Aiken County’s deal to sell the old Aiken County Hospital to Tracey Turner still is waiting to be finalized.
The closing that was scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the office of Aiken attorney Brad Boni didn’t happen.
“Still working out a few issues,” wrote Aiken County Administrator Brian Saunders in a text message late Wednesday morning. “Closing is now tentatively set for Monday. No time set yet though.”
The deadline to complete the sale is March 31, but “the contract specifies it can go to the next business day, which would be April 1,” said County Council Chairman Gary Bunker in a telephone interview.
“The parties are shooting for Monday, April 1,” he added.
Bunker said the source of his information was County Attorney Brad Farrar.
Last year, Turner entered into an agreement to purchase the old hospital and the 9.44-acre tract on which it stands for $950,000.
A native of Aiken County, Turner is the CEO and owner of Washington, D.C.-based Turner Development LLC.
The Aiken Standard reported last week that Turner is facing foreclosure on his Weeping Willows project in the North Augusta area that would include stores and more than 400 residential lots.
Fuse 10 LLC, which loaned Turner and his company $1 million to purchase former farm properties for Weeping Willows, filed a lawsuit against them March 15 in the Court of Common Pleas in Aiken County.
According to the legal action, Turner and his company failed to pay back most of the money after receiving extensions.
Fuse 10 is a Delaware company that is a subsidiary of the Fuse Group, a real estate lender based in South Florida.
Turner has a pattern of entering into short-term, high-interest loans to fund projects, according to Aiken Standard research.
Built prior to World War II and listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the old hospital is at 828 Richland Ave. West in Aiken.
After it ceased to be a medical facility, the old hospital served for a time as Aiken County government’s headquarters. But it no longer was needed for that purpose after the Aiken County Government Center opened on University Parkway in Aiken in 2014.
Turner said last year he wants to put luxury condominiums in the old hospital, a three-story, 66,072-square foot brick structure that currently is vacant.
Other plans for the property Turner has discussed publicly include the construction of townhomes, apartments, several commercial buildings and a 41,000-square-foot office building.
Since 2018, the county has failed to finalize three other deals to sell the old hospital. The prospective buyers were Aiken Lofts Manager LLC, WTC Investments LLC and The Marian Group.
