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© 2025 www.savannahnow.com

A major housing project between Santee and Vance was scaled down after planning hurdles and shifting demand for single-family homes.

ORANGEBURG COUNTY, S.C. — A new housing project is set to transform a 221-acre stretch of land off Old Number Six Highway, located between Santee and Vance, into a residential development. The development will bring 600 new homes to the area.

BRD Land and Investment submitted plans to the county's Planning and Zoning Commission for the project. In 2023, the company had proposed building 700 homes, including around 100 townhomes. However, the county has approved a slightly reduced number of homes, following adjustments by the developer and challenges during the planning process.

Preston McClun, with the county's Zoning and Planning Office, explained that the developer found more interest in single-family homes rather than townhouses and other reasons.

"I believe that they saw more interest for the single-family residential houses and not townhouses, and they also ran into an eagle’s nest back up the property that they had to lose a couple of lots for," McClun said.

Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Young said that the county is poised for continued growth, and housing development is necessary to accommodate future needs.

“Charleston, Summerville, Dorchester, and all those areas have seen explosions and growth to the point that the price going in the land is, and the availability of it, is in short supply. " Young said. "At the end of the day, Orangeburg County has 1,100 square miles and a lot of rural territory that's undeveloped, so the developers have seen that if they come to Orangeburg County, they can find the right price point for the land as well as the land to do development.”

McClun explained that before a subdivision can be approved, it must meet all county ordinances, zoning requirements, and engineering and permitting standards.

“So, the only time a subdivision is approved by the counties is if it meets all minimum standards of county ordinances, including the zoning ordinance and the subdivision land regulations," McClun said. "If the developer is able to show that they meet all engineering requirements, permitting requirements, and the property is suitable for it, like zoning allows for it, they will have their subdivision approved.”

News 19 also reached out to the developer for comment but did not hear back before our deadline.

COLUMBIA, S.C. (WCSC) - For South Carolinians who want to press their luck and win big, the lottery is their only option.

Those who want to take a spin on the slot machines, roll the dice in a casino, or bet on sports legally have to travel to other states, with nearly all forms of gambling illegal in the Palmetto State.

But, efforts to expand gambling in South Carolina are getting more attention right now at the State House than they have in a while, including a push to develop the state’s first casino.

“There’s no time like the present, but more importantly, the jobs can’t wait, and the area really needs it,” Santee Developer Corporation owner Wallace Cheves said.

Cheves wants to build a casino on a 40-acre property at a former mall site in Santee in Orangeburg County, alongside Interstate 95.

He has already acquired the land and plans to start razing the old buildings soon to make way for a $1 billion project that would include the casino and a hotel, along with other features like a possible convention center.

“This is South Carolina-owned. I’m a native of South Carolina. We’re willing to invest our money in the project and not ask for any incentives,” Cheves said.

But for it, or any casino, to become a reality, state law needs to change.

A bipartisan bill filed in the House of Representatives would establish a state gaming commission that could license a casino to be built in counties along interstates and that have lower per capita incomes and higher unemployment rates, which includes Orangeburg County.

Meanwhile, senators are considering another bill that would legalize a narrow form of sports betting, specifically on live horse races using approving advanced deposit wagering apps.

“Not something in the past, not slot machines — this is just for the horse industry,” Sen. Michael Johnson, R – York and the bill’s lead sponsor, said.

Revenues would fund grants to support South Carolina’s equine industry, which some believe could generate more buy-in from those who might otherwise be hesitant to support gambling expansion.

It’s not enough to get Gov. Henry McMaster on board.

“Let’s find some other way to help that magnificent sport of horse racing,” McMaster recently told reporters. “Just find a way that doesn’t open the door to so many of the things that we do not want in South Carolina.”

To become law, these bills would need to get the signature of McMaster, a staunch, longtime gambling opponent, or garner enough support in the General Assembly to override a gubernatorial veto, which requires two-thirds of each body.

“Gambling is bad for our culture. It’s not a part of our heritage, and there are better ways to make money, to give jobs, to generate tax money, to generate a thriving economy, than gambling,” McMaster said.

For now, the horse betting bill remains in a Senate Finance subcommittee, while the casino bill has yet to get its first hearing in the House, so both are still a ways away from reaching the governor’s desk.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Gov. Henry McMaster is seeking to replace nearly half of Santee Cooper's board in a move that would usher out the five remaining directors who were helping steer the state-owned utility during the costly collapse of the V.C. Summer nuclear project.

