“But it appears perhaps it is not to be”

The project to bring a boutique hotel and restaurant to Walhalla appears to be on its last leg. And the developers have all but declared an end to their effort to remodel the former courthouse, at Main and S. Church, and save the 1956 building from eventual demolition. In an open letter to Courthouse Inn supporters, a copy of which was obtained this afternoon by 96.3/WGOG NEWS, John Powell and Jim Carswell say their efforts suffered “yet another serious setback last week (June 6th.”) Powell and Carswell’s efforts had identified a federally guaranteed loan to repay any construction lender, along with a team of designers and operators. But they blame four issues: “1) a difficult construction lending environment; 2) proposed tax credit legislation that failed to materialize; 3) a lack of investor support; and, 4) local issues that have hindered a discussion of support for the development.” They say the controversy over public financing for Seneca’s Hampton Inn and Suites hindered that discussion. Powell and Carswell said they also suffered a blow last week when the South Carolina House reduced abandoned building tax credit legislation by reducing the amount of credit from $1.5 million to $300 thousand dollars. They write in the letter: “The tragedy for us is that, having spent tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of working hours working on this project, it has already become tangible and real to us. We can see its hallways, rooms and meeting spaces. We can picture sitting in the evening on the Main Street patio admiring the view. We can imagine the faces of the many visitors who travel through Walhalla, rarely stopping, who would have a unique and inviting place to stop, to stay and to get to know the many attractions and benefits of the community. Of equal importance to the citizens of Oconee, it would be a property generating full property and hospitality taxes.”