Lowes has an option to purchase several tracts of land located behind the State Employees Credit Union at the intersection of N.C. 107 and N.C. 116. The site is owned by College Associates of Jackson, a limited partnership headed by Rep. Charles Taylor, R-Brevard.

Taylor acquired at least a portion of the land through foreclosure. Parcels originally belonging to Charles “Chig” Cagle were mortgaged as part of Cagle’s fraudulent dealings with Blue Ridge Savings Bank — which Taylor owns — back in the early 1990s. With Cagle unable to pay back the mortgages, the bank foreclosed. Later, the property was transferred — no excise taxes were recorded — to Taylor’s College Associates of Jackson.