A 3,492-acre tract between DeBordieu Colony and Prince George that was zoned two decades ago for thousands of homes, office towers and a resort hotel is instead headed toward permanent conservation, after state lawmakers approved funds for what's being described as a $121.5 million purchase. No construction had ever broken ground on the long-planned development.
According to Coastal Observer, the Joint Bond Review Committee approved transferring $118 million from the Resilience Acquisition Fund to the State Conservation Bank, which will provide an additional $3.5 million toward the purchase. The state still requires additional approvals before the deal is completed, and the Office of Resilience had appraised the property at $130 million. The tract, known as Arcadia East, is owned by the heirs of the late Lucille V. Pate, and state lawmakers have required public access to the property and its half mile of beach as a condition of the deal.
South Carolina Office of Resilience official Ben Duncan said public access will be required, the Coastal Observer reported. The property's conservation value goes beyond its shoreline: Duncan separately told the Open Space Institute that the tract's significant natural flood protection benefits will create stronger, safer communities. The Department of Natural Resources is expected to manage Arcadia East as a heritage preserve, per the Coastal Observer's reporting.
A Property Zoned for Thousands of Homes That Never Got Built
Arcadia East sits along the east side of U.S. Highway 17 between DeBordieu Colony and the Prince George community, as WPDE reported. Georgetown County zoned the property in 2002 for over 2,400 residential units and a 500-room resort hotel with retail and office space, according to the Coastal Observer's account, though other historical records describe the scale of the plan differently — a 2002 Chicago Tribune report put the project at 3,392 single-family and multifamily homes with 1.26 million square feet of office space and 400,000 square feet of commercial space, while the Coastal Observer itself has also cited a 2,451-dwelling approval alongside the same 500-room hotel. The earlier plan also envisioned a golf course community, a retirement village, a corporate park and a village center, per the Coastal Observer's reporting. Whatever the exact figures, it was conceived as a 30-year undertaking, and no construction ever started.
A separate Post and Courier editorial notes the land has been zoned for intense development for two decades, zoning that would allow about 3,400 homes and roughly 1.2 million square feet of office space. The same editorial points out that the Pate and Balding families have owned the property since 1906. Open Space Institute has called Arcadia East the largest remaining undeveloped oceanfront property believed to exist in South Carolina.
Wetlands, Dunes and a Plan to Keep the Highway Pressure Off DeBordieu
The tract contains roughly 3,492 acres between Highway 17 and the ocean, with 2,200 feet of beachfront between Prince George and DeBordieu, the Coastal Observer reported. Per the same account, Arcadia East is about three-quarters wetlands, and preserving those wetlands is expected to help reduce flooding, while the half mile of beach and its established dune system would provide storm protection. The tract also currently receives agriculture property tax credits, according to the outlet's reporting.
Open Space Institute describes the land as containing maritime forests, pine flatwoods habitat, freshwater wetlands and Atlantic shoreline. It sits adjacent to the nearly 4,000-acre Arcadia West property — itself already protected through conservation easements the Balding-Pate family placed in 2007 and 2015, according to a Van Sant Realty Group account — and north of the 16,000-acre Hobcaw Barony research reserve, which hosts research facilities operated by Clemson University and the University of South Carolina, per the Coastal Observer. Clemson has discussed doing research at Arcadia East as well, the outlet reported.
Local Officials Sign Off, But the Access Plan Isn't Finalized
Georgetown County Council has endorsed the sale, as has the Georgetown County Board of Education, according to the Coastal Observer. WPDE reported separately that the County Council unanimously approved a resolution supporting acquisition and permanent protection of the roughly 3,492-acre tract. The Van Sant Realty Group account adds that county officials have framed permanent protection as a way to avoid the burden major development could place on Highway 17 while protecting the property's coastline, wetlands and wildlife habitat.
Luke Allen said the property will be made as open to the public as possible, though he added that the access plan is still being worked out, according to the Coastal Observer. A planned highway entrance to Arcadia East is expected to be located so it does not impact the DeBordieu or Prince George developments, the outlet reported. Tom Mullikin is expected to ensure Arcadia East will be open to the public, per the same reporting.
Financing Still Hinges on Federal Grants and a Phased Purchase
Under the structure described by the Coastal Observer, the State Conservation Bank will loan the $121.5 million purchase price to the Open Space Institute and Ducks Unlimited, which are expected to close the sale by the end of 2026 and manage the property while the Department of Natural Resources seeks federal grants. DNR has applied for $16 million in federal grants, the outlet reported, though the agency can complete the purchase without them. The purchase is expected to occur in phases to maximize grant opportunities, and DNR must return to the board for approval as it begins acquiring the land.
That financing path lines up with what WPDE described as a broader framework: Ducks Unlimited and the Open Space Institute would acquire and temporarily hold Arcadia East while state funding and approvals are finalized, before transferring it to a state partner for permanent protection. WPDE's reporting put the expected completion of the acquisition in early 2027, if it passes the remaining state review process — a timeline that sits alongside the Coastal Observer's reporting of a possible close by the end of 2026. The Department of Natural Resources is working with the conservation groups on future stewardship and public-use plans for the property, Open Space Institute reported.
