City of Conway to host public meetings on former Whittemore Park school

CONWAY, SC (WBTW) – The City of Conway is in the process of acquiring the former Whittemore Park Elementary School building from Horry County Schools, and officials said they want it to be used as a community center. Now, they’re asking for your help.

In December, city council voted to repurpose the building because it was damaged during Hurricane Matthew and it had to close. Before they make any final decisions, the city wants your input on how the building could best serve the people in the community. “No idea is too small,” said Conway Planning Director, Mary Catherine Hyman.

She said this school is a big part of the Conway community and because of that, they don’t want to make any decisions without including the people who live there. “The goal is to have some type of center for the community, but before we move too forward with the programming, we wanted to reach out to the community and see what they want and need, and to help us decide what’s the best use for the building,” said Hyman.

City officials said demolishing the building would cost a little more than $600,000, but Hyman said it’s not about the money; it’s about the history. “We think this is important to the history of Conway, so we want to use as much of the existing building as possible,” said Hyman. “The City of Conway prides itself on historic preservation, and this is something we take very seriously.”

Hyman expects the city will completely acquire the property from Horry County Schools within the next few months. Here are the times and locations for the Whittemore Park Elementary School public meetings: