ELGIN, S.C. — The Town of Elgin is preparing to take a large portion of the empty Potter Park and turn it into a community center.
The town has been working on transitioning the park for years and has been saving up the money. Now, the process can move forward, thanks to Kershaw County Council helping them hit their financial goal.
"The county ended up putting $200,000 towards this project," Kershaw County Council Member Ben Connell said. "The town of Elgin had been saving up and has received a significant state grant to build a community center."
The town had over $700,000 saved up, and is ready for the project.
Connell says the community center is needed, especially as the population continues to increase in the area.
"It's growing really fast, and it would be a great feature to draw the community together," Connell said. "Public space and meeting space, they don't really have that option now, so you can have community events, even private events."
The soon to be 2,500 square foot center is expected to have a museum and emergency shelter.
"I think it's always a benefit to have something like that, particularly because we have earthquakes occurring quite frequently now in Kershaw County," Connell said. "But, just in case we ever need it, it would be a facility that could be used for that purpose as well, and public safety."