Crews set to tear down former Spartanburg City Hall building

SPARTANBURG, S.C. (WSPA) – Demolition of the former Spartanburg City Hall building on W. Broad Street will start within the next few days.

The building has been gutted and the asbestos abatement is done, giving crews the green light to finally begin tearing down the building, which had been used since 1961 for the City of Spartanburg’s staff.

“A lot of people really have fond memories in that building and it’s been home for us for a long time,” said Christopher George, the communications manager for the city. “I think moving into a new modern facility later on is exciting, but it’s always going to hold a special place in our hearts.”

Officials said city staff moved next door to 187 W. Broad Street earlier this year in preparation for what’s to come.

They said tearing down the former city hall building is the first step in replacing it with a city-county joint government complex.

Demolition will take place Friday or Monday, depending on crew schedules. The city estimates the process will take 4 to 5 weeks, making room for the new facility, which will be over 100,000 square feet.

The city said the goal behind the new facility is to make it convenient for residents to have both county and city services in one spot, while also adding convenience to staff projects.

“We have a great working relationship anyway and that has never been more true than it is now so it’ll be really good to be in the same facility as some folks who are working on the same things we are as well, especially as it relates to things downtown where we’ll be,” said George.

It’s all being funded by the 2017 penny sales tax that county voters approved to replace aging infrastructure, which some residents said is important to note.

“I do think it’s important to build new infrastructure just because old infrastructure can lead to a lot of toxic chemicals and just like, in the interest of health, I do think it’s really important,” said Alexandra Collon, a Spartanburg resident.

The city said they hope to keep the public parking lot open and contain most of the construction so that there won’t be any road closures throughout the entire process.

The new city-county complex will face Church Street and the site will border Broad Street, Church Street, Kennedy Street, and Spring Street.

The city said construction could begin before the end of the year. No designs have been released yet for the new building.

Demolition recently began on the old Spartanburg County Courthouse, which was also replaced as part of the same penny sales tax.

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