A North Augusta landmark with a colorful past could have a promising future.
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North Augusta officials are exploring the possibility of purchasing the Palmetto Lodge, the site of the former Seven Gables restaurant and motel on Georgia Avenue.
Preston Sparks/File
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City officials are exploring the possibility of purchasing the Palmetto Lodge, the site of the former Seven Gables restaurant and motel on Georgia Avenue.
"The No. 1 goal would be the preservation of a significant landmark for the city of North Augusta," said Charles Martin, the city administrator.
The vacant property, which was purchased at auction for $400,000 by Cecil and Herbert Barnes in late 2000, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. A covenant, which was executed at the time of the transaction, stipulates that the lodge remain as a National Register-listed facility.
Seven Gables was built in 1903 as a hunting lodge for wealthy patrons of the Hampton Terrace Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1917.
In the late 1980s, the FBI investigated allegations that the restaurant, then known as the Buffalo Room, barred service to blacks. U.S. Treasury officials seized the property in a plea agreement in 1999 when former owner Randy Salter was convicted in a Texas federal court of conspiring to distribute marijuana.
The restaurant was closed for two years before the Barnes family purchased it.
According to city documents, the estate of Cecil H. Barnes Sr. is asking $650,000 for the property. Renovations to the three-story building and parking lot, in addition to demolition of a dilapidated motel at the rear of the lodge, would increase the total costs to $862,000.
North Augusta officials are considering several possibilities for the use of the lodge that occupies the nearly two-acre site.
The city could lease the building to the Cultural Arts and Heritage councils. While these agencies support the city's acquisition of the property, Mr. Martin said, members of both organizations have indicated that it would be difficult to retrofit the space to meet their needs.
The city also could lease the property as a restaurant to a private individual.
Mr. Martin said the city's interest in the property was not prompted by a particular incident.
"We've had an interest off and on over the years since it's been on the market," he said.
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