Staff Report

SPARTANBURG -- The rejuvenation of downtown Spartanburg got another boost Monday as Spartanburg Community College announced plans to open a campus there.

The school will renovate the Evans Building on South Dean Street. Public and private financing is expected to fund the $5 million to $6 million project.

“We anticipate the downtown campus will attract new students, perhaps residents within walking or biking distance,” said SCC President Dan Terhune. “But it will likely include students from the central campus as well, freeing up much needed space at that location. We also hope this campus will encourage citizens with little or no knowledge of college to explore the possibility of a post-secondary education.”

The renovation, which will be LEED certified, will give the college 104,000 square feet of classrooms, labs and special purpose rooms.

The downtown campus will offer primarily transitional and general education courses as well as credit classes for students in the college’s technology and university transfer programs. SCC’s Corporate & Community Education Division will offer short-term and customized training through continuing education programs to support local businesses. The College will develop an advisory committee to assist in creating the educational and training programs offered at the downtown campus.

Several community leaders joined Terhune at a press conference Monday announcing the downtown campus, which they said will greatly contribute to the city’s economy, work force and quality of life.

“Spartanburg is a college town,” said Mayor Bill Barnet.

The University of South Carolina Upstate also is working on a downtown presence. The school broke ground eight months ago on the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics on East Saint John Street.

Published July 1, 2009