|
Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...
|
by JENN WOOD
***
Just weeks after Clemson University publicly denied any involvement with the controversial Newry Mill housing project in the South Carolina Upstate, newly-released emails obtained through a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request paint a very different picture — one indicating active coordination between the university’s senior leadership, United Homes Group (UHG) and its subsidiaries on a sprawling development that could reshape Oconee County’s landscape.
Oconee County Council chairman Matthew Durham — whose independent investigation has driven much of the scrutiny — published portions of the first 175 emails on Facebook late Wednesday, saying they “directly contradict Clemson’s public statements.”
“They show in-depth planning, active discussions, site visits, and strategic coordination between Clemson University leadership and United Homes Group/Great Southern Homes,” Durham wrote. “And you know what we don’t find in the emails? Clemson saying they weren’t interested in the project. In fact, the emails reveal the opposite.”
***
***
Among the most revealing exchanges are messages between Clemson senior vice president of external affairs Angie Leidinger and Great Southern Homes executives Chandler Coggeshall and John West.
In one December 21, 2023 email thread, Coggeshall forwarded development decks and maps titled “Proximity of Clemson to West Clemson Property” and “Discovery Park District at Purdue”, inviting Clemson officials to join UHG on a January 18 site visit to Purdue University.
Leidinger circulated those materials internally on January 2, 2024, noting that she had been asked to join a call with “the principals of Great Southern Homes (aka Michael Nieri)” about “a future development they intend to pursue within close proximity to the University.”
She added pointedly, “because the President sits on the Board of Great Southern Homes’ parent company, he has asked not to be involved, however, does have an awareness of the opportunity.”
***
***
That single sentence undercuts Clemson’s earlier public narrative — which focused on denying institutional involvement — by confirming that the school’s president (and former UHG board member) James P. Clements was personally aware of the proposal.
The thread also showed Leidinger coordinating with chief financial officer Rick Petillo, assistant vice president for real estate strategy Laura Stoner, chief of staff Max Allen, and senior vice president Tony Wagner — all of whom were copied on the exchange.
By January 7, 2024, Leidinger confirmed internally that Petillo and Stoner would represent the university on the trip, telling UHG that she would be unable to attend because of another leadership meeting. Leidinger, of interest, is Clemson’s top lobbyist before the S.C. General Assembly – a position which requires her word to count for something with state lawmakers, staffers and executive branch officials.
Can that word be trusted any longer?
With the university already on thin ice with lawmakers over its budgetary issues and escalating wokeness, it needs a government relations team that’s going to shoot straight with state leaders – not feed them easily disprovable lies.
Speaking of institutional deception, the tone of the communications leaves little doubt about the level of enthusiasm inside both camps. In internal Clemson summaries and forwarded notes, the project is described as “an exciting project,” a venue for “strategic and innovative thoughts,” and “a special project in the Upstate.”
Durham said those phrases “don’t sound like a routine review — they sound like a partnership forming in real time.”
***
RELATED | TIGER BY THE TAIL
***
CONTRADICTING PUBLIC STATEMENTS
Clemson’s October 30 statement to Upstate Today asserted the university had “not provided funding for, partnered on, or endorsed the planning or construction of any residential development related to this proposal,” calling claims of involvement “false and misrepresentative.”
Yet the FOIA records revealed university officials actively coordinating with UHG and Great Southern Homes for months — discussing layouts, density, and phasing, and planning a joint visit to study Purdue’s Discovery Park District as a model.
“These aren’t passive communications,” Durham said. “These are working meetings with Clemson’s CFO, real-estate strategy head, and trustees looped in. The idea that this was a simple ‘review’ doesn’t hold water anymore.”
In addition to exposing the school’s blatant misrepresentations, Durham also used the occasion to push back on developer Mark Hart’s recent media appearances defending the Newry plan.
In a November 2024 email to Clemson leadership — now part of the FOIA batch — Hart wrote: “Sneak peek: Phase 1 has 430 units of workforce housing — single family, duplexes, and multifamily — adjacent to Newry.”
***
That figure contradicts Hart’s public claim that Phase 1 would contain “under 400” units.
Durham countered Hart’s latest statement calling Oconee’s Control-Free District a “wild west for development.”
“The zoning classification may be called ‘control-free,’ but it’s not law-free,” Durham said. “It caps density at four units per acre on sewer and two on septic. Those are enforceable limits — not suggestions.”
Durham drew parallels between UHG’s shifting narratives in Oconee County and Hart’s previous role in the failed Carolina Panthers headquarters and practice facility project in Rock Hill, S.C. – which ended in bankruptcy and lawsuits.
“Every time new information comes out, the story changes. Every time a question is asked, the answer shifts. But the paper trail doesn’t lie,” Durham said. “And this is only Batch #1 of the Clemson FOIA emails. More is coming.”
***
RELATED | TRANSPARENCY TURBULENCE: CLEMSON FACES NEW QUESTIONS
***
THE BIGGER PICTURE
Taken together, the emails add another chapter to a controversy that already includes a 2017 Clemson University Foundation land sale to Nieri near the South Carolina Botanical Garden, corporate board ties between Clemson’s president and UHG, and a private jet trip to Purdue University.
Durham says he plans to continue releasing each FOIA batch publicly.
“Sunlight is the only way to keep these deals honest,” he said. “The public deserves to see what Clemson was really doing behind closed doors.”
As additional documents surface — and as Clemson, UHG, and county leaders respond to mounting scrutiny — FITSNews will continue to follow every development in this fast-moving story.
***
ABOUT THE AUTHOR …
As a private investigator turned journalist, Jenn Wood brings a unique skill set to FITSNews as its research director. Known for her meticulous sourcing and victim-centered approach, she helps shape the newsroom’s most complex investigative stories while producing the FITSFiles and Cheer Incorporated podcasts. Jenn lives in South Carolina with her family, where her work continues to spotlight truth, accountability, and justice.
***
WANNA SOUND OFF?
Got something you’d like to say in response to one of our articles? Or an issue you’d like to address proactively? We have an open microphone policy! Submit your letter to the editor (or guest column) via email HERE. Got a tip for a story? CLICK HERE. Got a technical question or a glitch to report? CLICK HERE.
2 comments
Need a federal criminal investigation by agents and a prosecutor from OUTSIDE of SC.
Using Clemson equipment and offices for illegal financial gain, too? Is Clemson’s general counsel that gives advice to these high level staff members enwined in collusion, too?
All of this smells terribly bad of white collar criminal activity..
These emails do not say what you say they say.