November 18, 2022 email from Don Moniak to the Aiken Design Review Board.
Chairman Law,
At last night’s (11/17/22) public workshop, the Design Review Board (DRB or Board) requested information about the condition of Pascalis project properties officially owned by the City of Aiken’s Municipal Development Commission (AMDC), and paid for with public funds.
Following are three lines of information for the Board to consider. The Board is charged with determining whether any properties warrant a designation of “demolition by neglect,” meaning the owners have permitted structures or property to:
“fall into a serious state of disrepair or to remain in a serious state of disrepair so as to result in the deterioration of any exterior architectural feature which would, in the judgment of the Commission, produce a detrimental effect upon the character of the structure or property, or, if the structure or property is in an Historic District, upon the district.”
1. The AMDC chose to avoid last night’s public meeting, and its absence was an act of neglect. The commission is established by city ordinance, funded by the City of Aiken, and is mandated to work on behalf of the citizens of Aiken, who remain at the top of the city’s organizational chart.
The failure of a single commissioner to attend was inexcusable, and only served to strengthen the public perception that demolition of its half of the block remains the commission’s only goal.
2. The terminated Purchase and Sale Agreement between the AMDC and RPM Development Partners, which required the AMDC to:
“manage and operate the Property in accordance with past practices and maintain the Improvements and the tangible Personal Property in substantially its current condition and repair, ordinary wear and tear excepted, to be delivered in a broom clean condition at Closing.”
This PSA should provide one benchmark for evaluating how well the property owner, who was absent from last night’s proceedings, has maintained its properties. Unless water damage from roof leaks are considered “ordinary wear and tear” then the AMDC failed to meet even this most basic contractual obligation.
The Hotel Aiken is not the only AMDC property with a leaking roof. The CC Johnson Drug Store had problems with leaks when the Shah family owned it, and a chimney remains covered with a mat held down by cinder blocks. What is the purpose of this low-tech arrangement?
This situation was also featured in the AMDC’s 11/8/21 News Release, and not remedied until a year later. (Photo by Don Moniak, 10/9/22)
As an aside, this PSA is no longer publicly available. The City of Aiken removed it from its document repository within 24 hours of the publication of Downtown Aiken Half Price Sale on November 10, 2022.
2. On November 8, 2022 the AMDC published a page of photographs showing the existing conditions of a few of its properties, but almost primarily the Hotel Aiken.
Unfortunately, the AMDC purchased its properties in an “as-is” condition and did not have them appraised or inspected. So the commission has no baseline for what the conditions were in the Beckman Building at 106 Laurens Street, SW, Taj Aiken Restaurant, and the McGhee Building when it wrote that:
“From every angle, the area of Downtown that makes up the Project Pascalis footprint is in need of a refresh. This highly visible block of the central business district has fallen into disrepair, as the former owner’s plan to redevelop the Hotel Aiken and adjacent property has stalled.”
However, the photographs do provide a baseline of the conditions the AMDC willingly accepted when it spent $9.5 million of public funds on the seven properties. The Board could recruit volunteer, independent photographers to replicate these photos to see where conditions have worsened under the minimalist management approach of the AMDC, where they have remained the same, and where there might be an improvement.
One example of how disrepair has remained in place is shown by a comparison of this photograph published on November 8th, that shows a boarded up window on the Laurens Street side of the Hotel Aiken.
AMDC Photo. November 8, 2021.
And here is a similar view taken on November 17, 2022, with the same boarded window. The only differences are there are more leaves remaining on the Ginkgo tree this year, and the presence of the Voluntary Cleanup Contract sign.
Photo: Don Moniak, November 17, 2022
Another November 8th photograph illustrated a tree growing out of a second floor window of the Beckman Building. As reported in “A Tree Disappears in Aiken,” the AMDC neglected for nine months to remedy this highly visible situation it cited as an example of disrepair.
The Board should obtain the original photos from the AMDC and work to replicate some of them as part of its information gathering and analysis process—if one actually exists. After all, Chairman Law collaborated with the Pascalis project manager to gather information to support the demolition application.
As seen in this screenshot of Capstone Service’s February, 2022, work invoice, that collaboration included planning drone pictures of the Hotel that were shown at the Board’s Feburary 1, 2022 workshop. These photos could also be replicated to determine the degree of neglect this year.
If the Chairman of the Design Review Board could work with the City’s Municipal Development Commission and Planning Deparment earlier this year to help build a case for demolition, then the Board as a whole should be willing to work with citizens–who fund the existence of the commission– to determine to what degree the Pascalis properties have been neglected to the detriment of downtown Aiken. It can then act in accordance with Section 5.1.8 of the municipal code, Ordinance 04142003A, which requires corrective actions and penalties for violations “of any provisions of this Chapter.”
