Westgate Watcher

[Spartan]

I agree. I am betting that they will make it an entrance. It would hopefully take some pressure off the food court entrance, which is always packed.

[alias007]

It's a bittersweet thing. I hate seeing the old Proffit's building go, but really glad to see a Costco. Perhaps one day we'll have the population to support a multifloor mall. I'm loving all the relatively recent development that's been going on in the Westgate area, though!!! Chandi's Bistro, Spartan 16, new Long John Silver's/A&W, new Best Buy, Olive Garden, Dorman Center, etc... and I suppose I should mention Hooter's even though I'm not a fan.

[Spartan]

Indeed. What is interesting too is that the development has actually pulled back and we are seein gmore redevelopment than anything (in terms of commercial growth).

[Spartan]

Hollister is now open at Westgate.

"I think they realized that Spartanburg is a completely different market than Greenville"

[clemsonfn]

It appears to my untrained eye that they ARE putting a new mall entrance in where Profitts was. At least, it looks that way from the interstate.

[Spartan]

Thats good to know. I didnt think that they would close if off.... but hey, stranger things have happened in Sparkle City.

[Lootles]

Does anyone know if Costco is still planning an August '07 opening? Living in Asheville, I don't get much news about it.

Thanks.

[roads-scholar]

Does anyone know if Costco is still planning an August '07 opening? Living in Asheville, I don't get much news about it.

Thanks.

I drove by last night and the Costco site appears to be ready for at least a "soft opening" in August.

[Lootles]

I drove by last night and the Costco site appears to be ready for at least a "soft opening" in August.

Thanks, again. If anyone hears of a opening date, would you mind posting it here?

[Spartan]

No problem. I'm sure we're all excited to know when its going to open.

[hub-city]

I Thought I read August 17, but I'm not quite sure.....

[Lootles]

I hear that Costco in Spartanburg is opening today and the one in Greenville will open tomorrow or Friday. Can anyone confirm this?

[roads-scholar]

I hear that Costco in Spartanburg is opening today and the one in Greenville will open tomorrow or Friday. Can anyone confirm this?

That's what the ad in the newspaper read. Spartanburg on the 15th and Greenville on the 16th.

[hub-city]

Just came back from Costco at Wesgate. I think I'll be changing my membership from Sam's to there. About the same stuff, but it seemed to be better brands and more selections.

[Lootles]

Just came back from Costco at Wesgate. I think I'll be changing my membership from Sam's to there. About the same stuff, but it seemed to be better brands and more selections.

I did notice at Costco.com today that their M-F opening hours for regular members is 11:00 am, and for executive card holders it's 10:00 am. Sam's gives a better deal for business members by letting them in as early as 7:00 am on weekdays and regular members at 10:00 am.

Just thought I'd point that out in case that would be a concern for you. Luckily, my Sam's membership is a free employee benefit for me so that leaves me to pay for Costco - which I happily do.

Costco's store brand (Kirkland) is excellent on everything I've ever gotten of it. The Kirkland canned tuna is especially good.

[Sparkleman]

First off let me say that there are many of you that feel the same way about Westgate Mall and have said so on many other threads. There is no secret that it is positively the worst mall in America and has the worst department stores that these chains offer. It was my Christmas wish to stay out of there this year and shop only at Target, Best Buy, and Greenville or Charlotte. However the one thing my Mom wants more than anything is a nice robe. I figured how could Westgate screw this up? Well I should have known better. This is yet another item that cannot be found at Westgate at least one that is fairly nice. Yes you can get one that is terry cloth with a sash that is $14.95 but nothing you would want to lounge in. So I am off to Greenville today with the crazies to take care of this task.

It seems shopping as well as restaurants are headed in the same direction in this gosh forbidden town. As I have said before many times on this board, Spartans just take it in the a$$ and take whatever is given to them never demanding better. Lets just bring back Roses, K Mart, and Sky City and mix in a few more Ryans and be done with any dreams of anything better.

[Spartan]

The worst mall in America might be a bit of a stretch. I can think of plenty that are worse.

[goodbye]

...So I am off to Greenville today with the crazies to take care of this task.

Let us know if you find what you are looking for in Greenville. I've done most of my holiday shopping online this year. (Don't tell the local retailers, please.)

[Spartan]

I moved the discussion of the roads over to the SPATS thread at the following link:

http://www.urbanplanet.org/forums/Spartanb....html&st=40

[perrykat]

Being the "mall rat" I am, and not living that far, I decided to pay a visit to Westgate Mall for the first time today. I was pretty impressed - it is an older mall but has been kept up well from what I could see. I like the idea of stores like BBY and Dick's in malls. The department stores seemed pretty nice. I did notice a decent number of vacancies (edit to add, around 10-15), but given the economy, I guess that is a given. When was this mall last remodeled? It opened in '75, so I'm sure it has had several renovations. The interior's basic (palms are a nice touch), it's hard to tell. The facades on the stores looked older than the ones at Haywood, so I'm guessing it's been a while but it's still in good shape.

Nice mall you have in Spartanburg overall! Looks like it serves the area well by size. Any thoughts on it?

Edited February 28, 2010 by perrykat

[Spartan]

Westgate is better than it used to be, that's for sure. I think you'll get a lot of varying opinions about it though. It serves its purpose well enough, but some of us want it to be a little more. Being located so close to Haywood Mall hurts Westgate a little. The quantity and quality of products they send to the department stores is a little lower than Haywood, so sometimes it can be hard to find what you want. And while I suspect the economy may be a culprit with the vacancies, the mall still lost the GAP. While I'm not much for their clothes it's a pretty basic store that you'd think any mall in America could support.

