Pelzer is at a crossroads.
For approximately three years, the Town, under the direction and leadership of Mayor Will Ragland, has been in the process of getting the Community Building and old Hospital Building renovated.
Plans for both buildings are to have them renovated in a historically accurate way.
Preservation South, Inc., a Greenville based consultant firm, has aided in both of the restoration/rehabilitation projects.
Funding, from the sale of the town’s cell tower property at the ballfields, the town’s water and sewer systems, along with American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funding for COVID relief, is available. The Town currently has just under $2.25 million in the bank.
Discussions and meetings have been held. Details and renderings have been presented to council and the public.
Council members Mike Matthews, Donna Ide and Eddie Waits have served on council during this period and have generally indicated that they support the renovation of two of the town’s remaining historic structures.
Bids for the Community Building/Pelzer Roller Skating Rink project have been put out and received. The Hospital building renovation project is now ready for bid.
According to Kyle Campbell of Preservation South, six contractors submitted bids on the Community Building project. Two of those did not follow guidelines of the bid process, one missed the deadline and the other submitted an “allowance amount” instead of a bid.
The 3 bids were: Daniel Builders $937,138; Glenn Constructors $1,379,580 and Magnolia Construction $1,158,933.
During their Sept. 9 meeting, Council approved the low bid by Daniel Builders for the project, subject to the Council’s ability to make changes before final approval.
A vote on the contract was tabled due to it not being finalized in time for the Council meeting.
Mayor Ragland said this week that Daniel Builders has submitted their contract and it is ready to be voted on at the next meeting of Council, which is scheduled for October 7.
Ragland said the agenda will include the Community Building renovation contract, the 2025-26 budget and hiring a town clerk.
Recently there have been questions and concerns raised by council and the public about the details of the project and the cost.
In a recent email message to the Town about the project, Kyle Campbell stated that plans for the kitchen were discussed at length during his last meeting with council and he explained why a full kitchen was not included.
Campbell’s email stated: “Regarding the kitchen. It has never been a secret that the kitchen was to be a catering kitchen. It is on the plans and we discussed it at length during my last meeting with council. You’ll remember we discussed the unused stove the town has from that Grant years ago and how it could be sold and the funds used for other items. The kitchen was never planned to be a full kitchen because the building has already burned once and it is not a good idea to have the public frying things in your building. To make it a full kitchen we would need the full commercial hood and would also need a fire suppression system added to the building. Cabinets are not on the plans because they promote hoarding which leads to bugs and mice. We have planned to purchase stainless steel tables common in commercial kitchens for the space. These don’t allow hoarding and are easy to keep clean. They aren’t in the contractors scope so we don’t spend an extra 20% on their mark up.”
Questions have also been raised about the Community Building and Hospital Building being on the National Register.
Approximately eight years ago, Larry Coker, Dianne Lollis, and members of the Pelzer Heritage Commission gathered information and photographs of properties and began the nomination process for a Pelzer Historic District.
In 2017, The Town of Pelzer was notified that a good portion of the town was officially on the National Register of Historic Places. It is designated as the Pelzer Manufacturing Company and Mill Village Historic District.
The official notice stated: Being on the National Register makes property owners eligible for certain programs, grants, tax incentives and rehabilitation guidance.
Also, the Pelzer Historic District has some architecture and place relevant to history in that it reflects textile manufacturing and mill housing in SC.
The district includes properties on Lebby Street, Reed Street, Smyth Street, Anderson Street and Square St. The district also includes the dam and power house and some mill structures.
The National Register of Historic Places is the Federal government’s official list of historic properties worthy of preservation.
The listing on the National Register provides recognition of the Pelzer Historic District’s historic importance and assures protective review of Federal and some State projects that might adversely affect the character of the district. Certain Federal and State investment tax credits for rehabilitation and other provisions may apply.
At the time, the Community Building/Pelzer Roller Skating Rink and Hospital Building were not included in the district.
Preservation South has been working with the South Carolina Department of Archives and History (SHPO) to get the Community Building/Pelzer Roller Skating Rink, on the National Register.
According to the State Historic Preservation Office of SC, the community building, also known as the Pelzer Roller Skating Rink, was submitted to the National Park Service as of Aug. 22, 2025 and the Keeper of the National Register at the National Park Service has 45 days to take action on the nomination.
The first draft was submitted in May of 2024 and underwent multiple reviews and revisions. It was approved by the State Review Board for the National Register of Historic Places on July 25, 2025.
The SHPO expects to hear a response from the National Park Service by Oct. 13. According to the SHPO, 95 National Register nominations have been submitted and 93 have been successfully listed.
A preliminary determination for the Community Building/Skating Rink for listing on the National Register was approved by the National Park Service on Oct. 23, 2023.
The “Rehabilitation” project listing comes with conditions. According to the National Park Service, Conditional Approval by the National Park Service was made on May 6, 2025.
Conditional Approval includes “interior treatment, roofing and future work such as signage, site work and tenant upfit.”
Once the Rehabilitation work is completed, there will be a Historic Preservation Certification Part 3 application for Certification of the Completed Work.
Upon approval, the project will be eligible for a 20 percent rehabilitation tax credit.
State law also allows a 10 percent State income tax credit for taxpayers who are allowed the 20 percent Federal income tax credit, with the option of a 25 percent State income tax credit (in lieu of the 10 percent) not to exceed $1 million for each certified historic structure.
According to the South Carolina Department of Archives and History, the nomination by the State Historic Preservation Office of SC for the community building, also known as the Pelzer Roller Skating Rink, has been submitted to the National Park Service as of Aug. 22, 2025 and the Keeper of the National Register at the National Park Service has 45 days to take action on the nomination.
The first draft was submitted in May of 2024 and has undergone multiple reviews and revisions.
One of the town’s historic structures, the Pelzer gymnasium, has already been renovated with new heating and air, venting, decking and other improvements.
Mayor Ragland said that the Hospital Building renovation project is also ready to be bid.
Ragland said that bids by contractors, especially by Daniel Builders, may be dependent on approval of the Community Building project contract by Council.
In the meantime, Pelzer will have an election in November.
The Town of Pelzer has three council seats and the mayor’s seat open. Seats for Councilmembers Mike Matthews and Donna Ide are up for this election. Also the unexpired council term (two years) as the result of the resignation of former Councilmember Cruz West.
Councilmembers Mike Matthews and Donna Ide have signed up to run for re-election. Also signing up to run are Michael Shirley, Jason McElhannon and Deb Sellers.
Gregory Pellum is the only candidate to sign-up for the unexpired 2 year term on council.
Two candidates signed-up to run for the Pelzer mayor’s seat. They are Chase Smithwick and Harold Tennihill. Current Mayor Will Ragland is not running for re-election.
Smithwick has been very vocal about the cost of the Community building renovation project and town finances.
The Community Building renovation contract will be on the agenda for the October meeting of Council.
Hospital/Lyceum Renovation ready for bid
An architectural rendering shows how the historic Pelzer Lyceum building will look when planned renovations are completed. Also known as the old “Pelzer Hospital”, the building was constructed in the late 1800s and features a unique tower on the front with a mixture of Queen Ann and English Arts and Crafts architectural design. Pelzer plans to renovation the historic Pelzer Lyceum building and make it a town hall. The project is ready for bid.
Pelzer Community Building/Roller Skating Rink
Pictured is a rendering of the Pelzer Roller Skating Rink/Community Building as it will appear when renovations are completed. Pelzer Town Council recently approved a low bid by Daniel Builders for a renovation project subject to contract approval by Council. The contract has been submitted to the Town and is expected to be voted on at the next meeting of council.
