Wedding & Event Venue Near Saint George, SC.

ST. GEORGE — Fenced off and covered in tarps while demolition work can be heard taking place from inside, the former homes of The Inn at St. George and the Bicycle Collective are set to be torn down by the city soon.

Over five years after buying the property with an intent to one day see it redeveloped, Marc Mortensen, St. George assistant city manager, told St. George News on Thursday that the city is now moving on that goal.

With demolition set around the end of February, crews are currently going through the old hotel to remove lead asbestos found inside it, as well as the former Bicycle Collective building.

The city will also be back-filling the hotel’s pool and the basement of the other building and covering them over with road base to help keep the dust down, Mortensen said.

Once this is done, the city will be reaching out to developers to see who is interested in developing the property that sits on St. George Boulevard next door to Ancestor Square.

“It’s obviously a prime piece of property in the heart of our downtown area and a great piece of property for development,” Mortensen said.

A mix of retail and a restaurant, or perhaps even a new hotel or some sort of housing could be built there, he said, and also mentioned the possibility for another mixed use development like Joule Plaza or City View, the latter of which is across the street..

The City of St. George bought The Inn at St. George in late 2016 for $1.6 million. Though the city owned the property, it was privately operated for about a year afterward.

Later, during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the hotel was converted by the Switchpoint Community Resource Center into a quarantine shelter for homeless individuals who had contracted the coronavirus.

The hotel was originally called the TraveLodge Inn and opened sometime between 1961 and 1972, according to the Washington County Historical Society. It was also known as the Ancestor Inn and St. George Best Inn.

Around the time the city bought the hotel, it was also in the process of buying the neighbor building that once housed the St. George Bicycle Collective. The Collective has since relocated to 39 Bluff St. in St. George.

Before then, it served as the home of an Intermountain Healthcare thrift store that eventually transitioned into the Switchpoint Thrift Store in 2016 and changed locations. Long before that, the building was the site of the Trafalga restaurant which was also served as a Greyhound bus stop for a time.

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Small town hospitality and historic charm are hallmarks of St. George the county seat of Dorchester County. Originally known as George’s Station along the South Carolina Railroad, the Town of St. George was incorporated in January 1875.

Before the construction of Interstates 26 and 95, St. George was a popular stop for tourists traveling to Florida by way of U.S. Highway 15. Today, the Town of St. George is easily accessible from the interstate.

Dive deep into the town’s local history at The Heritage Museum, located in the former County Courthouse at 101 Ridge St. A nonprofit formed in 2014, the Dorchester County Archives & History Center is dedicated to preserving the past for future generations. The organization is working to digitize more than 100,000 documents for researchers. Plus, a detailed photo collection of the Lowcountry donated by Brandon Coffey is available to view at the museum. Visit Tuesday through Saturday; tickets are $5 each for adults.

Appleby’s Methodist Church is a one-story wooden Methodist church built between 1840 and 1850. Visit today to see how the church looked in the mid-1800s – an example of Greek Revival meeting house style – with two rows of pews thought to be the originals. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on Feb. 14, 1978.

Indian Field Camp Ground is a rustic and simple Methodist campground still in use today. It was built in 1848 with 99 wooden cabins that form a circle around a large wooden tabernacle and preaching area. The site was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on March 30, 1973.

Another of the area’s Methodist camps is Shady Grove, a place of worship created by former slaves in 1870. The campground consisted of rustic cabins – known as "tents – that have been passed down from generation to generation. Fire destroyed the original tents in the late 1950s. Even though they were replaced, many of those tents burned in two more fires. Much of the camp was rebuilt in the early 1990s. Families continue to gather each October for camp meeting of fellowship and worship.

There are also two additional Methodist campgrounds in the surrounding area, St. Paul and Cypress, making this part of the county a time capsule for long-standing religious traditions.

Don’t miss the historic Koger-Murray-Carroll-House, so named in honor of its past owners. Dating back to at least 1775, was once an important stagecoach stop between inland settlements and Charleston. The exact construction date remains unknown, but it's thought to be the oldest house in Dorchester County.

Located in the heart of St. George is the Klauber Building. Built in 1894, it was first a mercantile serving a community bustling with railroad commerce. Today, the building houses an area chamber of commerce, visitor center and town museum. It’s open each weekday.

The Klauber also hosts the weekly St. George Farmers Market. Stop by from 3-6 p.m. each Thursday through Oct. 27 for local farm fresh produce, foods, art, culture and music.

Also situated in the center of St. George at 206 Parler Avenue is the Lourie Theatre, built in the 1920s to show silent movies. In the early 1980s, the theatre closed, and the building began to deteriorate. Several years later, a group of dedicated community members banded together to restore the theatre – now a vibrant performing arts center for the town.

Constructed in 1925, the Rosenwald School was a six-teacher school created by educator Booker T. Washington and the philanthropic president of Sears & Roebuck, Julius Rosenwald. The two men began a program to construction schools for African-American children. They completed 5,400 schools in states around the South. Thousands of children attended these schools between 1912 and the late 1950s when schools became integrated. In 2014, the school, located at 205 Ann Street, was given in trust to the Town of St. George and work began on the restoration and preservation of the building.

Before you start your journey exploring St. George stop by the Klauber Building at 225 Parler Avenue for tips and directions.

You’ll see many beautiful vintage homes driving around St. George, including the 1912 Badham House, pictured here.

A developer is requesting to change more than 360 acres of residential land to industrial land.

ST. GEORGE, S.C. (WCSC) - Calling one place home all your life until a rezoning request sign pops up on your street. That is what happened to a group of people who live in St. George.

