CAMDEN, S.C. — The Camden clock tower is a historical marker that towers over the City of Camden, and in recent years the city has been working to find a way to use the building.
Back in October 2021, and June of 2019, News19 spoke with city officials who said a boutique hotel could be coming to the site but residents reached out and said they haven't seen anything, so we went to the city and asked for an update.
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"Basically, the City of Camden, we're working with a group of investors who are facing some pandemic impacts related to trying to build the capitol stacks to get the funding available to do it, so that option has subsequently expired," said Camden City Manager Jonathan Rorie.
They're leaving the space vacant, but a boutique hotel isn't off the table.
"We're still trying to market this facility for a group of investors to come in and create a boutique hotel for the City of Camden, Rorie said. "Moving forward, they look at marketing this on a national level, and so then we'll see if anyone comes to the table and likes to apply, and then you will have to take and evaluate whether or not they can actually carry the project through."
Rorie said the hotel would draw people into local businesses.
"Downtowns are a key issue facing a lot of communities across the nation, so you can't allow your downtowns to basically die off. So, you want to make sure you are reinvesting in your downtown areas and so they are viable locations for people to visit, to take and patronize local businesses. So, this hotel would actually supplement and help to creator visitors in the downtown area."
One local business that is hopeful a hotel will move in is Flavors Buffet & Grill, located right in front of the clock tower. Mary Still, who works there says, "It would impact it tremendously, yes, I would like to see it."
As for a timeline Rorie said, "There is an unlimited timeline, there is nothing on the agenda right now to try and speed this up."