Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Honea Path is returning its town offices to the historic downtown Town Hall on Monday, restoring a building that Mayor Jimmy Smith said was nearing the point of demolition and bringing government services back to Main Street for the first time since 2008.
The project, supported by $500,000 in state funding, includes a new drive-through payment window, offices for town administration and council chambers in the former upstairs courtroom.
Smith said the move fulfills one of his top priorities since taking office and supports the town’s efforts to attract businesses and customers downtown.
“This is, you know, the original site of the town government, and I felt like it ought to come back home,” Smith said.
The South Carolina General Assembly awarded Honea Path $500,000 in directed funding for the project. Smith said the town began construction before the money arrived because the building’s condition required immediate attention.
“We’d went ahead and started construction because we had to,” he said. “The building was getting in such bad shape that we were probably about six months away from maybe even having to tear the whole building down.”
Crews repaired the roof and replaced rotted floor and ceiling joists. Painting and flooring were among the final tasks in preparation for Monday’s reopening.
The restored building will house the mayor, town administrator, clerk and staff. The former police department space will become the clerk’s office, with a drive-through window where residents can pay bills without leaving their vehicles.
“You can come up and pay your bills right there and just never get out of the car,” Smith said. “That’s going to be a big plus for everybody.”
The former upstairs courtroom will serve as council chambers. Other areas will provide records storage and space for municipal operations.
The building dates to 1930, when J.D. Beecher was mayor. Its cornerstone also lists council members J.W. Abercrombie, J.O. Brock, L.W. Davis, G.H. Lollis, A.H. Pruitt and W.W. Shirley.
Town offices moved from the downtown building in 2008 to a facility farther down South Main Street. Smith said that building served the town well but drew residents away from downtown businesses.
“When we moved downhill on South Main, it was good facility, but it took a lot of foot traffic off of Main Street,” Smith said. “We need to give Main Street all the help we can in getting people back down there.”
Smith said restoring the town’s own property was an important step in encouraging private investment downtown.
“We’re in a big process now trying to get these buildings downtown here fixed up and get businesses into them,” he said. “I figured before we could do that, we had to fix our own building up.”
He pointed to a consignment shop, restaurants and other businesses as signs of renewed activity. The Fiddle and Bow Music Hall also draws people downtown for concerts and events.
Returning municipal offices could give residents another reason to visit Main Street, with opportunities to shop or eat while conducting town business, Smith said.
“We are off to a good start to get some merchants in there and some different things to attract people,” he said. “But we just need to improve the foot traffic.”
The municipal court and museum will remain in the building that has housed town offices since 2008.
Smith said the museum will expand into two additional rooms, while changes to the municipal court will make it more user-friendly.
He said residents have generally welcomed the return of administrative offices to the historic building.
“Most everybody in agreement,” Smith said, “just thrilled to see it come back.”
