Piedmont College has completed the purchase of 80 acres adjacent to the Demorest campus from longtime friends of the college.
The site, property of the Rohletter family since the early 1900s, once served as a farm managed by Mary and the late Ray Rohletter. The tract is partly bordered by Camp Creek and U.S. 441. In 2002, the Rohletters, longtime fixtures of the Demorest community, gifted approximately 11 acres of their farm to Piedmont for incorporation into the wetlands conversion of the former lake.
“We are deeply grateful to the Rohletter family, in particular Ray and Mary’s children Joel Rohletter, Jennifer Rohletter Chambers, and Amanda Rohletter Powell, for their commitment to our students by enabling the transfer of this unique asset,” said Piedmont President James F. Mellichamp.
To honor the family, the college has named the area the “Mary and Ray Rohletter Farm Campus.” A future access road through the property will be been named “Rohletter Farm Drive.”
With the acquisition, Piedmont’s property holdings are more than 400 acres in Demorest.
Mellichamp said civil engineers are preparing preliminary designs for the road placement. The college has not determined how the property will be developed.
“This acquisition increases our landholdings in Demorest by nearly 25 percent,” said Mellichamp. “We are a thriving institution that is growing. This land will provide room for future development.”