One developer is requesting to change more than 360 acres of residential land to industrial land that would affect large properties off Highway 78 one mile east of St. George.

Although Dorchester County’s plans do not say what exactly will be built in this area, a number of residents who have spent their whole lives here say they want their land to be kept the way they’ve always known it to be.

Richard Myers was born on Sugar Hill Road in St. George and has lived here all his life.

“Everybody seems to know that something big is going to happen in this area except the people that live here,” Myers said.

He owns around 37 acres, which has the possibility of turning into industrial land.

“All of this that we’re standing on now used to be our farm, but as the years changed... the farm got smaller,” Myers said. “But we still got a farm, and we want to keep it that way. We don’t want a factory sitting in the middle of it or a warehouse.”

Another resident in the area, Barbara Felder, is the sixth generation in her family to live here. Her grandparents and aunt’s home is still on the land.

She was asked what her reaction was when she first saw the Dorchester County rezoning sign down the street.

“We were shocked,” Felder said. “There were no letters or no communication about the changes in our area.”

Felder says she worries about how this rezoning could affect pollution, their roads and access to emergency vehicles.

“We shouldn’t let the county nor the developer to come in our community and tell us what to do as taxpayers and for our future,” Felder said.

Myers says he has no intention of selling his land but knows his taxes will rise if he doesn’t.

“If they want your property, they’re going to get it because they’re going to run your taxes sky high until you say, ‘Enough,’” Myers said. “‘I got to sell it because I can’t pay the taxes.’”

Both of them say they want to be involved with the rezoning process.

“We are tired of explaining and they need to change and not think about the almighty dollar that’s coming into Dorchester County area,” Felder said.

Dorchester County did not respond for a comment because Monday was a holiday. This rezoning still has to go through three readings before it can be approved.

To take a closer look at the official rezoning plan from the county, click here.

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ST. GEORGE — Despite pushback from several residents, Dorchester County council has rezoned over 270 acres of land to industrial.

The original plan was to rezone two parcels of land: 272 acres along Pecan Tree Road and Highway 78, and 88 acres along Pecan Tree Road and Sugar Hill Lane. The planning commission decided against the smaller section, considering how close it was to the Sugar Hill community.

Before the vote, the land was zoned as agricultural residential, meant for both building homes and farming in rural portions of the county. This zoning requires the density to not exceed one principal dwelling per acre of land, and should have its own sanitation through an on-site disposal system or sewer connection.

With an industrial rezoning, the land will allow for warehousing, distribution, as well as manufacturing. The county is still undecided on what specifically will be done with this parcel of land, but county council vice chairman David Chinnis said there are developers looking to buy the property.

Chinnis added that rezoning the parcel to industrial — to be a part of Winding Woods Commerce Park — had been the plan since it was purchased by an LLC in 2006.

Numerous St. George residents had spoken at county council and planning commissions meetings voicing their concerns over the rezoning.

Betty Collins, a pastor at New Hope AME Church, specified how residents worry about the noise any new industry may bring, and the county hasn’t shared any information with residents regarding how they will protect the community from potential nuisances.

“In (Dorchester County’s) ordinance it says for industry and manufacturing, you are allowed 90 decibels as your standard, when the World Health Organization and the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health says nothing over 80. Anything over 80 then damages your hearing or causes hearing loss,” Collins said.

St. George resident Barbara Felder spoke as well. Her message was very clear: “No to rezoning.”

“Our family was here before any of you were ever born,” Felder said. “We are speaking for our ancestors who built this community, and now it’s our job to sing for our future generation. ... No to erasing our history of Sugar Hill Road of over 120 years. ... No to heavy industry, just flat out no.”

County Councilwoman Harriet Holman reassured those who had concerns about the rezoning that the council is taking the comments to heart.

“To the people that came in to speak tonight about this particular parcel, we did hear everything you said,” Holman said. “...I know you all are concerned, but the county does have your best interests at heart.”

Employer: Armando’s Mexican Restaurant LLC

Investigation site: 5792 Memorial Blvd. Saint George, South Carolina 29477

Investigation findings: Investigators with the department’s Wage and Hour Division found that the employer allowed some employees to work off-the-clock without compensation, a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act. Employees performed work when they reported to work before their scheduled shift time or stayed after their shift ended. In addition, Armando’s paid a fixed salary to some employees, failing to pay an overtime premium for all hours over 40 in a workweek. Investigators also determined the employer failed to keep complete and accurate records of the number of hours worked by employees.

Back Wages and Liquidated Damages Recovered: $38,610 for 17 workers and an equal amount in liquidated damages.

Quote: “Restaurant workers are some of the community’s lowest-paid workers. When employers fail to pay these workers all of their legally earned wages, workers and their families find it harder to make ends meet. Illegally withholding wages also give employers an unfair advantage over their law-abiding competitors,” said Wage and Hour District Director Jamie Benefiel in Columbia, South Carolina. “The Wage and Hour Division is able to provide resources to both employers and employees to help understand their responsibilities and rights under the law.”

Background: Employers can contact the Wage and Hour Division at its toll-free number, 1-866-4-US-WAGE. The division also offers numerous online resources for employers, such as a fact sheet on Fair Labor Standards Act wage laws overtime requirements. Workers who feel they may not be getting the wages they earned may contact a Wage and Hour Division representative in their state through a list and interactive online map on the agency’s website. Workers and employers alike can help ensure hours worked and pay are accurate by downloading the department’s Android Timesheet App for free.

Learn more about Wage and Hour Division.

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