Seneca’s grant request to raze a former school building

Where once Seneca children went to primary school will likely in the future become green space for all to enjoy. Seneca took a step yesterday to leverage an outside grant to pay for the demolition of the former Kellett Elementary School on the city’s south side and convert the property for green space recreation. Arlene Young of the South Carolina Appalachian Council of Governments presided at a City Hall hearing and announced that Seneca’s $500 thousand application for a Community Development Block Grant faces a Monday deadline at the South Carolina Department of Commerce in Columbia. The plan is for Seneca to use the money, along with a local allocation of $136,200, to hire a contractor capable of demolishing the building in a way that meets environmental and other public safety considerations. Green space recreation is seen as a use satisfactory to Kellett neighborhood home owners, who in recent years opposed ideas to turn the property into a utilities complex or an assisted living care facility.