ORANGEBURG, S.C. — The city of Orangeburg is advancing its plans to borrow $7 million for a new city hall.
The funds will come from an installment purchase revenue bond that will be paid off over a 30-year period.
“It will allow us to better serve the public by having the majority of our departments in one building," said city administrator Sidney Evering.
The city council had its first reading of this proposal on Tuesday. Evering also recommends putting this project on the capital project sales tax referendum. If it passes, this tax would help to pay off the building in less than 30 years.
For the past 95 years, the city administration has operated out of the Stevenson auditorium and Evering says a new city hall is long overdue.
“We’ve just outgrown it. There’s significant structural issues in terms of plumbing needs, mold," said Evering.
Currently, all of the various departments of the city are operating out of separate buildings. These departments include public works, human resources, and finance.
An additional $3 million will go toward renovating the Stevenson Auditorium that would include lighting, roofing, stage, and carpet.
"Having the Stevenson Auditorium up and being utilized to its full capacity, you're gonna be attracting not only residents but visitors from all over and bringing them directly to your downtown and that's gonna increase foot traffic," said Evering.
The new city hall would be located at the corners of Broughton and Russell Streets and will be 17,700 square feet.
There will be a community input meeting addressing the city's development plans on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. at the Stevenson auditorium.