The Aiken Chronicles is encouraging readers interested in the upkeep of the publicly owned Pascalis properties to submit suggestions on how the Design Review Board should proceed to eurekascresearch@gmail.com. This includes any pertinent information that should be gathered, and what non-neglect should look like.
The suggestions will be compiled and published; and presented to the Design Review Board. Anonymity is allowed.
In a July 26, 2022 letter to the Historic Aiken Foundation (HAF), Aiken Municipal Development Chair (AMDC) Keith Wood attributed a slowdown in the “tireless” work to “find a suitable permanent solution that would elmininate any and all” fire risks associated with the Hotel Aiken and surrounding properties to three week old litigation involving the HAF and eight other plaintiffs. (1)
The AMDC bought the Hotel Aiken and six other properties for $9.5 million in November, 2021, and intends to demolish its investments and remake the area into a complex of new apartments, parking garage, hotel, retail, and conference center. Apparently, litigation filed eight months after the purchase is a cause for an absence of fire inspections and an alarm system.
Wood’s letter was in response to a July 22, 2022 letter from the HAF requesting specific maintenance and safety measures by the AMDC due to a concern “that adverse conditions at the hotel lead to further deterioration of its condition.”
Sapling-sized tree in the second story window above Beyond Bijou. This sapling was in the window in November 2021 when the AMDC bought the property, and is still there today.
The letter named six specific actions ranging from monthly inspections to fire monitoring and sealing of hatches and other access points; and asked the AMDC to “remove debris around the exterior of the building both for safety and to improve the general character of the area.”
In his response, Mr. Wood committed to no changes from the status quo and assured the HAF that “all reasonable measures are in place to ensure” the integrity and security of the Hotel Aiken. He then proceeded to falsely infer ownership of the existing fire detection system, failed to acknowledge an unauthorized intrusion into hotel last week, and implied a part-time caretaker constitutes a full-time fire watch. The AMDC’s confident demeanor is further undermined by the fact that no fire inspections have occurred since the commission purchased the building.
Wood did not comment on the HAF’s request for monthly fire inspection system. According to Aiken Public Safety records, the last inspection by the City of Aiken was on February 17, 2021; and a freedom of information act (FOIA) request for all fire inspections since March 2, 2021 yielded no documents. March 2, 2021; Aiken Public Safety fire marshalls conducted three thorough inspections between early 2019 and February of 2021.
Click image to view full size
The existing fire detection system involves more than 100 heat detectors. It was installed by ADS Security for the previous owner, Historic Hospitality, LLC (Agent: Neel Shah) to meet criteria for city approval of an interior demolition permit issued in 2018. While describing the system as a “robust set of smoke, heat, and fire sensors placed throughout the structure,” Wood failed to acknowledge the system was in place when the AMDC bought the property and signed a contract with ADS to continue the system. The commission is only paying $65 a month for the basic service and has not incurred any installation charges.
The hotel “fire watch” involves a single “APS Cadet” who receives free rent from the AMDC in return for the following work services:
General public safety and fire watch works;
to monitor the area of the adjacent city properties on a regular basis and report any suspicious activity to public safety for further investigation;
other duties as assigned. (3)
The fire watch/caretaker is not assigned to assist with cleanup behind that hotel that contributes to a blighted appearance the AMDC is chartered to address. City of Aiken officials will not respond to specific questions pertaining to the percentage of time the property caretaker is on site, or to what other duties have been assigned.
The extent to which an APS fire cadet, who is also being trained elsewhere on critical emergency response procedures, is monitoring the area “on a regular basis” is unknown, as city officials have not responded to such questions. It is now known that it is clearly not regular enough to prevent unauthorized intruders from entering the hotel.
While Mr. Wood did not cite any recent intrusions, AMDC Executive Director Tim O’Briant has acknowledged an intrusion last week, just a few days after HAF President Linda Johnson reported “the gate in the rear chain link fence was wide open.” The intrusion was noted only after the fact during a “routine security check by staff.”
Recent photos of the open gate, as reported by HAF President Linda Johnson. The interior chain link that can be seen is just a fence section, not a complete fence, so someone can just walk around that part when the gate is open. (Photos courtesy of Linda Johnson)
As a result, “an additional intrusion security is being added to the contract with design of the sensor layout taking place this week and installation in the near future.” However, in Mr. Wood’s version of events, any time the rear gate was open “an authorized key holder is present on the property.”