It was last remodeled when they expanded it in the mid 90s. I want to say it was around 1996 or 1997. I have only vague memories of the old movie theater that used to be behind it. Haywood was just remodeled a few years ago, so it's definitely going to look older by comparison. The general look and feel of Westgate is fine IMO. I guess the trend in malls is to add more faux-hardwood, but I'd rather it look like an egyptian hotel lobby.

Since they built Costco and removed the JB White/Proffits building the mall is technically smaller than it used to be. At one point it had the same square footage as Haywood, and as a result Westgate and Haywood were tied for the largest malls in South Carolina. I'm assuming Westgate is down to the #2 or #3 spot now.

Hopefully someone can help me out with this, but I swear that the spot where Dick's and Bed Bath & Beyond is located used to be one store, but I can't recall what it was.

Here's a link to some facts about the mall, including a demographics report which is sort of interesting. They outline and analyze the trade area of the mall.

[westsider28]

If I recall correctly, the spot where Dick's and Bed Bath & Beyond are located was once an Upton's.

[Jael]

If I recall correctly, the spot where Dick's and Bed Bath & Beyond are located was once an Upton's.

And it was a Meyers-Arnold before that.

[perrykat]

Westgate is better than it used to be, that's for sure. I think you'll get a lot of varying opinions about it though. It serves its purpose well enough, but some of us want it to be a little more. Being located so close to Haywood Mall hurts Westgate a little. The quantity and quality of products they send to the department stores is a little lower than Haywood, so sometimes it can be hard to find what you want. And while I suspect the economy may be a culprit with the vacancies, the mall still lost the GAP. While I'm not much for their clothes it's a pretty basic store that you'd think any mall in America could support.

It was last remodeled when they expanded it in the mid 90s. I want to say it was around 1996 or 1997. I have only vague memories of the old movie theater that used to be behind it. Haywood was just remodeled a few years ago, so it's definitely going to look older by comparison. The general look and feel of Westgate is fine IMO. I guess the trend in malls is to add more faux-hardwood, but I'd rather it look like an egyptian hotel lobby.

Since they built Costco and removed the JB White/Proffits building the mall is technically smaller than it used to be. At one point it had the same square footage as Haywood, and as a result Westgate and Haywood were tied for the largest malls in South Carolina. I'm assuming Westgate is down to the #2 or #3 spot now.

Hopefully someone can help me out with this, but I swear that the spot where Dick's and Bed Bath & Beyond is located used to be one store, but I can't recall what it was.

Here's a link to some facts about the mall, including a demographics report which is sort of interesting. They outline and analyze the trade area of the mall.

Thanks for the responses all!

WestGate is the 5th largest in the state, sitting at just below a million square feet. Haywood is #1, Citadel (Chas) is #2, Columbia Place is #3, Coastal Grand (MYB) is #4. However, that is a pretty big mall to be in a city the size of Spartanburg and given the proximity to Haywood which probably draws more of a regional clientele.

I like the white interior with the palm trees more than the earth tone thing that seems to be so popular. It gives a brighter, more open feel. It may need a refurb, but I wouldn't change the interior. I like it. That is surprising that the mall lost Gap - seems they would have at least downgraded it to a clearance store like they did in Aiken before that store closed. I think they have some pretty good stores and the mall was busy. It suits the area well enough. Remember, too, it's a CBL mall, and CBL doesn't usually do upscale like Simon, GGP, etc.

Another thought, since the Proffitt's was apparently the newest anchor store from what I read here, it's surprising that Belk didn't move in to that store and close the store they're in, as it looks like it was from the 70s.

[roads-scholar]

Thanks for the responses all!

WestGate is the 5th largest in the state, sitting at just below a million square feet. Haywood is #1, Citadel (Chas) is #2, Columbia Place is #3, Coastal Grand (MYB) is #4. However, that is a pretty big mall to be in a city the size of Spartanburg and given the proximity to Haywood which probably draws more of a regional clientele.

I like the white interior with the palm trees more than the earth tone thing that seems to be so popular. It gives a brighter, more open feel. It may need a refurb, but I wouldn't change the interior. I like it. That is surprising that the mall lost Gap - seems they would have at least downgraded it to a clearance store like they did in Aiken before that store closed. I think they have some pretty good stores and the mall was busy. It suits the area well enough. Remember, too, it's a CBL mall, and CBL doesn't usually do upscale like Simon, GGP, etc.

Another thought, since the Proffitt's was apparently the newest anchor store from what I read here, it's surprising that Belk didn't move in to that store and close the store they're in, as it looks like it was from the 70s.

I'm not much of a shopper - only when I need something do I visit stores and malls - but I seriously shopped at Westgate for the first time in more than two years last month. Much to my surprise the mall was very clean, the place seemed busy with shoppers, and the number of vacancies did not alarm me as I was expecting many more.

I think Costco and Hamricks(even though they are not attached to the mall) and the mall's attractiveness and location have helped keep Westgate viable during the recession and the current retailer shakeout. Some say that enclosed malls will soon be a thing of the past as Americans are changing the way they shop and spend their free time. That may be true but I didn't see any evidence of that the day I visited Westgate.

Yes, Haywood is bigger - blah, blah, blah - I've heard that for thirty years. But I think the management at Westgate is doing a pretty good job maintaining the place and keeping it relevant by adapting to the times and not relying on the same old formula of four department stores, a cinema, and a food court. While Haywood may draw more "regional" shoppers I've always been surprised at the number of cars parked at Westgate with North Carolina license plates.