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$20 million bond issue to pay for Ashley Hall project
By Scott Miller
Staff Writer
The S.C. Jobs-Economic Development Authority has issued $20 million in tax-exempt bonds to help Ashley Hall school expand its nearly century-old campus in Charleston.
The bond proceeds will help the school carry out its long-range master plan, which includes the construction of buildings to house new programs and handle growth in the student population.
The S.C. Budget and Control Board issued the bonds in December, said Elliott Franks, president and CEO of the S.C. Jobs-Economic Development Authority, or JEDA, which administers the bond program.
Officials with Ashley Hall did not return telephone messages. Cindy Hay Johnson, the school’s director of advancement, said the board of trustees directed staff not to talk about the pending request for bonds. She later referred all questions to Jill Muti, head of the school. Muti and board President Karen Phillips did not return calls.
The total cost of the school’s long-range plan, which could span more than a decade, is unknown, and it’s uncertain what the bond proceeds will cover.
Founded in 1909, Ashley Hall is a private, all-girls school on 4.5 acres at Rutledge Avenue and Radcliffe Street.
JEDA provides tax-exempt bonds to 501(c)(3) organizations, including educational institutions and health care providers. The $20 million bonds were issued to the nonprofit Ashley Hall Foundation, formed in 1949 to purchase the school from its founder, Mary Vardrine McBee.
The JEDA tax-exempt bonds, also available to manufacturers and solid-waste disposal facilities, provide financing at subprime rates.
The money will help fund the school’s long-range master plan, which accounts for an expansion of programs and the anticipated growth of the school’s 640-plus student population. The school expects the student population to increase 12% in the next three years.
The construction plan calls for several new buildings:
• A 10,000-square-foot health center at Smith and Radcliffe streets.
• A 17,600-square-foot athletics complex next to the health center.
• A 40,000-square-foot three-story arts center near Jenkins Hall with room for art, music, theater and dance.
• An 18,000-square-foot three-story media commons with library and science facilities also near Jenkins Hall.
• An 11,000-square-foot early education center on Rutledge Avenue.
Shepley Bulfinch Richardson and Abbott, a 133-year-old architecture firm based in Boston, began designing the project in January 2006. Former Charleston resident Sandy Howe serves as principal designer on the project.
The firm must blend new buildings with Charleston’s architectural history.
The Charleston Board of Architectural Review already granted approval for the school’s first construction project, the three-story media center. The time line for construction is unknown, however, and renovation of existing space takes precedence, according to the master plan documents on the school’s Web site, www.ashleyhall.org.
Buildings to be renovated include Ingram Hall, Pierce Dining Hall, the Lane Hall Intermediate School, Jenkins Hall Upper School and Davies Auditorium.
Scott Miller is a staff writer for the Business Journal. E-mail him at smiller@setcommedia.com.
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