roads-scholar

We're about the same age but I can remember when West Main was much more vibrant. At one time it was a busy if unattractive hodgepodge of car dealerships (Vic Bailey, LP Pitts Toyota), grocery store (Community Cash), restaurants (Steeple, Varsity, Hardees), and the Coca Cola plant, etc. With the exception of Kapasi Glass there's nothing along the corridor today that's a draw or destination. I'm hoping the streetscaping that's planned along with what's happening at The Grain District will help revitalize this corridor.

A "Northside Development Group" for the Southside would be a good start... If Piggly Wiggly and Sav-a-Lot can't attract foot traffic and sales then we shouldn't expect another grocer in this location for a long time. My personal opinion (and this will offend some) is that southside residents (and others) perceived Piggly Wiggly as a less than quality shopping experience when in fact it was clean, reasonably stocked, and professionally managed. Certainly better than Aldi where it seems everyone flocks to. I shopped there a few times and never felt unsafe or uncomfortable. Were prices at PW higher? Maybe on some items but overall I didn't notice. The hard truth is that neither Publix, Ingles, or Food Lion will put a store on South Church Streets unless the demographics change and there's retail synergy to support stores of that caliber.

H-J reports Piggly Wiggly on South Church is closing.

Its a tough business right now with the high cost of food, labor shortages, insurance, and rent. I thought her business model (lunch only with catering - limited dining area) was sustainable. The good news is that Dudley's is reopening after being closed for about a year.

Maybe we can start a "Union Street Corridor" forum someday 'cause I feel this street is ripe for new development. The Fitzgerald, Fretwell, the rail trail, new plans for Duncan Park, and the new apartments (same developer as The Fitzgerald) could be the catalyst for improvement. Agree that Union Street is pretty sad and not a welcoming southern gateway into the city. A road diet would be nice too but we all know what the obstacles are.

Personally I'd like to see Dunbar and Main permanently closed but leave the rest of the square alone. The trees, benches, and other aesthetics seem to working fine.

When I attended Wofford NOBODY went downtown. Back then there was NuWay Lounge. NO pizza.

Just so everyone knows the city isn't standing still regarding our homeless population: Homeless Engagement And Response Team (HEART). Launching on March 21, 2022, in collaboration with our service providers to support and respond to all the increasing needs of our unsheltered residents as well as the increasing concerns from community leaders and stakeholders, HEART hopes to address the needs of those living, working, residing, and/or experiencing homelessness in the Spartanburg community. This team will operate with the following goals in mind: To reduce the number of homelessness by 10%, to successfully refer at least 75% of our homeless residents to resources within Spartanburg, and to engage in at least 12 educational opportunities with the community within the next year. In order to do this, HEART will consist of service providers, City of Spartanburg staff, and members of the Spartanburg Police Department, including no more than four members at a time. The City of Spartanburg Homeless Court is a voluntary program created to help individuals who are either currently homeless or homeless at the time they were charged with a criminal offense that falls within the criteria for Homeless Court participation. The purpose of the Homeless Court is to encourage participants to receive and complete treatment and rehabilitation programs in exchange for the dismissal of the fines associated with a criminal offense and, in some cases, the dismissal of an offense. The Litter Hero Program is a 90-day pilot created by the City of Spartanburg, OneSpartanburg Inc., Spartanburg County, and a wide range of homeless service providers that will employ up to four individuals who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability as part of a litter crew working in Spartanburg County. Participants will be considered employees, reporting to work in the mornings to engage in case management and life skills training as assigned prior to heading to the work site. This pilot program was initiated as an innovative means of helping address a noticeable increase in litter throughout Spartanburg County and in order to provide an innovative path toward sustainable employment opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness. Are these initiatives enough? Of course not. There's an acute shortage of shelter beds, especially in the winter months. Affordable housing is still unattainable for many people. Mental health resources have been reduced statewide. And then, sadly, some men and women prefer to be homeless. They live nomadic lives moving from city to city. Anyone who believes homelessness is just a "Spartanburg problem" is missquided. Anyone who thinks homelessness can be addressed by tougher law enforcement is simply dead wrong. Anyone who thinks that "just building more shelters" will solve the problem of homelessness doesn't understand the depth and complexity of homelessness. I encourage everyone reading this to tour the Miracle Hill mission on North Forest Street. You'll learn real fast what the challenges are.

This sounds like an excuse to (1) bail out or (2) seek additional incentives from the city. Yes, Spartanburg has a homeless population but I don’t see it as a crisis.