So Wood provided no reason for the AMDC to engage ADS Security to “add motion and intrusion alarms to the system;” while O’Briant admitted that a break-in was the reason.
But the saddest part of this story is that the AMDC loves to tout Aiken’s Economic Master Plan when it is convenient to do so. The plan (2) was prepared by the AECOM Corporation (Now part of Amentum, Mr. Wood’s employer) and adopted by City Council in March, 2021, about the same time that Project Pascalis began mostly in secrecy. In the plan that commissioners love to cite and discuss is this passage:
“Aiken also has the unique challenge of preserving its notable historic architecture, while making room for new growth, so the City will need to partner with the Historic Aiken Foundation and other stakeholders to ensure that the downtown’s charming historic character is preserved, while also encouraging new growth and development and higher densities where appropriate.”
Yet, the Historic Aiken Foundation has never been invited to an AMDC meeting, and this week the AMDC chair stiff-armed the concerns of the foundation and chose antagonism over cooperation.
Recently obtained documents reveal the City of Aiken has declared no insurance value for the historic Hotel Aiken, and is paying an annual insurance premium of only $441 on the hotel. (1) The City of Aiken has provided no reason for the decision to leave the hotel nearly uninsured.
Hotel Aiken: No Value, Barely Insured
The City of Aiken’s Municipal Development Commission (AMDC) purchased seven properties at a cost of $9.5 million in early November, 2021. The purchase was funded by a bond issuance approved by Aiken City Council three months earlier. (2). Two of the properties, the Hotel Aiken and the adjacent Holley House Motel, were vacant at the time of the purchase. The combined purchase price for these two properties was $4.25 million.
Photos from 5-star reviews of Hotel Aiken in 2017
The properties form a substantial portion of the proposed, but evolving, demolition and redevelopment endeavor in downtown Aiken called Project Pascalis. The project is promoted and led by the AMDC, which was formed in 2019 and has no prior, largescale institutional development experience.
After the original developer GAC, LLC (agent: Weldon Wyatt) exited from the project in May, 2021 for unknown reasons, the AMDC eventually selected RPM Development Partners, LLC (agent: Ray Massey) as its replacement in December 2021. The AMDC signed a conditional purchase and sale (PSA) agreement for the seven properties, pending a final master cost-sharing and development agreement. That PSA remains confidential and exempt from a Freedom of Information Act request. The AMDC has stated that it will offer “a discounted price for the property upon which they will build the hotel and apartments.” (3)
A request for proposals (RFP) leading up to RPM’s selection occurred in May, 2021 and was not publicly advertised as required by South Carolina Community Development laws. A legal advertisement for RFP’s was placed ten days after the selection of RPM. As a result, the legitimacy of RPM’s status as the developer has been challenged in court. (4)
The Hotel Aiken was placed on the city’s historic register in 2018. The designation remains despite the city’s Design Review Board (DRB) approval on March 1, 2022 of a demolition application from RPM for the hotel and the adjacent building titled 106 Laurens St, SW. The permission to demolish, approved by a vote of 6-1, is conditional, and demolition will not occur until RPM has a final agreement to purchase the property, has a final master agreement with the AMDC, and final designs are approved by the DRB.
In a document titled “Property Schedule,” attached to the first page of the property declarations portion of the city’s property insurance policy, no value is assigned to the Hotel Aiken. This zero value was assigned months prior to the demolition application being filed.
The annual insurance premium for the hotel is only $441, less than the premium for the average 1200 square foot home. The total insurance value is only $284,060, even though in 2021 the Aiken County Assessor appraised the market value of the land at $562,000 and the hotel improvements at $987,000 for a total appraised market value of $1.549 million.
Another way of looking at the value of the Hotel Aiken is by examining the offers the AMDC received in 2021. According to a redacted review of bidders (5) involved in the May, 2021 RFP process, one developer was rejected for only offering $1 million for the hotel property, described in the review as a “deeply discouted (sic) price.”
Cropped to show $1 million offer
In contrast, the adjacent Holley House motel, which is also vacant and part of the Project Pascalis demolition zone, has an assigned value of $2.25 million and an annual policy payment of $3493. Every other building in the demolition zone also has an insurance value matching the AMDC’s purchase prices. (See Property Declarations Table).
Property Declarations Table
When asked about the lack of insurance value for the Hotel Aiken, city officials declined to comment. The question as to why the AMDC spent more than $2 million on land and improvements, describe a $1 million offer as a “deeply discounted” value, and then chose not to insure the improvements against fire or other losses also remains unanswered.
