Petition challenging Aiken's Project Pascalis could have major impact on project

Aug. 19—The Do It Right Alliance's petition that could slow or stop the current plans for Project Pascalis has nearly 2,000 signatures.

The alliance held a petition signing event from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 13, at Woods Farm Market just off Silver Bluff Road. The event also featured a four-piece band and two food trucks (Lobster Dogs and Flanigan's Ice Cream).

Project Pascalis is the city's name for an estimated $75 million redevelopment project focused on the block bounded by Laurens Street, Richland Avenue, Newberry Street and Park Avenue in downtown Aiken.

Current plans call for the demolition of the vacant Hotel Aiken and a building next to it on Laurens Street and the construction of a 100-room hotel in their place. The Holley House and several buildings located between it and Newberry Street would be demolished to make way for an apartment complex and a parking garage. The city's former municipal building would be expanded into a conference center.

So far, the Aiken City Council has voted to conditionally convey part of Newberry Street to the project developers, RPM Development Partners, and to fund the Municipal Development Corporation's purchase of several downtown properties that are included in the current plans.

The Aiken Municipal Development Commission has purchased the properties and is exclusively negotiating with RPM regarding the project. And the Design Review Board has granted a conditional demolition permit for the Hotel Aiken.

South Carolina law provides the residents of a city the opportunity to propose an ordinance to the city in which they live. In order to do so, the residents wishing to propose an ordinance must get 15% of the total registered voters for the most recent city election to sign a petition.

The most recent election in Aiken was held in 2021 with 17,520 registered voters, so the alliance must get 2,628 signatures.

The Do It Right Alliance's petition proposes four ordinances to the Aiken City Council. Those ordinances include abolishing the Aiken Municipal Development Commission; prohibiting the closure of any part of Newberry Street; granting historic landmark status to the C.C. Johnson Pharmacy, Hotel Aiken and the city's street grid; and making sure the city follows its own rules related to design guidelines.

Tom Carter signed the petition at Saturday's event.

He said the proposed project stunk to high heaven and that the proposal would destroy downtown Aiken.

"No. 3, we've got the prettiest street in town that they're going to give away in Newberry [Street]," Carter said. "We don't need 117 apartments downtown."

He said his main issue wasn't with the hotel ("They can do whatever they want to do with the hotel," he said.) but with the rest of the project. Carter said it was a big overreach for the city.

He also said he felt there was too much interaction between certain people involved in the project.

Debbie Brown said she organized the signing event Saturday.

She said the alliance is trying to obtain 3,500 signatures, and around 2,000 people had signed the petition so far.

Brown said she became involved with the Do It Right Alliance after reading a Facebook article regarding historic preservation in the city. Brown said she attended a March meeting of the Aiken City Council and spoke.

"As these controversial things began to come up, I paid more attention and began to let other people know and to come to council meetings," Brown said at around 10:30 a.m. Saturday.

Brown also went through all the comments made by the public at an Aiken Downtown Development Association-hosted event to solicit comments on the current proposed designs for the project and sorted them into four categories: like, don't like, maybe and ideas.

In her opinion, 69% of the comments received fit into the don't like category, she said.

Brown also said she felt the project would change the character of the city's downtown area.

"The architecture that we've been shown is really formula," Brown continued. "It's really generic. It's a conglomeration of a whole bunch of styles that don't communicate anything about Aiken's character or Aiken's history."

The Do It Right Alliance was formed this spring and began making plans for a petition shortly after its formation.

Anne Torreyson was volunteering at the Saturday event and said she signed the petition when it first came out.

She said she signed the petition after her experience at a city meeting on the project.

"I was at the first meeting that was so badly run and insulted people and was not interested in hearing other sides," Torreyson said. "They had already decided they were going to do what they're going to do and had gotten involved into things they probably shouldn't have."

Sally Stroker was another volunteer at the event Saturday.

She said she became involved in the Do It Right Alliance after reading about the Project Pascalis proposal. Stroker said she felt the proposal would change the character of the city's downtown.

Tori McQuinn and Harrison Howell also are involved with the Do It Right Alliance. They've both written letters to the editor, and McQuinn has worked to help the group get its message across.

"We recently bought a house close to downtown; and, at first, we were just concerned with the fact that they were going to build a conference center as part of the project," McQuinn said.

"And that would close The Alley for a couple of years [during construction]," Howell added.

They also said they were concerned about being able to walk their dogs downtown during the construction and for the businesses that would be impacted by the plans.

Some Aiken businesses offer people visiting their businesses the chance to sign the petition. Those businesses include Equine Devine (126 Laurens St.), the Carriage House Inn (139 Laurens St.), Little Red Fox Shop (109 Laurens St.), Woods Farm Market (7000 Woodside Executive Court), Hairknowledgy (217 Park Ave.), Art & Soul (208 The Alley SW) and Gallery J Salon (202 The Alley SW).

People looking to sign the petition can also do so at Amp the Alley and the Aiken County Farmers Market.

Anne Thomasson, owner of the Carriage House Inn, said she had been told that she would benefit from the project but was willing to forego those benefits to preserve the city's character.

She said she had worked to restore an opera house, a barn and a bank building and that historical preservation was one of her hobbies.

"You just can't tear down and put up new," Thomasson said.

Joy Mason, owner of Little Red Fox Shop, said she and her husband have owned six houses — several were built in the late 1800s and early 1900s — and have done major renovations in all but one of those.

"We are very much for renovations, but we also love to save the original as much as possible," Mason said in an emailed statement. "You just cannot get the same kind of charm that the houses and buildings have from that point in time. It's just not feasible! So, I am joining the movement for 'Do It Right!' in order to preserve some beautiful craftsmanship and maintain the originality of our city."

Mason said she understands that preserving the Hotel Aiken, even if just the shell, wouldn't be as financially exciting as putting up something new with a quicker turnaround, but she believes it to be the best.

"There is still a lot of money to be made there," she said. "We are not asking people to do what we have not done on our own. The building that Little Red Fox Shop is in is a gorgeous, 100-plus-year-old building that our land lady has kept in its original style."

Mason added she did not think the current plans fit Aiken.

If the petition gains enough signatures, the next step will be for the city's six-member election commission to verify that there are enough signatures from people who live within the city.

From there, the ordinances will be proposed to the city council for action.

Tim O'Briant, economic development director for the city and executive director of the Aiken Municipal Development Commission, said Aiken's residents have every right to participate in the democratic process and that the city will wait to see what it is presented.

If the members of Aiken City Council approve the proposed ordinances, the plans for Project Pascalis would need to be redrawn to potentially include a preserved Hotel Aiken, C.C. Johnson Pharmacy and Newberry Street.

If the city council doesn't pass the ordinances or it passes a version that's been substantially changed from the original form, the ordinance as originally proposed would go before the voters in an election to be held between 30 days after the city's final vote and one year after the final vote.

For more information on Project Pascalis, visit aikenmdc.org.

For more information on the Do It Right Alliance's petition, visit the Do It Right Alliance's Facebook page. It can be found by searching Do It Right.