What should happen to old SC high school site? The town has plans
Many people who grew up in Chapin have fond memories of the original site of the high school.
But the old site on Columbia Avenue has sat vacant for years, ever since the school moved to a more modern space down the road. Town leaders have long sought for a new way to make use of the centrally located campus.
A study conducted by the town showed what the future of the old high school site could be, with the potential to become a new central gathering place for Chapin residents.
“The 2021 Comprehensive Plan designates the future land use of the former school site adjacent to Chapin Town Hall to be the site of a Town Center that would serve as a focal point and gathering place for the Greater Chapin Community,” the town website says.
As of now, the 7.74-acre site remains owned by the Lexington-Richland 5 school district, which lists it on the district website as “surplus real property.” Under a state budget proviso, “the District must transfer, or offer for sale or lease, such property to another governmental subdivision or state agency.”
It’s unclear if this month’s election in Chapin will change the calculus. New Mayor Bill Mitchell replaced the late Al Koon in the town’s top job after the Nov. 4 election, and was joined by two new members of the town council, Ainslee Bost and Warren Burritt. Attempts to reach Mitchell for comment on plans for the site were unsuccessful before publication.
The town surveyed 941 people to find out what they saw as the best use of the space, of whom 91% lived in the Chapin 29036 zip code, with the rest living in nearby areas like Irmo, Prosperity and Little Mountain.
A town study found the old high school could provide up to 126,000 square feet of commercial space. That space could include restaurants, a brewery, a bakery, a wine shop and clothing boutiques. The public also saw a need for more housing for seniors and younger families, but were mostly negative on temporary or rental housing in the town center.
The public was also interested in an open, central gathering space with trails, outdoor dining and a performance center. The study mentions that the town could look at surrounding municipalities’ public space uses for inspiration, like the Icehouse Amphitheater in Lexington, the Irmo Community Park (which also includes an amphitheater stage), or Saluda Shoals Park.
But the town council also considered how to integrate the site into the rest of Chapin, considering the redevelopment of downtown Greenville around the Reedy River Park.
For comparison, the study superimposed Lexington’s Icehouse Amphitheater or the Newberry Opera House onto the site to show how much space is available between the high school site and the neighboring site of Chapin Town Hall.
If the two sites could be connected, it would add another 24 acres of potential site for development, since most of the town-owned land around town hall is also wooded, undeveloped property. But the site notes development would have to factor in a wetland area around a creek that runs behind the town hall.
The study envisions that the combined site would be accessible to traffic from Columbia Avenue and Courtland Road, which runs behind the town hall, but between 10 and 14% of the site is sloped and would need to be graded before it could be developed.
Public feedback ultimately led to a proposal combining open and commercial space, with three to seven acres of parks and 164,000 to 170,00 square feet of commercial space, depending on the configuration and whether additional land can be added to the planned site.
Another 150,000 to 189,000 square feet would go toward new parking spaces, while 37,500 to 43,00 square feet would go toward institutional uses across the two sites, like the town hall, Lexington County library branch, and a performing arts center.
In addition to Chapin’s own amphitheater, the redeveloped space could also include a food truck promenade, a plaza with a fountain and swings.
Possible funding options for the redevelopment of the site include TIF funding, local hospitality tax funds or some kind of public-private partnership, the study said. Lexington County’s GIS map lists the market value of the main school parcel as $893,400, while a second parcel would cost $634,900 if put up for sale.
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