City wants to buy Bank of America building downtown
By JIM FAILE
Bank of America is closing its main branch in downtown Hartsville, and the City of Hartsville wants to buy the building to use as a new city hall.
Hartsville City Council authorized City Manager Natalie Ziegler to begin negotiating with Bank of America officials over the possible purchase of the historic building which sits in the middle of downtown Hartsville.
Council discussed the possibility of acquiring the building before the vote in a closed executive session Tuesday.
Bank of America says on its website that it will close the downtown Hartsville branch facility permanently on March 25.
Two other Bank of America branches in Hartsville, one at 825 S. Fifth St. in the Hartsville Mall, and the Prestwood Lake branch located at 712 N. Fifth St., will remain open.
Located at 100 E. Carolina Ave. on the northeastern corner at the intersection of Carolina Avenue and Fifth Street, city officials believe the building would serve well as a facility for a new city hall.
The current city hall is overcrowded and officials have long expressed a desire for more space and to put as many city administrative offices as possible under one roof.
For many years, the two-story building housed the Bank of Hartsville. The building is well-known locally not only for its location but for its large outdoor clock mounted on the corner of the building above the sidewalk. The clock had remained inoperable for nearly 14 years until Bank of American had it repaired and returned to working order last fall.
“I can tell you that the city is interested in the building and that we will make an offer on the property,” Ziegler said. She did not disclose the amount the city would offer for the structure.
“It’s a vital corner of the downtown area and we believe it would make a good city hall,” she said.
“Our greatest concern is maintaining and preserving the downtown because that’s critical to Hartsville’s survival,” Mayor Mel Pennington said.
“We have a real opportunity here,” Pennington said. He said the city could save perhaps as much as $12 million in construction costs by acquiring and renovating the building as opposed to building a new city hall.
“It would solve the space issues we have now, and we would never have to worry about that downtown anchor again,” he said. “What better location could there be for a city hall than the epicenter of downtown Hartsville?” he said. “This would allow us to consolidate our departments in one place.”
Making the bank building the new city hall would also allow for the redevelopment of the current city hall, police department and planning department buildings on West Carolina avenue for retail use, the mayor said. “Right now, that’s the only fragmented block we have downtown with city hall sitting right there in the center of it,” Pennington said.
The move would also send a message that Hartsville is continuing to grow its downtown, he said. “Businesses always come and go, but downtown is growing,” Pennington said, pointing to new construction of a planned bank on South Fifth Street and new office facilities in the Cargill Way development.
“I hope Bank of America also understands what a wonderful opportunity this is for them, too,” Pennington said. “They’re not leaving Hartsville. They’re still going to have two branches here. I understand the business decisions behind closing that building, but this is an opportunity for them to do something really good for the city.”
Officials with Bank of America locally or at its corporate headquarters did not comment.
I personally think this is a bad idea. I love that BofA. I can go in town, shop and go to the bank all in one stop. Now if I go to town to shop the local businesses I have to leave and go down the road to the bank to get money. Most other banks are located close to everything and now BofA will not be. I think the city of Hartsville should buy the BofA building to keep the bank not replace it with a city hall. I fully understand that the current city hall is overcrowded but im sure another location can be found or built.