ANDERSON COUNTY — A new 1,200-acre development with roughly 1,000 homes is writing a new chapter in the history of this rural Upstate area, transforming farmland once owned by Revolutionary War Col. Robert Anderson — the county’s namesake — into a large suburban community.
The new chapter takes a step away from years of rural living and toward the sprawling development feeding the Upstate’s growth, a symbolic shift causing displeasure among some neighbors.
“It is incredibly, incredibly sad to see this property go down,” said Cindy Wilson, an Anderson County Council member who represents the area and lives nearby.
The land has been owned for generations by the Anderson family. Now, it will be sold to become a luxurious subdivision, according to plans approved by the Anderson County Planning Commission in July.
Yet Wilson said this might be the best option left after years of development interest.
Wilson said several different projects have been proposed for this property, which is prime real estate surrounding the Anderson Reservoir. It sits off Interstate 85, just 30 minutes from downtown Greenville and 20 minutes from downtown Anderson.
The latest idea, created by Greenville-based Dunean Capital Management, goes much further to preserve the interests and heritage of the area than previous proposals, Wilson said.
“You can tell I’m not happy with the development in our county, but obviously this proposal does seem to provide better assurance of quality and respect to the community,” she said.
Dunean Capital CEO Gaston Albergotti is a seventh-generation Anderson native. Growing up, he always knew about this historic property, he said. While he acknowledged community concerns, he said the company is committed to respecting the area’s heritage with its development.
“We understand, being local, what this property means. … And we think that this community will end up being something that (neighbors) really admire, that they enjoy living near,” he said.
Deep roots in South Carolina history
The property holds a special place in the history of Anderson County and Upstate South Carolina, mostly because of its association with Robert Anderson, for whom Anderson and Anderson County are named.
Anderson was a Virginia native who traveled to South Carolina sometime around the mid-1700s, according to the Anderson County Museum.
During the Revolutionary War, he joined the Patriot Army and served under Brig. Gen. Andrew Pickens. He fought at notable battles such as King’s Mountain, Cowpens and Eutaw Springs.
After the war, Anderson remained an influential figure. He was a general in the state militia and served in the S.C. Legislature.
When officials divided the far northwestern edge of the state into smaller counties in 1826, they chose Anderson and Pickens as the names of two.
Sometime around 1786, Robert Anderson purchased the land that is now on the verge of becoming the Upstate’s latest subdivision, according to Dustin Norris, curator at the Anderson County Museum.
At the time, the property was still the site of a stretch of the Cherokee Path, a centuries-old trading route used by Native Americans and settlers to travel between Charleston and the backcountry.
It’s not clear what happened on Anderson’s land since the end of the 1700s, but Norris said it would have likely been used for farming.
The fact that the land has remained in the Anderson family for so long makes it particularly significant, Norris said.
“The continual association with the family, it’s not something that you see very commonly anymore,” he said. “... It’s just hard to keep things like this together for a long time. That’s just incredible.”
Members of the family could not be reached for comment.
A luxury development on prime real estate
The new subdivision is a massive undertaking for Anderson County.
In some ways, the proposal reads like plans for a new town. Possible buildings include a fire station, elementary school, churches and medical facilities, among others. Twenty-six new roads are proposed, with names like Island Mist, Kayak Point and Yacht Club.
Some of the land will be divided into roughly 900 lots for neighborhood homes, but the majority will be reserved for as many as 135 large estates or farms, ranging from 1.5 to 15 acres.
Wilson said keeping so much of the property low-density is a big reason she feels more comfortable with this proposal than previous ones.
“It’s been a rogue's gallery of developers, and this particular one that barely passed is some fairly local young men, and they are proposing a far less dense development,” she said. “And it appears that they are far more respectful of the neighbors and the topography and the characteristics of the property.”
Albergotti said he understands the fear that the subdivision will harm the area, but he said the firm is working to make sure the project maintains as much of the area’s beauty and natural appeal as possible.
The subdivision's plans call for walking trails and green space that take advantage of the natural environment. Large estates will circle the northern half of the lake.
“Make no mistake, this means something to me,” he said. “This is not a get-rich-quick scheme. This is not an in-and-out, out-of-state development. This is hopefully part of my legacy.”
Albergotti said he expects the subdivision to appeal to affluent buyers, many of whom might be moving to South Carolina for the first time and looking for a slower pace of life with amenities close by.
The homes will be upwards of $500,000, he said. About two-thirds of the homes will be for people 55 or older.
Albergotti said he expects construction to be finished within 10 years.
There remain plenty of outstanding questions, however.
One of the biggest is how the influx of people will affect local services, particularly Anderson School District One.
A spokesperson for the district said in an emailed statement that the development would be a "significant financial burden.”
The district said it will have to buy more portable units to accommodate students as it tries to find funding to build a new school in the area. Finding that funding will take several years.
Albergotti said Dunean Capital is willing to contribute land or money for both a new school and a volunteer fire station, both of which officials say are necessary. What such an arrangement could look like remains unclear.
But Wilson said Dunean Capital has demonstrated that it’s willing to at least engage with local officials’ concerns.
“I’m very conflicted philosophically on this,” Wilson said. “It now comes down to choosing, with the circumstances that we have, the best plan, instead of waiting around.”
Seth Taylor covers Greenville and the Upstate for The Post and Courier. Born in Iowa, he worked in Wyoming at the Buffalo Bulletin before moving to the Palmetto State.