Bush River Road

[krazeeboi]

^And being that I'm single, it would be a waste. But it's good for families though.

[Chi2Midlands]

Costco and Sams club and all of those places are over rated. I mean really, how often do you need a 15 lb bag of rice?

I agree with the other two posters - the big "warehouse club" stores don't make sense for singles or people who don't consume enough to justify a big up-front expense. However, for families, non-profits, businesses, etc. who can't wait for every little sale, clearance, or coupon to come along, they're great values.

I would add that Costco (and sometimes Sam's Club) has some nice items like furniture and gadgets (like things you see at Sharper Image but come out in Costco a few months later at lower prices). In that respect Costco has a "Target" feel to it - there are some interesting things and values if you know when/where to look.

[sonofaque86]

Costco and Sams club and all of those places are over rated. I mean really, how often do you need a 15 lb bag of rice?

Unless your Asian

[803metlife]

Just an update!!!! Construction for the new Walmart supercenter on Bush River Rd has begun... I see the developers didn't waste any time. Glad to see the eye sore vacant lot is being developed. I sure will miss all the memories from back in the days when the same lot had a movie theather,arcade and Burlington Coat Factory. That's what happened once the movie theather and Burlingtons moved to Dutch Square Mall it became a waste land. Glad to see something is being built there. I guess people staying in the newly rennovated Radisson Hotel on Bush River Rd. will enjoy because it's in walking distance and it's 24hrs.

[krazeeboi]

I would be nice if Bush River Rd could be developed into something of an urban corridor, as much as could be allowed, with Wal-Mart (yes, Wal-Mart) leading the way in that regard. There is one in Charleston that is actually taking this approach. I really would hate to see this place fill up with nothing but a bunch of big boxes again. A good mixed-use development or two would do wonders in the area.

[emerging.me]

Yes it would be. The county has plans for Dutch Square to be redeveloped into a lifestyle center/village-style development (what are we calling these things nowadays?). They can be viewed on the Richland County website in the Town & Country plan... but it'll take a miracle for them to lure a developer given the current state of things over there. That said, there are some minor signs of life.

[krazeeboi]

I wonder how similarly-sized cities across the country are luring investment to these barren areas. So far, I have yet to see a success story in this regard. The original malls in many cities are lying in decay while the big boxes move further and further out. You can see the same phenomenon even in smaller cities such as Orangeburg and Rock Hill. In Rock Hill, the old mall site in Cherry Road is getting something of a makeover, including a Super Bi-Lo. But there's a Bi-Lo only less than a mile up the road towards I-77, so nothing is happening but a transfer of activity.

[Spartan]

Well, North Charleston converted its old mall into a business center. And they just opened up a new town center type of thing (like Sandhill) down the road from there, so that may help with future reinvestment in the Montague Ave area (which is pretty crappy otherwise).

[digital_sandlapper]

I wonder how similarly-sized cities across the country are luring investment to these barren areas. So far, I have yet to see a success story in this regard. The original malls in many cities are lying in decay while the big boxes move further and further out. You can see the same phenomenon even in smaller cities such as Orangeburg and Rock Hill. In Rock Hill, the old mall site in Cherry Road is getting something of a makeover, including a Super Bi-Lo. But there's a Bi-Lo only less than a mile up the road towards I-77, so nothing is happening but a transfer of activity.

I don't know how they did it, but Savannah has. For a while there, the older, closer-in mall, Oglethorpe Mall, was being superseded by the further out, much larger and ritzier Savannah Mall. The OM area (called the Southside) did have some down years as the SM sucked patrons away. But, about 5 years ago, the reverse happened. OM added Barnes & Noble, kept its Rich's (now Macy's), added other new stores, and many strip malls nearby renovated and added new tenants. In the meantime, Savannah Mall lost tenants and shoppers in droves. Oglethorpe Mall is thriving (booming is more like it), while the newer "fancier" mall down the road is deserted. It's really quite unusual, but nice to know that Savannah's sprawl south won't be quite so fast.

[krazeeboi]

Wow, that's interesting and definitely the exception. I'd like to know exactly how they bucked that trend.