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Coming Soon: Part 2: Less Protected: A before and after comparison of fire protection programs for downtown AMDC properties.
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(1) A Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request was filed on July 11, 2022. The request was for:
“Copies of the Property and Building Insurance Policies for the following AMDC owned properties 121-21-09-001: 106 Laurens St 121-21-09-002 : Hotel Aiken 121-21-08-001 Holley House 121-21-08-002: Taj Restaurant + 121-21-08-003: Old Johnson Drug Store 121-21-08-004: Warneke Cleaners 121-21-08-004: Newberry Hall. These commercial property and building insurance policies should be readily on hand and retrievable within fifteen minutes.”
The City of Aiken responded on July 18 with a $16 charge for 1.25 hours of search and retrieval labor. After receiving payment on July 18th, the city waited until July 21st to release three documents:
The insurance policy is titled “SOUTH CAROLINA MUNICIPAL INSURANCE and RISK FINANCING FUND COVERAGE CONTRACT 2022.”
Only a portion of this document, the “property declarations” chapter, was provided in the FOIA response. The city claims that the remaining portions do not apply to AMDC owned properties. Chapters detailing coverage declarations for liability, crime, and casualty coverage were considered unrelated to the request for entire insurance policies.
The issue is presently under appeal to Aiken City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh.
Until now, the AMDC has only revealed Option 2A (1) from its early 2021 deliberations. Option 2A was forwarded to select developers, along with a project “summary” (2) in a private solicitation for a request for proposals for an area only encompassing the “Shah Property” and Newberry Hall — but not The Alley. This solicitation represented a change in the direction of the project management, but not in the overall project vision detailed in the never released Option 2, a vision involving a radical redevelopment of The Alley.
The Early Days of Project Pascalis: Option 2 Emerges
One week after the Aiken Municipal Development Commission (AMDC) announced a major, vaguely defined redevelopment effort named Project Pascalis, commission Chairman Keith Wood and Executive Director Tim O’Briant signed a cost sharing agreement with Weldon Wyatt’s GAC, LLC. (3) As with the Wyatt-Boudreaux agreement, references to “historic preservation” are absent. Demolition was the only consideration, and renovations were not options.
Boudreaux Group architecture and its two subconsultants moved forward with an aggressive schedule of site visits, workshops, research, and preliminary design. While the Boudreaux Group was working on behalf of GAC, LLC, it was also designing for the Alley property recently obtained by Ray Massey’s Aiken Alley Holdings, and city owned property across from it, although no agreement detailing this arrangement is publicly available yet.
The week of April 12 passed without the scheduled “presentation to city council and invited stakeholders,” and the AMDC only discussed the project in closed executive session on April 13th.
On April 15th, Weldon Wyatt and Newberry Hall’s Myrtle Anderson signed a purchase and sale agreement for $2 million and options for the business’ operators to negotiate to repurchase a new building, operate the new conference center, and even be compensated for lost income during construction.
Four days later the “Project Pascalis Conceptual Plans” were complete and ready for review. The plan’s aerial view continued to match the description in the Boudreaux-Wyatt agreement, with the Aiken Antique Mall and the east half of The Alley remaining in the project footprint.
(Note: click on images, below, to enlarge views).
Option 2: First-floor view of Project Pascalis footprint
The conceptual plans, obtained on July 2, 2022, via a Freedom of Information Act request, featured “Option 2,” with the Hotel Aiken and Laurens properties replaced by ground floor retail below a three story apartment complex, a “Boutique Hotel” at the corner of Richland and Newberry, a conference center/apartments/garage complex replacing Newberry Hall, and street pattern changes on Richland and Newberry Street.
Option 2: Five-story “Boutique Hotel” at the corner of Richland and Newberry. To the left is the 5-story conference center/parking garage/apartments complex at the corner of Newberry and The Alley.
Most dramatically, the plan envisioned retail space topped by four stories of apartments on the north side of The Alley; three stories across from it on city owned property, and a three story, elevated, enclosed walkway above the east entrance connecting apartments and providing a pathway to the parking garage.
These plans were never shared as promised in mid-March by AMDC officials. The plans were shown to some of Massey’s newly acquired tenants. One of them is Stacy O’Sullivan, co-owner of “Art and Soul” gallery in The Alley. In 2019, “Aiken Blend” wrote of her and business partner Kim Rising’s presence in The Alley in an “entrepreneur of the week” profile:
Art and Soul of Aiken isn’t exactly what you would call a “traditional” gallery. It is a place where local Aiken area artists can display their work in a free spirited and supportive space. Stacy O’Sullivan and Kim Rising established this co-op style business three years ago in a hidden store front on Richland Avenue. Two years ago, the business moved into the Alley. Since then, the two have had nothing but success. (4)
Their success must not have impressed her new landlords. O’Sullivan has described a visit from Massey and investment partner Todd Gaul, during which they revealed conceptual plans for their building, stating “We know this will take permits and such, but The City loves projects like this and it will not be a problem.”
