Charleston Land Reuse Agency Shares Community Feedback

The Charleston Land Reuse Agency (CLRA) sought and received public input for the property located at 739 Central Avenue, formerly Abraham’s Grocery and Park Place Bar. The CLRA received 66 responses through online survey submissions and in-person chalkboard responses to the prompt “What belongs here is…”. From those responses, there were two major concepts sought by the community for the property: (1) a center for youth activities and (2) a space dedicated to job preparedness.

“I cannot thank the community enough for the thoughtful responses about what they would like to see in the old Abraham’s Grocery building at 739 Central Avenue,” said CLRA Chair Kevin Baker. “The CLRA is excited to work with community partners to create a new life for this property in a way that fits with the feedback received from the community.”

Many responses noted that a community center type space could include a computer lab to work on resumes and job searching, an afterschool homework space for students, an arcade space for kids, a small library space with children’s activities, a training facility for work skills, a craft space, and a safe space for children and families.

“This is a major project that will require creative partnerships and a shared vision for the future of this space,” said Mayor Amy Shuler Goodwin. “I know we have lots of folks throughout the City who would be interested in a project like this and we are excited to explore next steps. As the CLRA moves forward, we are certain to see more projects throughout the City, but I could not be happier to see the first project take shape in the heart of Central Avenue.”

The CLRA will create a request for proposal in the coming months seeking specific proposals for 739 Central Avenue, taking into consideration the interests of the community, in order to move the project forward. In addition, the CLRA will be seeking input on another donated property at the corner of 2nd Avenue and 30th Street in North Charleston over the coming two weeks on both the chalkboard and an online survey. Furthermore, the CLRA welcomes input at any time on any of its properties and continues to encourage public input at all of its meetings as it endeavors to move projects forward in a manner consistent with the desires of the community.