This is the latest installment in our Main Street NC series from the WUNC Politics Podcast. We're visiting communities across the state to hear from local leaders about the issues and challenges they’re facing, from beach erosion to healthcare access.
For the past 65 years, Saint Andrews University has been a major economic engine for the small town of Laurinburg, in Scotland County near the South Carolina line. And with more than a thousand students and staff in a town of about 15,000 people, the university was a big part of the town’s identity.
That all changed on May 5, when the university shut down for good after years of financial challenges, many of which are common among private colleges in rural areas.
Now the sprawling campus on the edge of town sits barricaded and empty. The athletic fields are getting overgrown, and its aging buildings are falling into disrepair.
It’s a big blow for a county that’s been making progress on bringing down a persistently high unemployment rate.
Three years ago, it was over 7% – one of the highest in the state. As of August, the Scotland County unemployment rate is down to 5.5%. That’s still higher than the state’s urban and tourism centers, but it’s better than several other rural counties.
County leaders have been working to draw industry and development to multiple sites, and they hope the St. Andrew’s campus can be one of them.
State Rep. Garland Pierce, D-Scotland, is trying to get state support for what might come next for the Saint Andrews site.
“I always tell people, if we could just get one good industry, about 500 jobs – it's done,” he said. “But that's just a hard draw right now, but I think it's going to come eventually.”
The absence of college students can be felt in Laurinburg’s historic downtown, where businesses relied on the university community for a portion of their sales.
Jim Clark and his wife Laurie own the shop Antiques Arts and Oddities on Main Street. Weekends during university events used to be busy, but not anymore.
“We had a third of the foot traffic that we had last year, and the other stores told us the same thing,” Jim Clark said. “It's the people that were coming down for all the school stuff, and they're not here now. We definitely felt it, but you got to take it in stride and keep moving.”
Clark isn’t originally from Laurinburg, but he says the community has embraced his shop since it opened a few years ago.
“We moved here four years ago from Ohio,” he said. “We were looking for a historic home, and we didn't like Ohio anymore, wanted to get out of the snow.”
Clark isn’t the only business owner drawn to Laurinburg’s Main Street. Next door, workers are building a new cocktail bar. And a bakery is running a pop-up shop in the antiques store while finishing its permanent storefront.
The city’s community development director, Walker McCoy, says the activity downtown is the result of careful planning.
“Downtown has come a long way, even in the last 10 years,” McCoy said. “Laurinburg is part of the North Carolina Main Street Program. That's been great to help with resources. We have a dedicated downtown coordinator.”
The loss of the university could harm that momentum, but local leaders are hopeful that the campus can be redeveloped – just not as a college.
To hear more about Laurinburg’s economic future and what’s next for the Saint Andrews campus, WUNC News spoke with McCoy, as well as Chris English, executive director of the Laurinburg/Scotland County Area Chamber of Commerce; and Jeff McKay, director of the Scotland County Economic Development Corporation
NOTE: This transcript has been edited for brevity and clarity.
Where did the university fit into the overall economic picture, in terms of how many jobs it contributed and how it interacted with the rest of the local economy?
McKay: “The estimated impact was somewhere around $60 million that we'll lose and a tremendous number of employees. There's a big redevelopment effort that the community is trying to envision for that campus, which constitutes about 300 acres around the main campus and another 300 acres around an equestrian facility. There's a lot of debt that was left … and now we're left with a pretty desperate situation that I'm optimistic about, because the community has banded together and made significant monetary commitments to try and work through with the state.”
Once you get through that debt situation and get that resolved, what are some of the potential future uses of that property?
McKay: “If you think about a painting canvas, we'd need to wipe the canvas clean and maybe start over. We'd love to see education. We'd love to see some community infrastructure, and that may also include some other types of housing. We would probably try and commission some type of a master plan that we would put a (request for proposals) out for a developer, to have the best impact for the community. We'll have one chance to do this right, and we want to make sure we plan for it correctly.”
Scotland County has often had one of the state's highest unemployment rates in the past, but I've noticed the numbers have been improving over the last few years. Where are you seeing the bigger economic development wins for this area, where you're able to bring back in jobs?
English: “I'd start with the hospital system, that being our biggest employer. They continue to make investments in our local system here, not only inside Scotland County, but they're expanding outside into other counties, over in Marlboro County in South Carolina and in Pembroke.”
McKay: “We've got a great new industrial park out on 401 Bypass, we call it Wallace Way. We just located an auto parts manufacturer there. They moved down from New York because they like the community. We're building a new spec facility right across from that. NSG Pilkington, one of the largest glass plants in the world, just made a tremendous new investment.”
What makes the airport such an asset to this area, compared to other towns that may have similar sized airports?
English: “Historically, this was a U.S. Army Air Force base, and it was given to the cities of Laurinburg and Maxton with that infrastructure in place. That particular airport has its own water system and wastewater that they manage. There's rail out there. There's natural gas. So that airport has a lot of the infrastructure already set up that lot of airports don't.”
McKay: “They're building a new terminal that's under construction, with 11 or 12 new hangers.”
What keeps you in this community? What makes it special?
McKay: “I grew up here in the small community of Wagram, in the northern part of the county. I always kept a house at my family's farm and always knew I'd come back, just because of the sincerity of the community. I can't tell you how fulfilling it is to be back in your own community and have a chance to give back and work with team players who are really passionate about what they do in trying to make this community a better place to be.”
McCoy: “I think living here and being from here, I have a lot invested in things getting better. I'm proud of what's happened, and proud of the way things are going, and want to keep it that same direction.”
Listen to the full conversation on the WUNC Politics Podcast. And listeners in Laurinburg and Scotland County can check out WUNC News on the radio at 89.1 FM.
Three things to do in Laurinburg
Lumber River State Park: The state park allows for paddling trips down the Lumber River across four counties. Just north of Laurinburg, the Chalk Banks access point has three miles of hiking trails, a campground and picnic area.
Laurinburg-Maxton Airport: The local airport, a former Air Force base, is the training location for the U.S. Army’s Golden Knights parachute teams. People stop by the airport to watch their training sessions on weekday mornings in the warmer months, and an air show each fall draws big crowds.
N.C. Rural Heritage Center: The center includes a museum featuring the history of the area and its American Indian community, as well as a collection of historical buildings that give visitors a feel for rural life in North Carolina in the 1800s.
