PENDLETON, S.C. (WSPA) – The City of Pendleton is seeing changes to the location of the Pendleton Oil Mill on East Main Street and the Cheney Mill, located within walking distance of downtown.
“We are very happy that the plant is finally retired, it has been an eyesore for so long,” Carl Pokorny said.
The Pendleton Oil Mill has been vacant for two decades, leaders said. The plan is to create a multi-use space.
“This building will be more residential, and then another building or a lot of buildings that could be commercial will be built within this site,” Steve Miller said.
Not only will the oil press be renovated, but also the nearby Cheney Mill, which will be converted into a 150-unit residential complex.
“It will be like Woodside in Greenville or some of the other mills that have been redeveloped. Not the same developers but very similar so people can envision what those would look like,” Miller said.
The Pendleton Oil Mill has been collecting surface debris over the years, which has residents a little puzzled.
“We were worried about it catching fire or getting people hurt,” Porkorny said.
Crews will clean up over the next six weeks and environmental testing will begin.
“We're very excited to see the trash gone. There's going to be a period of time where it gets cleaned up and developed, and hopefully during that time it'll be a nice open space that's usable,” Porkorny said.
Officials said it will take at least two years before construction begins on the oil mill site. As for the Cheney Mill, construction is scheduled to be completed within the next year and a half.
