COLUMBIA, S.C. — A new Scout Motors manufacturing plant in Blythewood is projected to bring 4,000 jobs to the area, but local officials and residents are raising concerns about the town’s ability to handle the influx of new residents.
Blythewood Mayor Sloan Griffin said his top priority is preparing the town’s infrastructure to accommodate growth.
“I do welcome those additional families into our Blythewood community,” Griffin said. “My concern is our infrastructure, and that's going to stay on the top of my list.”
Residents have voiced concerns regarding a proposed 20-acre development, including 300 apartment units. One resident took to social media to share that they had spoken with the Richland County Planning Commission about the project.
“With the concerns from residents about the 300 apartments, I received a few phone calls, but I read a lot of the Facebook posts from residents in the area — very prominent residents that I have a lot of respect for — and I really do feel their pain,” Griffin said.
Griffin emphasized the need for collaboration between town, county, and state officials to address infrastructure issues before moving forward with projects.
“I do feel that we really need to pause a lot of these projects, and we really need to turn and put rapid, rapid investments into our infrastructure,” Griffin said. “Scout Motors is an important economic partner in our area and in the region. If that is deemed to be true by the state and the county, we need to put rapid money into expanding our roads, repairing our roads in the area.”
Traffic congestion is a top concern for residents like Pattie Raybon, who said it’s already a daily challenge.
“Look at the traffic,” Raybon said with visible frustration. “It’s not just five o’clock traffic. It’s all the time traffic. It’s everywhere you go. You can’t even go right there in front of Scout.”
Raybon urged local leaders to engage more with the community and see the issues firsthand.
“Talk to the people that live here, that work here, that live here,” she said. “That’s what they need to do, and not just worry about putting so many people in one spot and you can’t do anything with them. You need to be able to talk to the people and see what they want to do, and then just come out here and observe it.”
The Richland County Planning Commission is set to discuss the proposed apartment development on Dec. 2 but did not respond to requests for comment.