Did discrimination by Richland County kill mall redevelopment? Lawsuit says yes
A Columbia church is suing Richland County, claiming that religious discrimination in how the county divided up funds led to the death of its efforts to redevelop Dutch Square Mall.
Word of God Church and Ministries International filed the suit in federal court Sept. 30 after they claim a county council member told them she wouldn’t consider their proposal because it was made by a church.
The church says in the lawsuit that it was in negotiations to purchase the old mall in 2023, hoping to revitalize the area and provide new services to the community.
“The plan that was developed included a film and live arts theater and convention center, a technological innovation center, a film and animation production studio, school of animation, hotels, restaurants and retail,” the church said in filing the suit.
First opening in 1970, the shopping complex, which sits just off Interstates 26 and 20 where the two highways meet near Columbia, was the city’s first large, suburban indoor mall.
But, like many malls, it has struggled to retain national tenants in recent years and has numerous empty storefronts. It was dealt another blow earlier this year when Bow Tie Cinemas, which replaced the longtime AMC movie theater that helped anchor the mall, shuttered its Dutch Square location.
Conversations with Richland County
Purchasing the Dutch Square property would have cost the church about $14 million, and would have generated tax revenue for local government as well as places for the community to enjoy.
“Importantly, the project Plaintiffs sought to propose included no places of worship nor any areas from which any non-religious members of the Richland County community would be excluded nor any places for religious activity,” the suit says.
Word of God won a commitment of $2 million toward completing the project from the city of Columbia. But they got a different response from Richland County when they sought funding from the county council.
The church says in its suit that it was told it would have to approach Councilwoman Allison Terracio because the project would be in her council district, before they could bring the proposal to the full council.
But a recorded Nov. 30, 2023 Zoom call between church leaders and Terracio did not go the way church leaders wanted when the councilwoman expressed concern about the county funding a church project, the lawsuit claims.
“Why am I sort of being approached from the Church ... aspect,” the suit quotes Terracio as saying. “Like, why is the Church approaching us, why are you as the Bishop approaching us, why are we not being approached by some other entity that is seeking funding?”
“Can you just imagine, if you’re sitting in my spot, why that, to me, would seem problematic?” she said.
Word of God Bishop Eric Davis asked Terracio, “Just to be clear, it means that you, as our councilmember, we can’t solicit or enlist your support, we’ve got to find other ways to do it, because you hold that premise?”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I would say that’s - - that’s true,” Terracio said.
Church says it was never allowed to pitch
The lawsuit says the church tried to go around Terracio and get a chance to pitch their plan to the rest of county council, but said they were blocked, even as other council members privately told them they supported the plan.
“Plaintiffs were denied even the opportunity to present the proposal to the Council during public Council meeting, an opportunity any other non-religious citizen would be granted, for the sole and explicit reason that Plaintiffs are a church, its Bishop and entities affiliated with said church,” the suit says.
The lawsuit claims that the planned purchase of Dutch Square Mall eventually fell through when Word of God couldn’t come up with an alternative funding source. The suit claims religious discrimination and violation of their First and Fourteenth Amendment rights to equal protection of the laws, that a religious organization has the same right to apply for funding as any other community group.
In fact, the suit filed by attorneys James Griffin, Gerald Malloy and Francois Blaudeau found that county attorney Patrick Wright had addressed Terracio’s concern at a previous county council meeting where Word of God had applied for funding for another project.
“County Attorney Wright, publicly and on the record, stated to Councilmember Terracio and the rest of the Council that this would not be an appropriate reason for rejecting the request due to the unconstitutional nature of Councilmember Terracio’s concern,” the suit says, citing the minutes of the July 12, 2022, county meeting.
The church claims an opinion they solicited from the South Carolina Attorney General’s Office also supports their interpretation of the law. The State reached out to Terracio for comment on the lawsuit, but did not receive a response before publication.
Word of God seeks compensatory and punitive damages at trial.
“Plaintiffs herein also wish to participate in the future, without discrimination, in Richland County programs or opportunities that align with Plaintiffs’ community and economic development goals for the betterment of Richland County,” the lawsuit says.
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