Additional properties in Hartsville’s historic Oakdale Neighborhood will now be used to develop the community’s ongoing revitalization following an announcement this morning by Pacolet Milliken Enterprises, Inc. The company will donate 24 acres of land in Oakdale to the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville.“The Community Foundation is enormously grateful for this gift, which will directly benefit not only the neighbors who live in this historic community, but the entire community of Hartsville, and, in fact, because of the Governor’s School’s statewide work, the residents of the entire state of South Carolina,” said Curtis Lee, who chairs the Community Foundation.
The Community Foundation, which has already taken on a long-term process of improving and redeveloping the neighborhood, is receiving a donation which includes 34 residential lots and 17 acres of undeveloped land. The land will be used to create a community park and garden, provide green space, add security and attract new homeowners to the area. A portion of the land next to the campus of the South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics will be given to the school for future expansion.
“Roger Milliken donated the land on which the Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics is located, and we are pleased to be able to continue that legacy and support,” said Rick Webel, president of Pacolet Milliken. “This donation will benefit the students of the Governor’s School for generations to come.”
The Oakdale Neighborhood was built in 1900 for employees of the Hartsville Cotton Mill and originally known as “Mill Village.” Following a signifigant decline in recent decades, the community began to receive revitalization work in 2004, soon after the S.C. Governor’s School was built on the original Cotton Mill site. Since then, residents have taken on clean-up projects and a crime watch program. In 2011, the City was awarded a $500,000 Communtiy Development Block Grant for its revitalization efforts in Oakdale. These funds are being used for sidewalks, lighting and security including cameras and a home for a police officer, among other things.
“When the Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville approached us, we were pleased to see how excited the community was about this project and how much had already been accomplished through their efforts,” said John Montgomery, vice president of real estate at Pacolet Milliken. “We are confident that this land will be put to the best use for the community.”
In addition to Montgomery, others who spoke at this morning’s event included vice chair of the Community Foundation Nancy McGee, Hartsville Mayor Mel Pennington, president of the South Carolinia Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics Murray Brockman and Roger Schrum, vice president for communications and investor relations at Sonoco.
When Schrum and others leaders at the Hartsville Chamber decided to establish the Community Foundation last year, they sought to create an organization that would effectively bring public and private stakeholders together to develop projects that neither group could establish as effectively alone. To underscore the valuable work that the Community Foundation has already undertaken, Schrum presented McGee, as a representative of the Community Foundation, with a check for $25,000 from Sonoco.
From left:
Mayor Mel Pennington, City of Hartsville; Roger Schrum, Vice President,
Investor Relations and Corporate Affairs, Sonoco Products Company; Nancy McGee,
Vice Chair, Community Foundation for a Better Hartsville; Dr. Murray Brockman,
President, South Carolina Governor’s School for Science and Mathematics; and
John Montgomery, Vice President of Real Estate, Pacolet Milliken Enterprises,
Inc.
