CHAPIN, S.C. — Town leaders are looking for your help if you live, work, commute through, visit family in or frequent the Chapin area.
Thursday night at 6 p.m., the town of Chapin is hoping to get a better picture of what residents want for the future of their town.
Their public workshop will include input from locals, as well as planners and designers to envision what everyone expects of the town in the coming years.
The Lexington Richland 5 abandoned school site next to the Chapin library is just one of the locations being considered for redevelopment by the town in their comprehensive plan from two years ago.
The town explains this plan designated the future land use as part of a town center serving as a focal point and gathering place for locals. Right now this area is also home to the former community theater and storage buildings.
Claire Dorbandt, a lawyer who works next to this property says she'd like to see something new out her office window.
"I think Chapin has a lot of potential and can certainly improve in that area, so something to of course bring people in, congregate and if we could bring in some more revenue, that would be great too," Dorbrandt said.
Other locals have vocalized there's already too much traffic, and anything like a town center would create more of it. They explained they'd prefer more green space.
"It's very early stages, all encompassing. We are just trying to gather as much information. It'll be with our market research specialists," said Dylan Francis, town of Chapin communication specialist.
Francis says the town's recent survey about a new master plan got about 300 responses.
"People want new restaurants, people want a town center, a town green, they want more facilities for events," Francis said.
He adds that with new opportunities of potentially new land and partnerships, talking to the public was the next step that made sense.
According to town leaders, there will be more meetings in the future as this is a multi-year master plan.