Hartsville OKs $85K loan to House of Hope
Hartsville City Council voted to extend the House of Hope of the Pee Dee an $85,000 forgivable loan at its Tuesday meeting. House of Hope of the Pee Dee is a Christ-centered 501(c)(3) nonprofit that serves the needs of men, women and children facing homelessness, according to its website.
House of Hope plans to use the money to begin renovating its 7,800-square-foot resource center at 212 W. Carolina Ave. in Hartsville. Addressing the council, House of Hope CEO John Weiss Jr. said, "Monday through Friday, someone can walk through those doors and get help from our counselors."
Plans for the resource center include providing office space to other nonprofits rent-free, so they may provide their own services to people at risk of homelessness. Weiss said, "Nonprofits need to work together in partnerships under one roof and be able to provide the utmost care compassion together in their community."
Weiss expects Phase 1 of renovations to begin in 90-120 days. He said in an interview "that would be a complete gut to the building inside, new roof, new AC units, and then we will start forming out the office space."
The Council voted 7-0 to pass Ordinance 4501, authorizing the city to provide a forgivable loan for the House of Hope. The ordinance had been on the November agenda, but it was tabled in December "because we had some contract updates with the House of Hope," Hartsville City Manager Daniel Moore said.
Moore added, "We have completed those updates; we extended the term of the loan. This allows us to give money to a service that the city is currently not providing."
Weiss said House of Hope and the city of Hartsville agreed to a three-year term with discussions for extensions in the future. "They are giving us a loan that is forgivable when the project is complete," he said. "The city does that to protect themselves with taxpayer dollars."
Weiss is "looking forward to this partnership between Hartsville and House of Hope of the Pee Dee. We as an organization couldn't be happier, and we're looking forward to the future. It's going to be some big stuff."
House of Hope expects to complete renovation and bring at least some of its services online by fall. The organization had purchased the building debt-free in May 2025 thanks to a private donation of $460,000.
Photo of the building at 212 W. Carolina in Hartsville provided by House of Hope of the Pee Dee. (Photo/House of Hope of the Pee Dee)
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