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On 2/13/2020 at 11:53 AM, westsider28 said:

We seem to be in a relatively significant lull right now, both in development news and economic/jobs announcements.  It's making me nervous/antsy.  We haven't had a private development proposal for downtown in months, and the ones that have been announced have yet to start (Forge apts, Bon Haven apts, any office or hotel, etc).  Even jobs announcements in the county seem to have dried up.  Anyone else wondering what's going on?  Any insights?

They all went to Greenville or Charlotte. Seriously though, while I feel downtown Spartanburg is nice, I still feel like it isn’t really the place people want to go. The downtown area needs more offerings and amenities whether that be more mixed use developments, more streetscaping, more pocket parks/plaza areas, or more retailers/restaurants in general. 

And something needs to be done about the area between QT and the rail road tracks on West Main Street. The city needs to at least add some streetscaping along this stretch if nothing else like bike lanes, decorative street lamps, benches, widened sidewalks, trees/bushes, traffic lights on black steel power poles, etc. Why they haven’t done this is baffling to me. 

Edited by gman430
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Spartanburg is a small city, in a conservative state and it has to use its limited budget efficiently.  If you compare downtown of 10-15 years ago, then there is no denying that the trajectory is headed upwards. All of that is a direct result of one large project (Morgan Square) and multiple small investments over that time. The city's downtown area is rather large relative to its size, so there are many projects that need to be done but I think they've done a good job taking small bites and working with private sector partners to make the area look great.  

 

I, for one, am not worried about it. The energy is there, if you doubt it, just go downtown on a Friday or Saturday night. It's very much alive and it gets better every time I go back. The jobs will come, and the city will continue to get better.


Personally, I'm interested in seeing when more residential/mixed use projects will arrive in downtown. The Silver Hill townhomes would seem to be the test for the Spartanburg downtown market. My guess is that when those sell, we'll start to see more residential projects in and around downtown. There's certainly a ton of space for them.

 

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2 hours ago, spartanburgh said:

I think GMAN430 has hit one nail on the head with the QT to the RR tracks. This has been discussed for years. The property owners have numerous code violations and the City chooses to look the other way for some reason.

 

I thought this was being discussed as an idea for a future project? Or is that just something we've discussed around here? Sometimes these things run together in my mind. 

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One Spartanburg is having their Year Three Update on Tuesday, Feb. 25 at 5:30 pm at the Magnolia Grand Event Center (Broad St side of The Leader building).  They sent an e-mail recently with some interesting teases:

Four Reasons to Attend: 
1) A significant economic development ranking announcement
2) The launch of InTheBurg, a new product to drive community pride
3) New progress on an effort to enhance one of Spartanburg’s key gateways
4) Be the first to review the full Year Three Scorecard
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36 minutes ago, Spartanburg Dude said:

Hey guys, does anyone know why all the trees along the side of Denny's Plaza (sidewalk trees) have been mowed down? What the heck?

On 2/25/2020 at 8:54 PM, westsider28 said:

New trees will be planted around the Denny's Plaza.  A $17,000 grant from the Noble Tree Foundation will pay for the installation of 34 street trees (oak, maple, and bald cypress) along the sidewalks surrounding the plaza.

This is desperately needed.  Most of the old maples (a poor variety for street trees) are in terrible condition.  Honestly, I hope they get rid of those huge hedges too.  That would really open up the sidewalk and make it feel more inviting.

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I believe the Downtown Development District is a joint city-county entity - it has both city and county council members on it - I think it's a replacement for one or both of the old TIF districts that had expired or were expiring...  it would not surprise me if this was a preliminary stage to the new local government center being on the City Hall block, and that space on the other side of South Spring St. becoming the parking deck.  I could see that district "owning" that parking deck.  Just a guess, though.  

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Well, I think it's 4 -  St. John, Kennedy, Dunbar, Magnolia... I think they were paid for by the tax increment financing districts that have recently expired.  It might be a question of where the money comes from to build it?  If it's going to be the garage for a joint city-county building, then maybe neither the city nor the county should own it, but a somewhat more neutral body that has representatives of both?  Again, I haven't checked any of this out, but I'm speculating a little.  But I guess we all do some speculating on this site!  

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1 hour ago, Spartan said:

Totally forgot about St John.

Does the city own the one on Kennedy? I always thought it was part of the Denny's building, but it was never an assumption based on facts. 

Yes.  It was built for the Denny's building / Broadwalk, but it is City-owned.  All four existing decks are.  Not sure what the ownership situation of the City/County admin deck will be.  The new courthouse deck will be owned by the County.

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Not sure where to put this or if it deserves its own thread, but the City is considering an agreement with an ownership group to bring a Coastal Plain League baseball team to Duncan Park!  You can find more info in the Sept. 14 City Council Agenda (PDF, starting on page 53).  The Coastal Plain League is a collegiate summer league with a 52-game schedule and teams in GA, SC, NC, and VA.  The agreement would be a 5-year initial term (2020-2025), with a potential 5-year extension after that.  The City states that "This arrangement would facilitate a new family entertainment offering for our community while increasing the likelihood of additional physical improvements to our historic ballpark."

This sounds great to me!

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I think Duncan Park needs to be overhauled.. Since the Panthers are not coming back, I think DP is a great place to spend money, I think the stadium could be transform and. modernize and host a FCS level collegiate tournament. and even a Regional for the little leagues

Edited by Darelle
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On 9/25/2020 at 4:29 PM, Darelle said:

I think Duncan Park needs to be overhauled.. Since the Panthers are not coming back, I think DP is a great place to spend money, I think the stadium could be transform and. modernize and host a FCS level collegiate tournament. and even a Regional for the little leagues

I believe that is the intent of the agreement with the Coastal Plain League team to play there.  The hope is that the team's success will allow further investment into stadium improvements, which would lead to higher attendance and more team success, etc, etc.  Positive cycle. 

Because of improvements made by District 7 over the past few years, the stadium is in good condition (particularly for players, with the new dugouts / locker rooms).  Seating still needs work, capacity is pretty low at the moment since most seating under the roof is unavailable.  I believe the CPL team will use temporary bleachers and hillside seating to boost capacity initially.

I agree that Duncan Park is a good place to focus sports / tourism funding.  People are always looking to capitalize on something uniquely Spartanburg, well this is a good candidate, being one of the oldest baseball stadiums in the country.  Certainly unique.

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On 1/28/2021 at 12:49 PM, westsider28 said:

Spartanburg County has finally hired a communications manager and has established social media presences on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.  It's about time.

https://www.goupstate.com/story/news/local/2021/01/28/spartanburg-county-communications-manager-boost-social-media-presence/6695792002/

Well, he didn't last too long!  

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