Former PTL property expected to hit new phase of development

By Ken Elkins
The Business Journals
Updated: 7:00 p.m.*ET March* 14, 2004

The 2,200-acre former home to televangelist Jim Bakker and the PTL ministries is being sold in a series of transactions that will lead to development of more than 3,500 homes and townhouses.

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The exception to the residential theme for the project now known as Regent Park is a $17 million mixed-use development to be anchored by a supermarket on 16 acres at the U.S. Highway 21 entrance to the property, north of Fort Mill.

The development, called Town Square at Regent Park, is expected to include 65,000 square feet of retail and 50 townhomes, to be developed by Kent Olson and Charlotte-based Olson Development.

Current property owner Malayan United Industries has sold tracts on the western side of Regent Park, which is bisected by Norfolk Southern Corp. rail line, to eight developers who plan a total of 1,350 homes and townhouses on 14 sites there.

The largest single purchaser is Cornerstone Development of the Carolinas Inc., which plans 400 single-family homes and 250 townhomes on four tracts.

On the eastern side of Regent Park, U.S. Land Investments has an agreement to buy 900 acres from MUI, industry sources say. The company hopes to develop 1,500 homes and townhomes while reserving space for a mixed-use center that would include space for a light-rail commuter stop.

Further details of those plans haven't been disclosed. Stephen Rosenburgh, president of U.S. Land Investments, declines comment.

A final element of the plan would reserve 50 acres -- including the former Radisson Grand Hotel -- for sale to a Christian school for an educational, seminar and conference center. The identity of the school hasn't been disclosed.

York County officials question the wisdom of adding 3,500 homes and more school-aged children to the already-crowded Fort Mill public schools.

"Residential is a revenue loser for the county," says Mark Farris, director of the York County Economic Development Board. "Studies have shown that for every $1 of property tax revenues in residential areas, the county and schools spend $1.20 in services."

That compares with 35 cents to 65 cents in service costs for commercial and industrial uses, he says.

"We're struggling to maintain a balance between land use in York County," he says.

Farris would prefer to see more of Regent Park devoted to commercial and industrial use.

"It's the best piece of property in the county: best in location under one ownership," he says.

Buying and selling For Faison Kuester, president of Kuester Real Estate Services, the recent property sales have brought Regent Park full circle.

As a young real estate agent in the late 1970s, he helped Bakker assemble the initial 1,200 acres of Heritage USA. In a series of transactions during the past year, Kuester has sold 14 sites on the western side of Regent Park that will be developed into tracts for 1,350 homes and townhouses.

"I got in on the development from the ground up," Kuester says. "I found myself back where I was 20 years ago."

The property has been on the market almost 10 years. Regional developers say the property's wetlands and poor access, along with MUI's stringent requirements for perspective buyers, have torpedoed half a dozen efforts to develop the land, primarily in the late 1990s.

Previous proposals for the former PTL site included plans for a $250 million Opryland-like entertainment and convention complex. That idea died in 1998.

The following year, former NFL star defensive end Reggie White floated plans for a Bible-themed park at the site. Nothing materialized from that proposal, either.

"But if you take a good location like this one, it will always work out -- maybe not on your timetable, but it will work out," Kuester says. "The highest and best use is residential."

Open and close MUI reopened the hotel in 1995 under a management agreement with the Radisson hotel chain. The hotel and its attached retail complex closed for good in 1998, when the Radisson Grand Resort was shuttered.

With the demise of the hotel and the various redevelopment proposals, pieces of the property slowly began to be sold for housing. Eventually, about 800 homes were built at Regent Park, along with a tournament-class golf course.

Through it all, the taint of the Bakker days was slow to dissipate.

Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker built the sprawling Heritage USA complex with proceeds from followers' contributions, raised on televised PTL Club promises that donors could always spend their vacations there.

At its height in the early 1980s, Heritage USA attracted 6 million people annually to its water park, hotel, horse stables and retail center. Construction of a 500-room, 21-story time-share hotel was started but never completed, leaving a windowless shell.

In March 1987, Bakker resigned from PTL amid sex and money scandals involving former New York church secretary Jessica Hahn. Bakker subsequently served five years in prison on federal fraud and conspiracy charges related to overselling partnerships at Heritage USA.

In 1990, Malaysia-based MUI and partners bought the resort out of bankruptcy but struggled to find a way to develop it.

Today, Laura Ashley USA is based there, after MUI took over the troubled British fashion retailer.

One proposal for Regent Park's redevelopment would keep Laura Ashley operations on site, using the company's distribution center as a focal point for U.S. Land's mixed-use project.

[url]www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4517420/[/url]

I'm sad to see it be turned into a residential development. I visited it back during the mid-eighties, and the property was very well maintained, from what I remember. The Waterpark was pretty good too. Alott better than WaterWorks or Wet N' Wild Emerald Point. And the Main Street area was verry nice as well.

Gaylord Entertainment (Opryland) considered buying it a few years back and building one of their giant hotels on site. Those plans fell through though.

