New Project Pascalis proposal includes using old Aiken Municipal Building

Apr. 15—The plans for Project Pascalis in downtown Aiken are continuing to evolve, and in the latest designs, the old Municipal Building on Park Avenue would be transformed into a conference center with retail space.

Replacing the southbound lane on Newberry Street between Park and Richland avenues would be an area known as The Promenade with grass, water features and trees for pedestrians to enjoy.

"Children would be able to run and play without falling down on asphalt," said Tim O'Briant, economic development director for the City of Aiken. "Performances and festivals could be held there. What we are trying to do is add to the gathering space downtown and make a town center."

As O'Briant spoke, his colleagues were busy making the move from the old Municipal Building to the city's new headquarters on Chesterfield Street.

The latter facility is scheduled to be fully open and operational Monday.

Referring to the most recent set of designs for Project Pascalis, O'Briant said: "I'm as giddy as a schoolboy about how this is going to make all of downtown, instead of just The Alley, such an exciting place to hang out, live, work and play. It's going to be fantastic."

The public will be able to hear presentations about Project Pascalis, view the most recent architectural drawings and express opinions during 11:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. meetings in City Council Chambers in the old Municipal Building on April 20.

What the city and the Raines Company, which is master developer for Project Pascalis, hope to do is not set in stone, according to O'Briant.

Everything is still very fluid.

"People think we've got a finished plan, but what we're working on is doing the best thing for the city, and that means we are changing it constantly as we see new opportunities," O'Briant said. "It's a work in progress."

In previous iterations of the Project Pascalis designs, the development was supposed to take place along Richland Avenue and near the corner of Richland and Newberry.

In addition to the approximately 30,000-square-foot conference center that was part of a conceptual master plan revealed in February, there was a five-story hotel, 100 or so apartments and a parking structure with 5.5 levels.

In March, the Aiken Design Review Board approved the demolition of Hotel Aiken to make way for Project Pascalis.

Including the old Municipal Building in Project Pascalis, "presented the opportunity to spread out the density of the project, especially based on McDonald Law's feedback on the initial plans."

Law, who is the Design Review Board's chairman, "was really the driving force, and you can quote me on that," O'Briant continued. "He was very passionate about his desire to minimize the massive scale of the frontage of the apartments on Richland. He also was really, really excited about trying to utilize the (old) Municipal Building and basically won us all over."

Feedback from local residents also was taken into account, O'Briant said.

Based on the current Project Pascalis designs, the five-story hotel would have around 100 keys.

Revisions to its façade have been made, O'Briant said.

There also would be 117 apartments with 9,500 square feet of commercial space on their building's ground level.

A parking structure surrounded by the apartments would have 381 spaces.

The old Municipal Building, which is a two-story structure, would be expanded with a two-story addition.

In all, there would be 46,000 square feet of space. Six thousand feet of that total would be available for retail purposes and include the portion of the building along Bee Lane and across from Mellow Mushroom.

The bulk of the conference center facilities would be on the second floor.

The old Municipal Building is on an L-shaped piece of land bordered by The Alley and Newberry Street in addition to Park Avenue.

According to a 2021 appraisal, the property is worth $3 million. Not included in that assessment was the patio area, where Amp the Alley and other events are held.

If the old Municipal Building ended up being repurposed as a conference center, "it would allow us to do a historic refit of the old fire station that was at the front of the building," O'Briant said. "We could rip some of it out, put fire station doors back on and have a little café in there."

The City of Aiken has other options for the old Municipal Building to contemplate.

"There is a lot of interest from private investors," who could repurpose the structure for a variety of uses, O'Briant said. "Frankly, especially since Project Pascalis has moved forward, they are very, very interested in the building and they have made some good offers," he added. "None of them have amounted to $3 million at this point, but they've been for millions of dollars."

Aiken County government officials have discussed the possibility of purchasing or leasing the old Municipal Building with City of Aiken officials.

County Administrator Clay Killian said the structure would become the headquarters for the S.C. 2nd Judicial Circuit's solicitor and his staff.

Currently, they have offices at the Aiken County Judicial Center and two other locations.

"The courthouse is overcrowded, and if we can free up some space there, it lengthens the time before we have to worry about building a new courthouse," Killian said.

City and county officials also have talked about the city retaining the conference center on the old Municipal Building's first floor and the patio area.

After learning about the Project Pascalis proposal to turn the old Municipal Building into a conference center, Aiken County Council Chairman Gary Bunker said: "We remain at a high level of communication with the city on our proposal. Obviously, the city is going to do what it feels like it needs to do on Project Pascalis. But if the Municipal Building eventually becomes available for county use, we certainly would want to keep talking to the city about that."

When asked about the future of the old Municipal Building, Aiken County Council member Lessie Price replied: "Nothing is a done deal. Please make that clear.

"Let me just say that we're in the midst of planning for the city for the next 100 years, and in doing that we must get it right. Will everybody agree with the plan? We won't have everybody agree 100%, but you have to take some of the good and some of the bad and balance that. I am excited about moving this project along."

Said Aiken Mayor Rick Osbon, who also is a City Council member: "We look forward to considering all the potential uses (for the old Municipal Building). We are going to see what the options are, but obviously, this (the Project Pascalis proposal) is a strong consideration. I am excited about the potential for that property and what will be its highest and best use for the city."

The Aiken Standard also interviewed City Council member and Mayor Pro Tempore Ed Woltz.

"There are a lot of opportunities that we could use the (old) Municipal Building for, but a decision, to my knowledge, has not been made," he said.

Another City Council member, Ed Girardeau, said: "There are so many moving parts right now, and nothing is definitive yet. There were times when it would have been very difficult to sell, but right now, a lot of people want to be involved in downtown, and there are a lot of people interested in owning that building."