S.C. woman just as happy not to sell land for van plant

SUMMERVILLE, S.C. - Sandra Schulz didn&#39;t really want to sell her treasured 10-acre parcel of land to make way for a DaimlerChrysler van plant. But if she was going to sell, she wanted $1 million. <br> <br> Now that the company has decided the $754 million plant, if it is built, will be located in Georgia, the $1 million seems to have slipped through Schulz&#39;s hands. And she&#39;s just as happy. <br> <br> Her land was part of a 1,500-acre parcel the state was offering as part of a $346 million incentive package to lure the plant. <br> <br> Schulz and her husband Wilson, worked six years to build their rustic home on the oak and pine spread. They moved in 1984 but her husband died the next year. <br> <br> ``He didn&#39;t even have a chance to enjoy the home,&#39;&#39; Schulz said. <br> <br> Then, in 1993, property managers acting for the state approached her about selling. Mercedes was said to be looking at the site for a vehicle assembly plant - a plant that eventually went to Alabama. <br> <br> Schulz didn&#39;t want to sell, but her neighbors convinced her growth was coming. She agreed on an option to sell for $400,000 but regretted the decision until the plant went elsewhere. <br> <br> Last year, the property managers returned and again, she didn&#39;t want to sell. <br> <br> The land is ``the last tangible thing I have left of my husband,&#39;&#39; she said. ``It just means a lot. There were a lot of emotions involved.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> But one by one, her neighbors sold options to the state. ``I was locked in, and I didn&#39;t want to live in a parking lot,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> After discussing it with her children, she said on her porch rocker and told the property managers she would sell for $1 million. <br> <br> ``They were sitting on that bench, and they almost fell off. One of them turned stark white,&#39;&#39; she said. The managers objected they couldn&#39;t justify the cost to the taxpayers. Schulz said that wasn&#39;t her problem. <br> <br> They finally agreed but immediately, Schulz began to have doubts. <br> <br> ``I thought, my God, what have I done? I was a nervous wreck,&#39;&#39; she said. ``It was the taxpayers&#39; money, I understand that. But it wasn&#39;t the taxpayer who was losing his property and home.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> She looked for other property and planned to build a log cabin all the time hoping the van plant, like the Mercedes plant, would go elsewhere. <br> <br> ``I think the worst part was just leaving the house and knowing it would be bulldozed,&#39;&#39; she said. <br> <br> When the news broke that the plant would go to Georgia, Schulz was overjoyed. <br> <br> ``I understand a lot of people are disappointed,&#39;&#39; she said. ``Some people are probably upset because I was getting the money. To me, the money doesn&#39;t make you happy. I&#39;m happy here.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> But it may not be over. The option doesn&#39;t expire until next July, the property has been rezoned for industry and there&#39;s talk of other manufacturers being shown the land. <br> <br> But Schulz hopes this too, will pass without any takers. <br> <br> ``This is the only place it can go,&#39;&#39; she said. ``I&#39;m sorry I signed it. I want this nightmare to be over.&#39;&#39;