162 replies to this topic

[krazeeboi]

Although I'm a bit wary of lists that try to rank cities as a whole and not based on just one factor or a related group of factors, this is nonetheless good press for Spartanburg.

[hub-city]

USC Upstate is considering building a new business and economics school downtown in Renaissance Park.  It would be between the CCC and Montgomery building and face St. John.  No architectual plans are drawn yet, but USC Upstate has until Dec. 1 to present the idea to Dr. Sorensen to be considered by the board.

Lots of other details in the article from the HJ so CHECK it out and give some feedback.

Edited by hub-city, 18 September 2007 - 06:35 AM.

[roads-scholar]

hub-city, on Sep 18 2007, 07:33 AM, said:

USC Upstate is considering building a new business and economics school downtown in Renaissance Park.  It would be between the CCC and Montgomery building and face St. John.  No architectual plans are drawn yet, but USC Upstate has until Dec. 1 to present the idea to Dr. Sorensen to be considered by the board.

Lots of other details in the article from the HJ so CHECK it out and give some feedback.

This project, if it comes to pass, could potentially have a huge impact on downtown, particularly the Renaissance Park site.

[Spartan]

This is fantastic news. The impacts could be significant. Any thoughts on what those could be?

I hope that the presence of this school downtown would lead more businesses to downtown to create a denser employment base. We haven't seen any new medium or large companies locate downtown recently, though there are a number of expansions and relocations (especially with banks) happening.

I'm sure that President Sorensen will see the positive implications that this would have for the USC system as a leader for economic development outside of Columbia and how it fits into USC Upstate's goals to offer MBA degrees. You need only look at the Moore School of Business, which has a location in Uptown Charlotte for its Professional MBA Program. That program is slightly different in scope, but still a precedent for this type of thing. You also have Clemson investing in a location in downtown Greenville. I think that this could easily happen for us.

[krazeeboi]

It's good to see one of the colleges wanting to expand its presence into the CBD. Colleges and universities (and their students) play a critical role in the shaping of any downtown.

[breed]

roads-scholar, on Sep 18 2007, 10:27 AM, said:

This project, if it comes to pass, could potentially have a huge impact on downtown, particularly the Renaissance Park site.

...especially if dorms are part of the plan... anyone know how big the area they are looking at is?

[Spartan]

The paper didn't specify. I assume that it would be a small chunk of the over all property (which is something like 9 acres) that faces St John St. I doubt that this facility would include dorms. They need to have more at the USCS campus though. It sounds like it would be some sort of extension campus.

[hub-city]

Another ARTICLE from the HJ about USC Upstate coming to Renaissance Park.  If all goes well could open by Dec. 2009.  The city will donate 1 acre to the school in exchange for some garage and infrastructure improvements. Great stuff.......

[Spartan]

Wow, about 400 students would be at the downtown location. Thats more than I thought it would be.

I think this quote says it all: "At least 400 business students will flood downtown every day, each of them prime candidates to work at local businesses, or, perhaps, to someday start their own businesses in the city. City leaders say students and faculty will frequent local businesses downtown and at Renaissance Park, and new housing might pop up to serve students and faculty who want to be close to school."

[Spartan]

There is a good article in the GSA Business Journal about that talks about the various happenings around the Renaissance Park site including:

- Chapman Cultural Center
- USC Upstate School of Business & Economics
- Marriott property update

The info on the Marriott was news to me. That whole process is still a mess, but it looks like the bankruptcy proceedings will go through, and the new owner will straighten things out. I'll be glad when that mess is over with.

There wasn't really any other new info for anyone who reads UP regularly There was however, some interesting speculation on what the impacts of the Cultural Center and the School of Business would be on the area by Dr. Darrell Parker, dean of the USC Upstate School of Business and Economics, and Perry Mixter, president of the Arts Partnership of Greater Spartanburg (and UrbanPlanet member). They both speculate the these new buildings will generate new development- particularly restaurant and retail- in the area.

[Spartan]

The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees voted unanimously to support USC Upstate's proposed building in downtown.