I had heard that they were planning on adding a few amusement rides and a steam train, but then PTL collapsed and things crumbled.

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It's Homespun Fun!

I hate to see it turned into basically only residential, it would have been nice to have maybe a Six Flags come in there and give some competition to PC, which would have been good for the area, because many people would probably go to both parks.

But at least it's not going to sit vacant any more. The hotel looks like a ghost town, grass growing throught the pavement and all.

I heard that the Billy Graham home is being moved up to Billy Graham's headquarters in Charlotte, probably to make way for the new development.

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!

[QUOTE=bgwfreak]I hate to see it turned into basically only residential, it would have been nice to have maybe a Six Flags come in there and give some competition to PC, which would have been good for the area, because many people would probably go to both parks.[/QUOTE]

What makes you think Charlotte could sustain two parks?

Anyway, 3,500 homes on 2,200 acres. Let me guess: huge homes on tiny lots. Mmm. Can't wait.

[QUOTE=bgwfreak]I hate to see it turned into basically only residential, it would have been nice to have maybe a Six Flags come in there and give some competition to PC, which would have been good for the area, because many people would probably go to both parks.[/QUOTE]

Except that Six Flags has already stated they do not want to build any parks from scratch. Not to mention they're up to their elbows in debt and they're having a hard enough time finding room for capital expenditure for their current properties.

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Bryan Wood Thrillnetwork Database Admin and review writer extraordinare

I'm not saying it would have happened, I'm just saying it would have been sweet to have another park. Plus, I always liked the PTL water park (more that PC's), and I hate to see it go.

And as far as Charlotte not being able to attract people, who would have thought that swamp land in Orlando, FL would have ever attracted anyone ;)

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!

Heritage USA was already pulling in 6 million visitors. If a park opened on the site in 1980 something, it would have been profitable. The only problem was that Heritage USA was not intended to be a theme park. It was a showplace for PTL.

But I doubt a park there today would make it all that easy.

I wonder if Micheal Eisner is still interested in building Disney's America....No ancient Civil War graveyards around here.....

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It's Homespun Fun!

What does PTL stand for?

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Element of Freedom - December 15th

Praise The Lord

I never knew what that ment either. I never thought of that. lol

So I guess the people who owned the land were christians or ran a christian group or something?

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Element of Freedom - December 15th

Yeah you could say that. It was owned by Tammy Fay Baker & Jim baker. If you know who they are.

That (PTL = Praise The Lord) is enough reason to keep me away. :devil:

And 3,500 homes and townhouses on 2,200-acres is enough to keep me from ever living there.

I don't know who they are. O well. So I guess you can say that Charlotte is going to grow from this!

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Element of Freedom - December 15th

Well you missed out on the biggest scandal to ever come from the pages of the Charlotte Observer lol :D They had skits about them on Saturday Night Live and everything. Those were the days. lol ;)

Thank goodness for Clay Aiken, seems like the only national publicity NC ever gets is bad. ;) lol

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!

Thats so true. I remeber back in those days. Come to think of it i recently saw that SNL. It was about 2 months ago.

I went by the park friday and snpped a bunch of pictures of the demolishion of the waterpark and even a few areas i was not supposed to be in.

Only problem is the pics are too big for TN and i have no idea how to make them smaller. I guess i could e-mail them to whoever wants to see them.

You can go into MS Paint and shrink them down by opening them and doing Ctrl W and making them smaller and then save as jpg.

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!

Thanks, I'll try that when i get home from work today.

Hope to have pics up by tonight.

You can see the PTL tower from the skytower, drop zone, and top gun's lift.

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Dand it! I totally forgot about that when I went to Carowinds yesterday. I should of looked for it while I was riding Drop Zone.

What a shame. That beautiful water park being torn down. So are houses going there, and are they tearing down the castle right by the waterpark?

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Element of Freedom - December 15th

The castle is still there but i'm sure it's coming down soon. Most of the buildings are beyond repair.

As promised: [url]http://community.webshots.com/album/364660623qfUXGT/0[/url]

[QUOTE=bgwfreak]Well you missed out on the biggest scandal to ever come from the pages of the Charlotte Observer lol :D They had skits about them on Saturday Night Live and everything. Those were the days. lol ;)
l[/QUOTE]
Jan Hooks on SNL as Tammy Faye crying and running her mascara was CLASSIC!

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Thrillnetwork Moderator - Sophomore Original sn: CHILLERLC1
The 2010 TN Coaster Draft: Now Underway Round Three
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Awesome pictures. It's so depressing to see that. An awesome park just sitting there...rotting. And the sad part is. Is that its right by me.

I should ride by there one day before Carowinds and just look around.

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Element of Freedom - December 15th

I still remember actual media images of Tammy Faye Baker and her 500 lbs of makeup. And wasn't it Jim Baker that cried on the podium confessing that he had sinned to his congregation? Or was that someone else?

^^ No that was Jimmy Swaggert's famous "I have sinned!" speach.

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Intimidator Racing in to Carowinds 3/27/2010!