Anyone who’s driven by the 21-story Heritage Grand Towers that PTL never finished three decades ago has seen the outside.

If you’ve ever wondered what it looks like inside, The Fort Mill Sun has unearthed 15 photos you’ve probably never seen, taken a decade ago.

Plans by MorningStar Fellowship Church for the tower include 500 hotel rooms and 200 units of senior housing. But a local resident has campaigned for the tower to be brought down. A lawsuit between the county and MorningStar has complicated those efforts.

Look at the photos and tell us what you think. A video is also linked below.


Students from MorningStar’s CSCL school pause in the lobby to listen to their tour guide before exploring the Towers.
The main entrance lobby of the Towers.
One of the lobby arched windows.
Construction inside the tower moved from the bottom floors toward the top, therefore the floors closer to the bottom are in a more finished state. Here is a view of the 21st floor.
An unfinished elevator shaft. A construction worker was killed during the original construction of the building after falling down an elevator shaft.
Another view of an almost finished room. Notice the sprinkler system was in as well as the light fixtures. When construction stopped, Heritage Towers was less than 90 days from completion. Jim Bakker’s attention to detail can be seen with the crown molding and wallpaper.
Another view of a finished hotel room inside the Towers. The building went through Hurricane Hugo in 1989 and has never had heating or air conditioning. It sat exposed to the elements since construction began in the mid-1980’s.
Even the bathroom fixtures were installed in the lower rooms. Notice the mirror is in, the sink is installed and the wallpaper was finished.
One of the finished rooms inside the Towers. Notice the carpeting was installed and the wallpaper was in. Over 20 years of exposure to the elements didn’t take such a bad toll other than the peeling wallpaper. Notice the attention to detail such as the crown molding. Many of the lower floors of the hotel were almost finished. Construction moved from bottom to top, with the top floors being in the most primitive state, with finish carpet, wallpaper and fixtures in many of the rooms on the lower floors.
A view of the hallway.
An unfinished area on one of the upper floors.
The 20th floor provided views of the former Heritage property.
Trees growing on the roof of Heritage Towers.

Looking down over the Heritage Grand Hotel and Main Street.
A conceptual architectural rendering of a completed Heritage Towers from many years ago.
VIDEO SHOWING INSIDE in 2012

Greg Rickabaugh

Greg "Ricky Bobby" Rickabaugh has lived in the Fort Mill and York County community since 2006. He has covered the area while a reporter for The Charlotte Observer and a freelance writer for The Fort Mill...