Several factors are at play, I believe. More and more grocery chains are consolidating or being bought out by larger chains. With razor-thin margins, grocers want to locate their stores in markets with high HH income. Cedar Springs is growing, yes, but the overall demographics (HH income) is weak. The Cedar Springs Shopping Center has been marginal for a long time. Its begging for a strong anchor.

Still on the developers website. Interpret that any way you want.

I was a teenager when "Spartan Square" (or whatever it was called) was first proposed in 1974. Agree it would have had a huge and lasting impact on downtown had it reached fruition. I think the biggest differences in that project and the one today is (1) the lead developer (The Johnson Group) is local, (2) the financing (at least pertaining to the stadium) seems mostly set on paper, (3) the national economy is robust compared to the stagnant 70's, and (4) grand downtown development schemes like Spartan Square were not something the investment community was interested in. The city still charged ahead with Spartan Square waiting for the project to germinate. But sadly we lost the Andrews Building and the core of the city of was a vast empty lot for a generation.

I attended a G-Drive game earlier in the month and the stadium was less than half full on a beautiful Friday evening. One game's attendance may or may not mean much to this discussion but I haven't seen any marketing outreach to the Spartanburg market. Maybe the G-Drive is concerned they'll lose stadium ad revenue from Spartanburg-based companies? AFL and Milliken both pay to have their logos on the outfield wall. I've personally met the owner of the G-Drive and his son and came away impressed. Their operation is first class and I'm confident they can continue to be successful without having to rely on Spartanburg For the record, I think the upstate is strong enough to support two minor league teams.

I noticed last week the former CVS / Rite Aid / or whatever pharmacy chain was at the intersection of Union and Southport has been demolished.

The project is still on the developer's website. My gut tells me the project is still "on" but financing costs are too high right now to proceed.

Whataburger https://www.postandcourier.com/spartanburg/news/whataburger-in-sc-spartanburg-county-is-getting-4/article_ba965d7a-0c8a-11ee-ba78-ab12a4e12099.html

IMO "Peaches" doesn't reflect the Spartanburg of today. Peach production in Spartanburg County hardly exists today. Lots of people who live here now have little if no recollection of Spartanburg's peach growing history.

I drove by this afternoon. Looks to be SERIOUS site prep. I think our new hotel will soon become a reality.

We have to see the renderings and long-term plans but many larger cities have ballparks with similar seating capacities. Smaller ballparks can have a more intimate feel too. This is an exciting time to live and work in "The Burg".

I met the auditorium manager yesterday. He has 40+ years experience managing venues bigger than SMA and he knows the business like he knows the back of his hand. Spartanburg is lucky to have him. He mentioned a few things of note: the auditorium will soon announce a Broadway series. a new website will be launched soon. large and small booking agents have taken notice of the auditorium. future bookings for both the theater (upstairs) and arena (downstairs) are way up. Downstairs has a new stage and sound system for smaller acts. a new roof is planned next year. the auditorium is looking to add more staff as business is demanding it. the auditorium is working with the county to ensure the property across the street (currently the county administration building) is redeveloped to complement the auditorium.

Avenue.

Where there's smoke there's (or soon to be) fire. I keep hearing more and more rumors about something BIG coming to Daniel Morgan.

Look, I'm old enough to remember the Main Street Mall and the city's efforts to redirect traffic onto Dunbar and Broad Streets. First, let me be clear. The Main Street Mall DID NOT kill downtown Spartanburg. Downtown was barely alive when the mall was built and continued to decline during its existence. Moreover, Westgate Mall opened just a year after it opened. A few years later Hillcrest Mall opened. Talk about bad timing! Back to Morgan Square. How long has it been since cars drove through it? And, what business has been hurt by that? The answer is NONE. Driving across town isn't difficult OR confusing.

No information on the tower. That's probably going to be funded by the FAA which means on their timeline too.

Listened to a great presentation yesterday from the airport's VP of Marketing and Communications. Some highlights: 2nd parallel runway is still years if not decades away or unless air traffic demand picks up appreciably. Even then advancements in aircraft arrival / departure technology make it less necessary for additional runways at small to medium hub airports. The growth in cargo operations at the airport has been phenomenal since the pandemic. The airport is planning additional cargo handling facilities and aircraft parking aprons. The airport owns ALL concessions in the terminal. I wasn't aware of this. An airport hotel is probably 7-10 years away. Construction will begin shortly on extending the airport roadways. General aviation facilities are being expanded and modernized. A 3rd parking garage will be constructed in the near future. This garage will include a consolidated rental car facility. The airport is working with a European autonomous vehicle manufacturer to provide passengers with driverless pick-up service between the terminal and parking lots. The airport has been essentially "debt-free" since its opening in 1962. Nothing is built (terminals, hangars, roadways, etc.) without money in the bank.