O’Sullivan also describes an effort by Massey and Gaul to “illegally evict” them from their four-year old business home, and their intent to triple the rent, all while paying lip service to serious maintenance issues such as flooding in the recently renovated alley following heavy rains
Happy Days End
While Massey and Gaul might not have anticipated a problem with the city, they should have anticipated one with Weldon Wyatt, especially considering his abrupt and unexplained withdrawal in January, 2020 from a purchase contract with Aiken County for the “old hospital” property at 828 Richland Ave E.
Between April 19th and May 14th, two things happened. First, the preliminary cost estimates were completed on schedule. The estimates include a total budget of $118,372,104 and ninety eight cents; and total costs for “demolition and abatement” of the “Hotel Aiken, 108 Laurens Street, Holley House Motel, and Retail/Office Richland, Newberry, and The Alley” of $712,248. (5)
Second, the man described by the AMDC a month previously as an “experienced and well-capitalized” private developer bailed on yet another major development on Mayor Rick Osbon’s wish list. Similar to the unexplained cancellation of the “old hospital” deal, the reason for the Project Pascalis exit remains a mystery.
Instead of reassessing the project, AMDC officials scrambled to salvage the effort to demolish and reconstruct a major portion of historic downtown Aiken. As previously reported in A Project Pascalis Timeline, on May 14th “The Chamber of Commerce takes ‘assignment’ of the Shah property contracts, while the AMDC seeks funding to purchase them on behalf of the city. This all occurs behind closed doors.” (. ) Not until June 2 would the Chamber also arrange for “assignment” of the Newberry Hall property.
The absence of a contract continuation with Newberry Hall’s owners did not deter the AMDC from immediately seeking a new developer for both the Shah and Newberry properties. On May 19th the AMDC sent its private solicitations for Requests for Proposals to continue the project—minus the Aiken Alley Holdings property and the Aiken Antique Mall.
There is no known formal agreement between the AMDC and Aiken Alley Holdings, but some form of unwritten agreement must have remained. Six days after the Chamber of Commerce took one for the team by taking assignment of the Newberry Hall property, Aiken Alley Holdings, LLC closed on the purchase of longtime State Farm agent Joseph Harrison’s 121 Newberry Street for $675,000, adding to the holdings in the original Pascalis footprint.
Just over three months later, Massey was present at a “public meeting” at Victor’s Restaurant in Florence, SC hosted by the Raines Company. Two months later he was the agent for the newly formed RPM Development Partners, LLC; a consortium of Massey and other local, unnamed investors, the developers Rainesco and Lat Purser. In early December, 2021 RPM was named the Pascalis developer, pending a master agreement, although the legal advertisement for RFPs was not submitted until mid December.
(1) The AMDC placed “Option 2A” on its “transparency page, but not Option 2; probably because a FOIA or other official request only asked for information pertaining to the AMDC’s private RFP solicitation in May 2021. This is known in some circles as willful nondisclosure.
In the solicitation, the AMDC offers to privatize a part of Newberry Street. The entire solicitation remains secret to this day, withheld under a FOIA exemption by the City of Aiken, despite fact that FOIA clearly states the city “may” release the documents. The AMDC does not deny the solicitation is only for demolition, not renovation of Hotel Aiken and surrounding properties.
(5) Draft Preliminary Order of Magnitude Cost Estimate Analysis. Project Pascalis. Obtained via the SC Freedom of Information Act from the City of Aiken, July 2, 2022.
This is “a timeline,” regarding the creation, promotion, and stealth of the $100 million dollar plus downtown Aiken demolition and redevelopment endeavor known as Project Pascalis from February 2019 through June 2022.
It is not “the timeline.” Due to the City of Aiken’s continued secrecy surrounding key aspects of Project Pascalis, gaps in knowledge remain. For example, the city still refuses to release its full May 2021 solicitation for a Request for Proposals.
Therefore, it is unknown whether any option to renovate the Hotel Aiken was offered to prospective developers; although the evidence to date strongly suggests the only option was demolition. The importance of this key issue cannot be overstated: if the solicitation dictated what the city wanted, then Project Pascalis is a homegrown project and its developers are mere contractors undertaking the wishes of its client.