The University of South Carolina Board of Trustees approved this project and the immediate renaming of the USC Upstate School of Business Administration and Economics to the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics. The facility will be located next to the Chapman Cultural Center in the Renaissance Park facing St. John Street. Initial plans call for a three-story, 44,000-square-foot building. The university expects to break ground in late fall 2008 and anticipates that construction will be completed in December 2009. The city also will partner with the university for construction of a 780-space parking garage at a cost of $11 million with a minimum of 250 parking spaces provided for USC Upstate. The exact location of the parking deck will depend on several variables, including the size of the garage, the contour of the land, how much of the garage is built below ground, and whether retail space or housing will be "wrapped" around the garage on the first level.

Facts summary:

Cost: $26 million
Height: 3 stories
Sq Ft: 44k
1 acre site on St John St
780 space garage- possibly with retail/housing wrapped around it

The Herald-Journal
The Greenville News
University of South Carolina Press Release
University of South Carolina Upstate Press Release


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I will be very disappointed if the parking garage doesn't at least have some ground level retail, and if they can get some housing in there too, its that much better.

[krazeeboi]

I wish this building could be more vertical, but it's a good thing nonetheless. I think the location of the garage will determine if any type of space, retail or otherwise, goes into the ground floor.

[Spartan]

As far as height goes, I wouldn't object to its being a little taller, but this is USC Upstate we're talking about. Its not Carolina or Clemson that have the money to building much larger buildings.

As for the garage, I think that either way, retail space needs to be made available on the ground level if not more. Even if its on the rear of the building, the rest of the property will be developed someday, and right now its sounding like it will be a mixed used urban village of some kind.

[Spartan]

Another article. This one highlights George Dean Johnson and his contributions to the city with a focus on the USC Upstate Business School. Basically, at the rate things are going, they will need to rename East Main Street to George Dean Johnson Jr Boulevard. Its crucial that the city have its philanthropers who recognize the importance of a strong downtown.

[hub-city]

The city appears to be moving forward with some infrastructure for Renaissance Park.  They are now working on a road to connect the Marriott to Barnet Park  Although it will be parallel to St. John, they want it to flow throught the area and not divide it.  They also appear to be still open to some other enhancements like water features etc...

ARTICLE from HJ.

[Spartan]

This is a critical connection to make. I assume that this new road will be an extension of Silver Hill Street, though they may call it something else, and connect over next to the Marriott. There has never been any other road in the alignment they are talking about, so the name may be up for grabs. I hope its something simple like "Renaissance Street" and not "Mayor William Barnet, III Boulevard" or some ridiculously long name like that.

Is there a map in the print edition?

This is my concept of what I think/hope the road's location will resemble. I'm not sure how much 'meandering' you can do on this site, unless they are trying to do a mini Lobard Street like San Francisco.

[hub-city]

No there wasn't a map in the paper.  I guess by meandering this road would have to drift over a little to enter the new garage for the business school and maybe catch the Liberty Street extension, and then work it's way back to connect to Silver Hill?  I just don't know, but it would be great to really have a defined master plan for the whole area before putting in the road.

At one time Floyd's had agreed to tear down their garage for this road, but that was way back in the day.  Any insight on this?

[Zebra]

Spartan, on Feb 29 2008, 01:07 PM, said:

There has never been any other road in the alignment they are talking about, so the name may be up for grabs. I hope its something simple like "Renaissance Street" and not "Mayor William Barnet, III Boulevard" or some ridiculously long name like that.

The name for the new street will be Promenade Road.  This has been floating around.  I work for one of the companies that bid for this project and that was the name that was used for those purposes.  This is original bid discription for the project:

Scope of Work :

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN The City of Spartanburg is requesting competitive proposals to provide engineering services needed for a potential road construction project to be built starting behind the Marriott Hotel and connecting to North Converse Street behind the Chapman Cultural Center. The street will include storm drainage, sidewalks, street lights, landscaping, and electrical infrastructure to provide power for public events. The consultant selected will develop full construction plans and specifications based on the City’s requirements for this project.

[Spartan]

I know this is kind of nitpicky, but I'd much rather it be Promenade "Street" as opposed to "Road." A "road" to me is more rural, and when in a city is more of a through-road... like Reidville Rd or Blackstock Rd.

Thanks for that information Zebra. Do you know if the new street will actually connect to Church Street, or is that something for the consultant to determine? From that scope of work it sounds as though it will just dead end behind the hotel, or maybe connect to Daniel Morgan some how. Any thoughts on that?

[krazeeboi]

I agree with Spartan as to the name. Actually I think I'd prefer boulevard or avenue--sounds a bit more classy, and I think the new thoroughfare will have the potential to be just that.