Efforts underway to turn Kingstree into a business hub
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Efforts underway to turn Kingstree into a business hub
A team of economic planning experts toured the town of Kingstree Thursday. The effort is in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Commerce. Williamsburg County is shrinking, with young people moving out of the area. Once their report is complete, funding opportunities have been set aside for a project that will help kick-start an economic transformation, experts say. The Rural Development Strategic Planning Initiative is aimed at revitalizing rural areas of the state through the department.
A team of economic planning experts toured the town of Kingstree Thursday, meeting with leaders to begin the process of identifying what’s working and what’s not, developing ideas on how to make the town more economically viable.
The effort is in partnership with the South Carolina Department of Commerce to revitalize rural areas of the state through the Rural Development Strategic Planning Initiative.
Williamsburg County is shrinking, with young people moving out of the area for opportunities in urban areas.
The county has lost 10% of its population in the last decade. But there’s still hope that it can once again be a destination for business.
Charles Sexton is the owner and CEO of Strategic Location Advisors. This week, his team started the process of gathering information and, in a few months, they’ll present the town with an economic plan.
He said rural areas are uniquely primed for opportunity.
“Metro areas are at capacity. They have so many companies that have come to them,” Sexton said. “In our mind, rural areas have a better opportunity now than ever before, but they have to be prepared, and so we have to help them identify what their current assets are and how to build additional assets so they can attract new employment and higher-paying jobs into their communities.”
Sexton and his team are working with commerce department officials to prepare a road map for the next five years for Kingstree. Once their report is complete, funding opportunities have been set aside for a project that will help kick-start an economic transformation.
“People here are passionate about their community and they want to see it grow, and we have leadership that wants to come together to find ways to move the community forward,” Sexton said. “That’s the most important first step. Now what we have to do is help them plan for their future so they can bring even more stakeholders to the table and try and get things done.”
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Source: https://www.live5news.com/2025/06/27/efforts-underway-turn-kingstree-into-business-hub/