Heritage USA
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| Heritage USA | |
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| Type | Religious Theme Park & Christian Resort; Cable Television Network Broadcast & Production Facility |
| Founded | 1978 (closed 1989) |
| Headquarters | Fort Mill, South Carolina |
| Key people | Jim Bakker, Tammy Faye Bakker Messner |
| Industry | Amusement park & hotel operator; Cable television network |
| Employees | 2,500 |
| Parent | Heritage Village Church & Missionary Fellowship, Inc. |
Heritage USA is the now defunct 2,300 acre (9 km²) Christian theme park/water park/residential complex built in Fort Mill, South Carolina, USACoordinates: , by "PTL Club" founders televangelist Jim Bakker and Tammy Faye Bakker Messner.
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[edit] History
Heritage USA opened in 1978, and by 1986 was one of the top vacation destinations in the nation, behind only Walt Disney World and Disneyland, attracting nearly 6 million visitors annually and employing more than 2,000 people. However, after Jim Bakker's legal and personal troubles made headlines starting in 1987, Heritage USA closed.
Much of the park was built by noted church builder Roe Messner who later married Tammy Faye Bakker after her divorce from Jim Bakker.
The September 21, 1987 issue of Time Magazine noted that Jerry Falwell "plunged" down a 163-foot (50 m) "hellish" water slide in fulfillment to "a promise made during a fund-raising drive that netted $20 million for the debt-ridden PTL.".[1] This drive eventually took The PTL Club (PTL stood for both "Praise The Lord" and "People That Love") and Heritage USA from Jim Bakker.[1] It is noted that "Bakker arranged for Falwell to take over PTL in March in an effort to avoid what he called a "hostile takeover" of the television ministry by people threatening to expose a sexual encounter he admitted to having seven years earlier with church secretary Jessica Hahn."[2]
Photos circulated of the event of Typhoon waterslide at Heritage Island inside the Heritage theme park in which Falwell remained fully clothed. It was selected as "The Best of Photojournalism" in 1987 Pictures of the Year book presented by the National Press Photographers Association.[3] In September 1999, The Associated Press selected it as one of the top 100 national photos of the century.[4]
In the midst of Heritage USA's high point, which earned $126 million a year, the IRS revoked the tax exemption. Soon after Bakker's federal indictment and public condemnation over his sexual affair, attendance dropped at Heritage. Falwell argued "PTL's Heritage USA complex in Fort Mill, S.C., was competing unfairly against tax-paying tourist attractions, and that the tax-exempt ministry should be separated from the running of hotels and amusement parks."[5] Under Falwell's leadership, Heritage USA sought "Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection with debts estimated at $72 million."[6]
The 165,000 people who gave $1,000 to Jim Bakker's planned Heritage USA hotel tower in return for promised four-day vacation stays received $6.54 each.[7] Pictures of the park (including the water-park Heritage Island) remain accessible online and over the years projects have been constructed on the vast lands of the former Christian-theme park.[8]
[edit] Redevelopment
In 1991, the Heritage USA property was bought by San Diego evangelist Morris Cerullo in partnership with a Malaysian investment group, MUI Group (Malayan United Industries Berhad). The property was renamed "New" Heritage USA. The partnership between Cerullo and MUI ended after a disagreement between Cerullo and MUI over Cerullo's issuance of discount cards to New Heritage USA. MUI filed suit against Cerullo and ultimately bought out his interest in the venture, renaming the property Regent Park. MUI is also the parent company of Laura Ashley USA which moved its headquarters and distribution center to the property. MUI, through its local subsidiary, Regent Carolina Corporation, built a large golf course and residential development on the majority of the former Heritage USA property. They attempted for a short period of time in the 1990s to operate the 501-room hotel and resort under a management agreement with Radisson Hotels, calling the property the "Radisson Grand Resort" but the complex was not successful as a secular venture without its religious emphasis and ultimately closed and fell into disrepair.
In late 2006, the IRS placed a tax lien for $13.2 million on Regent Carolina Corporation, which had not yet transferred control of the golf course, common areas, and roads to the Regent Park homeowners association [9]. The golf course was subsequently sold to a new company named Southern Gailes [10].
In December 2004, the remainder of the Heritage USA property was sold to Coulston Enterprises, owned by local developer and former MUI executive Earl Coulston. Coulston Enterprises sold portions of the property formerly housing the PTL Ministry to MorningStar Ministries of Charlotte, North Carolina, headed by Rick Joyner, and Flames-of-Fire Ministries of Fort Mill, South Carolina. They are now in process of renovating the property and buildings back to their original condition. Coulston Enterprises has planned a mixed-use development featuring single family homes, town homes, shops and ministry-related functions on the remainder of the property. The Coulston owned residential portion of the property is called Emerald Lakes.
The former Heritage Grand Hotel has been mostly restored and is now used as a retreat and conference center as well as a church for MorningStar's local congregation. The hotel complex has been renamed "H.I.M." for Heritage International Ministries. MorningStar intends that the unfinished 21-story Heritage Grand Tower will be expanded and completed and used as an assisted living facility/retirement home, with an estimated completion date of 2011. [11] The renovation plans have been approved and restoration is underwork. Heritage International had its Grand Opening in September, 2007, and it spiritual grand-opening January 1, 2008 [2].
The property encompassing the former PTL Television Studios, The Upper Room, The Amphitheater, Barn Auditorium, Campgrounds and Bunkhouses has been renamed Crown International by Flames-of-Fire Ministry, and is in various levels of restoration.
In January of 2006 a 24-hour prayer ministry also began its endeavor at the former Heritage USA. The Zadok House of Prayer (ZHOP) formed with dozens of musicians and prayer leaders relocating from the International House of Prayer (IHOP) in Kansas City.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ "American Notes: Fund Raising", Time, September 21, 1987. Retrieved on 2007-01-04.
- ^ The Nehemiah Project
[edit] External links
[edit] Current religious uses of the property
- Heritage International Ministries — Heritage International Ministries Home page.
- Flames-of-Fire — Flames-of-Fire Ministries Home page.
- Zadok House of Prayer (ZHOP) — Zadok House of Prayer (ZHOP).
- Freedom Christian Center — Ministry operating at the former Heritage USA complex.
- The Cause Ft. Mill — The Cause Ft. Mill Home page.
[edit] Current secular uses of the property
- Lakeview Stables at Regent Park — Lakeview Stables at Regent Park Home page.
- Regent Park Golf Club & Academy — Regent Park Home page.
- Regent Park Homeowner's Association Website
[edit] Miscellaneous
- Standing But Not Operating — Photos of the past and present. Includes 145 pictures of the park as it stood in 2005.
- Heritage USA Group — Current Heritage USA photos & construction updates.
