About the Project

The City of Laurinburg (population 15,681) is located in within Scotland County (population 35,603) in southern North Carolina. In the 1860's, the Carolina Central Railroad, presently CSX, arrived in Laurinburg, bringing with it economic and population growth. Incorporated in 1877, Laurinburg's agricultural dominate economy shifted to industrial production in the 1950s, 60s and 70s. Between 1960 and 1980, an average of one major employer moved into the region per year. During this time, the City won the All-American City award twice, once in 1956 and again in 1967.

This growth, however, was largely the result of national trends as a lack of unions and availability of inexpensive labor brought business and industry in from the "rust-belt" regions of the North to the "sub-belt" regions of the South. As the textile industry has begun shifting production to other areas of the world, Laurinburg's economy is suffering from the loss of living-wage jobs and abandoned and underused properties.

The primary goal of almost every citizen in Laurinburg is the redevelopment of one of these sites: the old hospital site. The overal goal of this project to promote the redevelopment of all abandoned and underused industrial sites in the City. Ultimately, the City hopes to spur economic growth by redeveloping key brownfields properties, assessing risk and raising community awareness.

Project Objectives

Specific objectives for this project include:

  • Involve the entire community in decision making,
  • Develop an inventory of brownfield sites,
  • Establish economic development and community priorities,
  • Conduct Phase I and/or Phase II environmental site assessments at high priority sites, and
  • Develop integrated remediation and redevelopment plans for assessed sites.

Progress Made

To date, the City has compiled a list of brownfields properties and held numerous community/stakeholder meetings to establish assessment and redevelopment priorities. Site assessments have been completed two environmental site assessments and redevelopment/remediation plans have been established for the old hospital site. The City is currently in negotiations with the property owner of the site to purchase the property.