COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - The attorney for the state Mental Health Department says a Greenville developer is expected to complete the long-awaited purchase of the old South Carolina asylum in Columbia by year-end.

The Columbia State reported Saturday that attorney Mark Binkley said the Mental Health Commission has approved a contract for the site's sale negotiated by its staff and developer Bob Hughes. Hughes has two weeks to sign the contract.

Binkley said a sales price would not be disclosed until the deal is closed. Estimates of the 165-acre property's value has ranged as high as $20 million, but that was before the real estate market collapse that began in late 2007.

Money from the sale of the land is to be used for mental health treatment programs.

(Copyright 2010 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)