February 2019
February 1: : Weldon and Tom Wyatt of “Wyatt Development” (which was dissolved in 2013) meets with Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon to discuss his $1.1 million offer to Aiken County to purchase the 9.3 acre “old hospital” and county administrative building property at 828 Richland Avenue, E. for $1.1 million
February 5: Mayor Osbon sends letter to Aiken County Chairman Gary Bunker describing his meeting with Wyatt executives and expressing his support for their vision for the old hospital property.
February 19: WTC Investments, LLC is registered as doing business in South Carolina with the Secretary of State. Attorney Ray Massey is the listed agent. (Unknown: presence of absence of Mr. Massey at February 1 meeting with Mayor.)
April 2019
April 16: WTC Investments, LLC enters into a purchase and sale agreement (PSA) with Aiken County to purchase the “old hospital” property at 828 Richland Avenue, E. for $1.1 million dollars.
WTC manager Tom Wyatt, son of Weldon Wyatt, announces plan to demolish existing historic structures and construct a new hotel, apartment complex, conference center, and parking garage.
August 2019
Ordinance establishing the Aiken Municipal Development Commission (AMDC) passed by Aiken City Council and governed by South Carolina Community Development Law. Citizens told Commission will enable increased public input and participation in planning process.
November 2019:
Aiken City Council passes rezoning ordinance approving the Wyatts’ concept plan for the old hospital/County complex site.
January 2020
January 12: WTC Attorney Ray Massey informs Aiken County officials they are withdrawing from the old hospital purchase contract.
May 2020
May 26, 2020 First meeting of the AMDC. Commissioners receive tutorials on the Freedom of Information Act, Ethics, and South Carolina Community Development Law. (In the next twenty four months the Commission, always meeting at 3:30 pm, would enter into closed executive sessions forty percent of their meeting time. During the Pascalis planning and negotiations this figure increased to more than sixty percent.)
July 2020
July 15: The Aiken Municipal Development Commission submits a “Redevelopment Plan for Downtown Aiken” to the City of Aiken. The plan does not include properties on Newberry Street currently inhabited by Newberry Hall and Warneke Cleaners. No public hearing is held by the Commission as required by community development law.
August 2020
August 31. Attorney General Alan Wilson announces a $600 million dollar settlement to more than four years of litigation with the Department of Energy regarding storage of surplus nuclear weapons plutonium at the Savannah River Site. Wilson states that after attorney fees of $75 million, $525 million remains for the legislature to allocate.
August 2020. Aiken City Council approves first reading of the downtown redevelopment plan.
September 2020
September 14: Aiken City Council amends the AMDC ordinance, replacing three City Council members with three new voting members, and reclassifying council members as ex-officio. Chamber of Commerce President J. David Jameson, former city councilperson Philip Merry, and Second Baptist Church pastor Douglas Slaughter are added as voting commissioners.
Second reading of minor redevelopment plan passes.
September 2020 to December 2020: AMDC discusses plutonium funding lobbying efforts. A letter requesting $30 million for redevelopment purposes is sent to the legislative delegation and other officials.
January 2021.
January 4: WTC Investments, LLC dissolves.
Unknown date in early 2021: WTC Investments, LLC signs contract to purchase Hotel Aiken, and the adjacent motel, 106 Laurens Street, the former Johnson Drug Store, and Warneke Cleaners from Shah Investments and other Shah family holdings.
March 2021:
March 15: Royal J. Robbins and Garnett Family Holdings sell 210 The Alley to Aiken Alley Holdings LLC for $2,025,000. Ray Massey is agent for Aiken Holdings LLC. (This property was adjacent to the original Project Pascalis footprint, but is now within it).
March 18, 2021: AMDC first announces the existence of Project Pascalis. City of Aiken Development Director Tim O’Briant tells the Aiken Standard “Transparency is key” and promises more pubic information within a few months. (Although details are not released, even the initial plan was to demolish Hotel Aiken and surrounding properties and construct a new hotel, apartments, parking garage, and conference center complex similar to that originally proposed at 828 Richland Ave. E, the old hospital).
O’Briant and Chair Keith Wood authorized by the Commission to execute an agreement with an unnamed, “experienced and well-capitalized” private developer that was “recruited and identified” by the AMDC. (public learns in 2022 that developer was Weldon Wyatt’s GAC LLC; and only in the November 4, 2021 meeting minutes is it revealed that WTC, Investments, LLC was involved with property purchases).
April 2021
April 13: Aiken Standard reports AMDC meeting behind closed doors to discuss Project Pascalis, indicating it involves downtown properties.
