York County has reached a settlement with a church over a dilapidated hotel tower that was once part of televangelist Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s empire.
Construction began on the so-called-Heritage Tower in 1986 as part of the Bakkers’ Christian theme park in Fort Mill called Heritage USA.
It was abandoned after Jim Bakker was imprisoned on fraud charges and his ministry went bankrupt.
An evangelical church called Morningstar Ministries purchased the tower in 2004 with plans to turn it into senior apartments, but became mired in a decade-long fight with York County over building permits.
The settlement will give the church a year-and-a-half to apply for new permits to finish the tower, or it must tear the tower down.