William Ellis McLeod passed away at the age of 105 in the same room he was born in. In his will, he left his interest in the plantation to the Historic Charleston Foundation (HCF), with the stipulation that it be preserved as a "single family residence, to preserve the Oak Avenues, and to provide that as much of the property as possible be restricted to single family residence or residences having the lowest possible density" (p.5 will). They accepted the plantation with responsibility of maintaining the property with the desire to see it open to the public. One of the most daunting tasks they have had to face with this endeavor is how to pay for the enormous expense involved with the restoration and maintenance of such a property. At one point, a group that wanted to turn the plantation into a living history museum and restore the site was turned down. After much consideration, they felt that a start up school called the American College of the Building Arts would be the best option for seeing the property cared for as well as opening it up to the public. We however, disagree with this plan as it would call for turning the main house into office space and require the construction of 60,000 square feet of classroom space on the property. There are major concerns from the neighborhoods that surround the plantation as well, most notably Dogwood Park. Dogwood Park is located to the east of the plantation and will be the most impacted by the construction of a school. Concerns about traffic congestion on the streets of this otherwise quiet neighborhood have surfaced since it is not likely that an entrance and an exit would be permitted on Folly Rd.

We don't have any problem with American College of the Building Arts developing into a school, we just want to preserve the integrity of the plantation itself. We don't believe a school would be an appropriate use for a historic place like McLeod Plantation. First, by constructing 60,000 square feet of classrooms, work shops, support buildings, parking lots, etc. (See site plan), they would most certainly have to build over the many unmarked graves and artifacts left over from centuries of settlement. Second, by turning the main house into office space, one has to wonder how this opens it up to the public. When was the last time you went for a stroll through the administrative offices of the Citadel or the College of Charleston? Third what does construction of this magnitude do to the rapidly disappearing green space of James Island? If the school were to fail would they remove all of these buildings? Our goal and the goal of many others is to see the plantation kept intact and not cut up into pieces as the school would propose.

The Friends of McLeod, Inc. is coordinating other options to purchase, restore, and maintain this valuable historic asset and make the property accessible to the public. We believe the economic value to this area as a tourist attraction is far greater than an industrial school. As one can see by looking at the Charleston Area Visitor Industry Impact Overview at pressomatic.com/charlestonchamber/upload/VisIndustryFacts.pdf, the top 2 reasons why people visit Charleston are touring/sightseeing and visiting historic attractions. As stated in the report, the number one asset of Charleston is history/historic places! So why not keep it as a historic attraction where visitors can see one of the only intact plantations of its kind?