April 15: WTC Investments, LLC signs purchase and sale agreement with Newberry Hall property owner Myrtle Anderson to buy the property for $2 million. Modified lease agreement provides Newberry Hall business operators options to negotiate repurchase the new building, operate the new conference center, and receive compensation for lost income during construction stages.
Vampire Penguin opens for business at 106 Laurens Street, while planning to demolish the building proceeds in secrecy.
May 2021:
May 5: WTC Investments, LLC re-registered to do business in South Carolina. Agent: Attorney Ray Massey.
May ?? 2021. WTC Investments, LLC withdraws from its contracts to purchase downtown properties. The Chamber of Commerce takes “assignment” of the property contracts while the AMDC seeks funding to purchase them on behalf of the city. This all occurs behind closed doors.
May 19, 2021. The AMDC sends solicitations for Requests for Proposals to continue the new hotel/apartments/garage/conference center project to select developers. In the solicitation, the AMDC offers to privatize a part of Newberry Street. (The entire solicitation remains secret to this day, withheld under a FOIA exemption by the City of Aiken, despite fact that FOIA clearly states the city “may” release the documents. The AMDC does not deny the solicitation is only for demolition, not renovation of Hotel Aiken and surrounding properties.)
June 2021
June 8: Longtime State Farm agent Joseph Harrison sells his office property at 121 Newberry Street SW—adjacent to Newberry Hall—to Aiken Alley Holdings LLC (Ray Massey, agent) for $675,000.
July 2021:
July 12, 2021. AMDC Chair Keith Wood sends letter requesting $10 million in city funds from Aiken City Council to purchase “Parkway area properties” between Morgan and Williamsburg Street.
August 2021
August 25: City of Aiken approves $10 million in funding for the AMDC to purchase properties in the “Parkway District” bounded by Morgan Street, Hampton Avenue, Park Avenue, and Beaufort Street. Exact properties remain unspecified.
September 2021
September 20, 2021: AMDC announces it will conduct a fact finding trip to review the redevelopment of downtown Florence.
September , 2021: AMDC and several officials, joined by Attorney Ray Massey and representatives of Rainesco hold a “public meeting “ at a Florence restaurant. Meeting minutes are noticeably short.
October 2021
October , 2021. RPM Development Partners, LLC registers with the SC Secretary of State. Agent: Ray Massey. Key Players: Rainesco and Lat Purser (RPM likely to represent Raines, Purser, and Massey). Story not reported.
October , 2021: City of Aiken signs contract with Attorney Gary Pope for assistance with legal counsel. (This agreement cited in May 2021 as evidence of City Attorney Gary Smith’s “recusal” from all things Pascalis, but no such recusal is in document).
November 2021
November 5: In an Aiken Standard article, Development Director O’Briant again emphasized the need for transparency, and stated the AMDC would soon have a website to share information.
November 6: Project Pascalis is discussed at a Design Review Board meeting. Responding to a question about the future of Hotel Aiken, City Manager Stuart Bedenbaugh states a decision is still pending.
November 9: AMDC announces the purchase of several downtown properties for a total of $9.5 million, including Newberry Hall and Warneke Cleaners. The information is shared on the AMDC’s website, aikenmdc.org:
Aiken Standard fails to report involvement of the Chamber of Commerce.
According to County Records and the AMDC report, the purchases were:
106 Laurens St SW for $1 Million from Shah Enterprises.
235 Richland Ave (Hotel Aiken) and 112 Bee Lane/219 Richland Ave (The motel portion of Hotel Aiken) for $4.25 million from Historic Hospitality LLC (which had “purchased” the hotel in 2017 from Shah Enterprises for $5).
211 Richland Ave West, 203 Richland Ave West, and 113 Newberry Street (Warneke Cleaners) for $2.25 million from S & N Hospitality LLC (which had purchased the properties in 2018 for $ 1 million from Myrtle Anderson).
111 Newberry Street (Newberry Hall) for $2 million from Myrtle Anderson.
December 2021
December 3, 2021. RPM Development Partners announced as Project Pascalis developer. Purchase and Sale agreement made between RPM . Aiken Standard reports that AMDC owned properties scheduled to be “razed.” (Document released in April 2021 shows that one developer rejected in part for only offering $1 million for Hotel Aiken).
December 13 and 20; 2021. AMDC advertises for Requests for Proposals for Project Pascalis, as required by community development law, but after choosing a developer.
