21 S.C. communities receive public improvement grants.

• Position: South Carolina Department of Commerce

Twenty-one S.C. communities will receive $7.6 million in public improvement project funding in the latest round of Community Development Block Grants.

The S.C. Department of Commerce awards the grants in the spring and fall each year. Recipients are selected through a competitive process and must meet one of three objectives: benefit those with low-to-moderate income; prevent or eliminate blight; or meet other urgent needs which pose an immediate public health threat. Local governments are required to provide at least a 10% funding match.

The funds are allocated to the state from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.

"In South Carolina, we work hard to ensure that economic development touches every corner of our state, and the CDBG program is an important tool in our arsenal for overall improvement," S.C. Secretary of Commerce Bobby Hitt said in a news release. "To further attract investments to our communities, we need to preserve the remarkable quality of life that exists throughout our state, and these public projects are critical to doing just that."

The recipients and awarded amounts are:

Community

Project

Grant amount

Town of Allendale

Razor Road area demolition

$181,390

Allendale County

Village Inn demolition

$126,534

City of Bennettsville

Shady Rest neighborhood demolition

$435,710

Town of Bluffton

Goethe/Shults neighborhood revitalization

$500,000

Town of Cheraw

Front Street neighborhood clearance

$155,000

Chester County

Department of Social Services/Department of Health and Human Services building renovation

$500,000

City of Clemson

Littlejohn Community Center renovation

$500,000

Colleton County

High school football stadium demolition

$500,000

City of Dillon

Pine Street neighborhood revitalization

$490,050

Town of Eastover

Eastover school demolition

$267,158

Town of Estill

Morrison Avenue neighborhood demolition

$149,630

City of Greenwood

Community Center demolition

$249,404

Hampton County

Early Branch and Varnville demolition

$282,915

City of Hanahan

Charleston Farms neighborhood...