Claflin has plans for Way Building; former Kress site to house downtown center | Local

The college has acquired a $3 million in federal cash to make improvements to the Way Setting up on Memorial Plaza to change it into the Claflin College Downtown Group Heart.

It will home the Claflin University Center for Social Justice, Pathway from Jail program, youthful professionals’ studio housing and a business enterprise incubator web site.

The setting up, which is situated at the corner of Russell Avenue and Church Road, could also home some retail, Orangeburg County Administrator Harold Younger mentioned.

Orangeburg County Council on Monday gave unanimous initial reading acceptance to the sale of the residence to the college.

Whilst specific details of the agreement had been not immediately disclosed, Younger stated the home will most probably be deeded around to the college with an arrangement between the county and the college on the long term use of the residence.

The Way Setting up on Memorial Plaza formerly housed S.H. Kress & Corporation.

In February 1960, Black students at then-South Carolina State School and then-Claflin College or university — both are now universities — listened to about efforts to integrate lunch counters in Greensboro, N.C. They were being encouraged to do the same in Orangeburg.

When neighborhood students were turned absent from the Kress lunch counter in Orangeburg, they began a collection of sit-ins. Kress then shut its lunch counter. Other downtown retail outlet entrepreneurs reacted in identical manner.

The Way Property Business Inc. sooner or later obtained the 31,000-square-foot constructing.

Way Property Company LLC made available the assets — as is — to Orangeburg County for $10 in 2012.

Orangeburg County then entered into an agreement with the Shuler Team Inc. for the house in July 2017.

“We have been approached by Claflin to just take in excess of that agreement we initially experienced with the Shuler Group,” Younger informed County Council on Monday.

He mentioned all the authorized due diligence has been carried out to conclusion the county’s arrangement with the Shuler Team.

“We want to extend this possibility to Claflin College to do further growth on the Kress facility to assistance with our mission to assist the metropolis in the revitalization of downtown Orangeburg,” he stated.

Young stated there is nonetheless capital project income tax revenue set aside for enhancing the Way Setting up. The income has been utilized to eliminate asbestos from the making.