The South Point Village Council made the right call this week when members unanimously approved a variance that would allow a local businessman to use a former school building for commercial purposes.

Joe Freeman bought the former South Point Elementary School in 2012 with plans to convert the structure into a mixture of luxury condos and office space.

The area on Washington Street was not zoned for commercial use and some residents in the area opposed Freeman’s fight for a variance, citing traffic and safety concerns.

Those residents’ concerns were and are well founded. They have an obligation as citizens to make sure their neighborhood is safe.

But Freeman and council members came to an agreement, which looks to benefit the community and county as a whole.

Freeman offered concessions on the variance, which council agreed with, to only allow certain types of businesses — accounting, appraisal, architectural, engineering, legal and surveying firms — to occupy the space.

These are the types of businesses that have a real chance to elevate the economy in South Point as well as the county.

Lawrence County needs job creation and it looks as if Freeman is providing a space in which those businesses can move.

The only downside is that it took this long to come to this agreement.