His slate of six nominees was relayed in a message to the S.C. Senate on March 25.

McMaster's office said the "appointments are routine and will hopefully be confirmed by the Senate in a timely manner."

The proposed newcomers include former U.S. Rep. Jeff Duncan of Laurens and Robert Bolchoz, a Columbia lawyer who served for a year as chairman of the former S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control.

The others are Brian Frerichs, a financial planner from Sumter; James P. "Pat" Howle, retired CEO of Horry Electric Cooperative in Conway; Timothy M. Tilley, president of EnviroSep, a Georgetown engineering and manufacturing business; and Florence attorney Hugh L. Wilcox Jr.

They would replace directors Kristofer Clark, Stephen Mudge, Charles "Herb" Leaird, Dan Ray, David Singleton and Merrell W. Floyd. All of their terms have expired, according to Santee Cooper.

The governor appoints the 12 voting members of the 14-member board. Previously, McMaster installed Charleston attorney and former state lawmaker Peter McCoy as chairman in 2021, and he replaced several directors about two years ago.

The shakeup was spurred by Santee Cooper's decision in mid-2017 to abandon the partially finished expansion of the V.C. Summer Nuclear Station after years of delays and cost overruns in what is considered to be the biggest business bust in South Carolina history. Afterward, McMaster urged lawmakers to privatize and sell the power provider.

A reform bill passed in 2020 to tighten legislative oversight of the utility called for replacing all directors who had been appointed before 2018. The law also limited their terms to four years from seven and to three consecutive appointments.

Directors are allowed to stay on the board longer, either until they're reappointed or replaced.

The list of the six new nominees was referred Tuesday to the Senate Judiciary Committee.

S.C. Sen Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, said Wednesday that he respected McMaster's decision to replace the directors with expired terms. He estimated it could take a month or more before confirmation hearings are held.

McMaster also is asking to extend the terms of two newer Santee Cooper directors through 2029 — Charles Dalton of Greenville and Stacy Taylor of Chapin.

The governor's proposed boardroom changes in Moncks Corner follow his recent endorsement of the utility's decision to seek investors interested in completing the two unfinished reactors at V.C. Summer.

The deadline for responses is May 5.

ORANGEBURG, S.C. (WACH) — Developers are planning to put a casino in the Midlands as soon as it is legal to do so.

Right now, the state is the only entity profiting from gaming through the lottery, State Rep Todd Rutherford says it's time that changed.

This isn't about gaming; this is simply about freedom.

"Right now, people pack up on their church buses and they go up to Cherokee, North Carolina, to the casino, they spend their money. South Carolina gets no benefit from that."

The I-95 Economic and Education stimulus act could legalize South Carolina's first casino.

READ MORE New Bill could pave way for South Carolina's first casino

The push comes as a private company, Santee Development Corporation, has already drawn up the plans, and bought the land along Interstate 95.

In a statement to WACH Fox news, Santee Development said;

In addition to the $1 billion construction cost, independent economic projections estimate an $8 billion impact on South Carolina’s economy within the first 10 years, creating thousands of good-paying jobs, driving tourism, and expanding business opportunities for local communities.

We strongly believe that this investment should be driven by private enterprise, not taxpayer dollars, ensuring no financial risk to the public sector. That’s why we are fully committed to not seeking a single dime of local or state funding—whether through incentives, infrastructure, or other subsidies—if the General Assembly passes the necessary legislation and local support is secured for this carefully planned single-casino initiative.

As discussions move forward, we remain dedicated to transparency and collaboration with state leaders, local officials, and community stakeholders to ensure that this project benefits all South Carolinians,

said Wallace Cheves, the Principal for Santee Development.

With a development company already investing in property along a busy interstate, the question now is whether the states' strict gambling laws could eventually change to accommodate projects like this.

"This is a way to redo those areas and to provide for education, by way of scholarships and provide economic development. It's something this state needs, it is something these tier 4 counties need," said Todd Rutherford.

Lawmakers say the project would provide economic development not only for Orangeburg County, but the entire state

"We have hard hit counties; we have counties that need help and if we can shore up those counties using casinos as economic development, there's nothing wrong with doing that," said Rep. Rutherford. "The will is amongst the people that live here, that they want to do what they choose to do with their own money."