December 26-December 31: At the urging of the AMDC, Rainesco CEO Grey Raines hosts five private meetings organized by Aiken Chamber of Commerce President and AMDC Commissioner J. David Jameson. AMDC Director Tim O’Briant attends every meeting with Commissioner Jameston. (City of Aiken denies the meetings qualify under Open Meetings clause of FOIA).
January 2022
January 4: : Rainesco engineers conduct structural assessment of Hotel Aiken, even though decision to demolish building was made behind closed doors in early 2021.
January 22: Aiken Standard reports that “CTR, LLC, a group of local investors led by attorney Ray Massey, has offered $800,000” for two city-owned properties: the east half of the 214 Park Avenue municipal building and the parking lot across from the Hotel Aiken. Council meets in Executive Session to discuss the offer, no results are reported. Attorney Massey’s law partner, City Attorney Gary Smith, does not recuse himself from the proceedings.
February 2022
Feburary 17: DRB tours Hotel Aiken during a “special work session.”
March 2022
March 1: DRB approves demolition of Hotel Aiken and 106 Laurens Street by a vote of 6-1. Vice-Chair Lucy Knowles casts sole dissenting vote. (Councilperson Andrea Gregory withdraws support for Ms. Knowles within a month of the vote, and nominates non-resident Laura Blessing to the Board to replace Ms. Knowles at the end of her term).
March 28: Ten months after AMDC offered part of Newberry Street to interested developers, Aiken City Council conducts first public hearing (reading) of ordinance to privatize 0.6 acres of Newberry Street, in exchange for 123 Newberry St. SW and parking area behind 210 The Alley. Council unanimously approves first reading of ordinance despite nearly 100 percent of comments being against the proposal. City Attorney Gary Smith acts in usual parliamentarian role.
April 2022
April 15: Aiken Standard reports unilateral AMDC decision to repurpose soon to be vacated 214 Park Avenue municipal building into the new conference center. Tim O’Briant credits DRB Chairman McDonald Law with the suggestion. (Mr. Law later denies this was an “ex-parte” communication that violates FOIA Open Meetings law). Aiken County Chair Gary Bunker expresses concern about stalled negotiations with city to utilize the building for office space for county judicial functions.
April 20: AMDC holds first public meetings to discuss entirety of Project Pascalis. RPM Development Partners, LLC and City contractors devote 85% of the scheduled meeting time to presentations before accepting a single comment or question. Public comments at the first meeting is suspended after an hour due to “prior engagements” of Raines representatives. Two AMDC Commissioners, Keith Wood and Chris Verenes, speak in favor of the project without disclosing their affiliation.
Attorney Gary Pope sits at a city meeting for the first time, in place of City Attorney Gary Smith. Mr. Pope offers the information that Mr. Smith called him at “an early point in the project” to recused himself; but provides no date. (No written recusal documentation is offered in response to subsequent FOIA requests).
May 2022
May 9: Aiken City Council votes 6-1 on second reading 6-1 to approve Newberry StreetOrdinance, with councilperson Ed Woltz the lone dissenting vote. Among other falsehoods, Councilperson Kay Brohl supports her yes vote by describing The Alley as an unlively place prior to the city’s 2016 renovation. AMDC Commissioner Philip Merry speaks in favor of the proposal without revealing his affiliation. Attorney Gary Pope sits in place of City Attorney Gary Smith.
May 10: Lawsuit filed by area resident and Aiken property owner Drew Johnson documenting conflict of interest violations by City Attorney Gary Smith due to the role of his law partner Ray Massey in Project Pascalis. (In subsequent response, defendants do not deny the allegations but call for dismissal on jurisdictional grounds).
May 11, 2022: Formation of the Do It Right! Alliance is announced, with the goal of preserving historic properties and holding city officials accountable to the law.
May 15: AMDC releases “Just the Facts…,” revealing its intent to resell city properties to developers at a discounted price.
June 2022
June 7, 2022: Aiken Downtown Development Association sponsors public “design workshop” to solicit comments on modified design of Hotel Aiken facade. AMDC Director Tim O’Briant tells WJBF News in Augusta that appraisals were unnecessary because the property is like gold.
June 21, 2022. Design Review Board holds “design workshop.” Attendees not told until beginning of the meeting of a no public comment policy. City officials summon a police offer
June 24, 2022: City of Aiken posts 45 notices announcing DRB public hearing on proposed demolition of Newberry Hall, Warneke Cleaners, Motel portion of Hotel Aiken, Johnson Drug Store, Taj Aiken Restaurant, and adjacent businesses.
June 27: Historical Aiken Foundation, which is identified as a key city partner in its strategic development plan, releases fact sheet documenting concerns that support its opposition to Project Pascalis.
