A contract between Aiken County and a developer from Columbia, S.C. could mean a third chapter for a historic building.
The contract for the sale of the old Aiken hospital was signed April 26 between the county and 828 Richland Avenue Associates, LLC.
County Administrator Clay Killian said one more step remains for the $1.15 million dollar sale to be final.
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“They still have a 180-day due diligence period in the contract to continue assessing the building and to get all the financing in place. That still gives us time to have the ETV tower removed,” said Killian.
The plan is to preserve and re-purpose the building, according to developer Al Saad.
“I hope to convert the hospital building into 50 apartment units. The wide corridors and the number of small rooms make it a challenge to convert an old hospital,” Saad said.
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He said the surrounding property will also be developed, possibly into more apartments or townhomes.
Part of the money for the project will be through federal tax credits available for historic buildings. Saad said it will take him about 90 days to work out that part of the funding.
This is the third attempt to sell the old hospital, which was built before World War II. Two previous attempts fell through, one when a financing deadline was missed, and the other because of the timeframe needed to remove the ETV tower.
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After ceasing hospital operations in the mid-70s, the building’s second chapter was as headquarters for the Aiken County government until offices moved to the new county office building on University Parkway about seven years ago.
Dana Lynn McIntyre is a Staff Reporter with The Augusta Press. You can reach her at dana@theaugustapress.com.
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