Investment group to sell land in Snee Farm

REAL ESTATE

A group of New Jersey investors is selling 20 acres of land in Mount Pleasant's Snee Farm subdivision for $3.95 million. And it comes with a high profile and contentious history for free.

The land was once earmarked for the I'On Group's Snee Farm Village project, which was to have about 60 homes. The development would have been built in neo-traditional style with narrow streets and small lot sizes, similar to the company's flagship project off Mathis Ferry Road.

But some residents argued that the style would have clashed with the existing Snee Farm neighborhood, an older subdivision with sprawling yards.

One resident even filed a lawsuit, claiming that deed restrictions required the land to remain recreational open space.

That pending litigation is why the I'On Group dropped its contract to develop the project earlier this year, said founder Vince Graham.

He added that the company wanted to focus on existing projects such as Mixson in North Charleston and Morris Square in downtown Charleston during the slower market.

In an e-mail, Graham said the company "continues to think the property provides a great in-fill development opportunity and hope to be involved one day."

County records show that the 20 acres is part of a larger tract comprised mostly of Snee Farm's golf course. The investment group bought the property in 2002 for $2.4 million.

Scolded

Following widespread outrage over Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae's political payouts, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) has introduced a bill that would ban political spending on behalf of government-sponsored enterprises.

Shortly after the federal government announced that it would extend support to the mortgage insurance giants, news reports came out that the groups contributed heavily to campaigns and hired lobbyists despite their financial hardship.

Freddie and Fannie have donated substantial amounts of money to presidential nominees Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.), both through their political action committee and employees.

Following the outrage, the agencies broke ties with more than two dozen of their top lobbying officials. And DeMint introduced a bill to that would prohibit government-sponsored enterprises from "making lobbying expenditures, political contributions, or other certain contributions," according to the bill text.

It's unclear how successful DeMint's bill will be in Congress. More than three weeks after its introduction, the bill has attracted only three co-sponsors: Sen. Elizabeth Dole (R-N.C.), Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) and Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.).

Diamond time

William Means Real Estate is celebrating its 75th anniversary. The firm, which is affiliated with Christie's Great Estates, opened in 1933 on Broad Street, close to its current location at 41 Broad.

Its 26 real estate agents specialize in luxury properties on the area's barrier islands and historic homes in downtown Charleston.

Last year, it opened a second location in Mount Pleasant.