development, and the county council has voted to do “whatever is legally necessary” to enforce a previously signed agreement for town service to the park.
Chapin residents have raised concerns that the planned development, called Palatin, would increase traffic, crowd local schools and strain the community’s resources. Several spoke out against the development at a public hearing last month, urging council members to reject the proposed sale.
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Wessinger said the to rescind its annexation of the 200-acre site off Columbia Avenue almost a decade ago because Lexington County promised to create a technology park that would attract good-paying jobs to the community. But since then, the Brighton park has sat empty as the county has struggled to attract tenants, despite the county spending upwards of $16 million on the site. Nevertheless, Wessinger argued that turning the property into a residential development goes against what the county had previously promised Chapin residents.
“I would like to ask my fellow council members to put themselves in my shoes,” Wessinger said. “If this was in your district, wouldn’t you fight as hard for the people you represent?”
But council members ultimately voted to advance the project on Tuesday, with Beth Carrigg, Todd Cockrell, Todd Cullum, Clifford Fisher and Darrell Hudson voting yes. Wessinger, Michael Bishop and Larry Brigham voted against, while Glen Conwell abstained. Conwell told The State afterward he has a family member who works with the developer.
Developer Andy White told The State that Palatin will include a tech incubator that would create up to 3,000 jobs in addition to homes that would sell for between $600,000 and $1 million. About half would be set aside for residents age 55 and up, White previously told The State.
The Palatin development would be different from the 400-home development planned by Mungo Homes for an adjoining property, which is inside the Chapin town limits. That subdivision is also affected by the town’s freeze on new sewer connections.
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