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btoy

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My experience and observation is once a government entity aquires a piece of property for its use, it never gives it up.

I'm really trying hard not to be a wet blanket, and I defintely understand the appeal of a condo or other development on that rise off University Ridge, but I cannot imagine, under any circumstance, Greenville County giving up that office space wholesale.

Would they rent out offices, or would the family court facility in the old movie theatre move one day to a larger facility, maybe...but I simply cannot imagine Greenville County giving up that office space.

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My experience and observation is once a government entity aquires a piece of property for its use, it never gives it up.

I'm really trying hard not to be a wet blanket, and I defintely understand the appeal of a condo or other development on that rise off University Ridge, but I cannot imagine, under any circumstance, Greenville County giving up that office space wholesale.

Would they rent out offices, or would the family court facility in the old movie theatre move one day to a larger facility, maybe...but I simply cannot imagine Greenville County giving up that office space.

I feel the same way as you do. It's Greenville County were talking about here. The likelyhood of this actually happening is probably remote, unfortunately.

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Why would they have to give it up or sell it for a reduced price? They could sell the space for fair market value and use the money toward a new location, right? Ideally, they should WANT to be downtown, closer to city government and the things at their disposal there.

You've got a good point there. Hopefully, something will happen with that site some day, as long as I still get to park there to go to the ballgames.

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Why would they have to give it up or sell it for a reduced price? They could sell the space for fair market value and use the money toward a new location, right? Ideally, they should WANT to be downtown, closer to city government and the things at their disposal there.

By give up, I don't mean just give it away without a price, or even a reduced price. I mean sell it under any circumstance, fair market value or any other sort.

I don't understand how being a few blocks closer, down the hill, to City Hall helps out offices like the County Auditor or the election commision, etc. Again, not trying to be a wet blanket, but the combination of ease of parking and owning the facility being cheaper than selling and moving a few blocks away will not make sense of a local government entity.

The whole block is government run: family court, Governor's School, County Health Department across the street, etc. The staggering cost (moving, parking, new set-up) of giving up a large part of that land just does not make sense. Local governments don't give up land.

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I think where the county offices are now is just fine. It's in the middle of everything and when you need more than one thing, it is all in one place. It just seems like it would take a lot of time and a waste of it to pick up and move everything just a couple of blocks away. I'm not trying to be a wet blanket either. I just don't see any reason to move it and/or tear it down if there is nothing wrong with it. It's not run down and is in perfectly good shape.

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Why would they have to give it up or sell it for a reduced price? They could sell the space for fair market value and use the money toward a new location, right? Ideally, they should WANT to be downtown, closer to city government and the things at their disposal there.

Exactly. One would think that piece of property on The Ridge would be very appealing to developers, especially with the renaissance in that area. The money from the sale would be the funding for the new building. Sounds credible.

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Exactly. One would think that piece of property on The Ridge would be very appealing to developers, especially with the renaissance in that area. The money from the sale would be the funding for the new building. Sounds credible.

If it's very appealing to developers, how come nothing has been done there then? Have there been any proposals for this site at all? If there haven't then it must not be that appealing to developers for some odd reason.

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I think it would take a developer finding a way to make the County Square land very profitable, and then work with some government officials to get it sold, at a fair market price, and perhaps giving county government a good deal on some office space elsewhere or as part of a redeveloped facility. County Square is no more than about 300,000 sf of space, which isn't that big of a multi-story building, so it wouldn't take much to house that space elsewhere. I assume the Governor's School was on former County Square land, so at least there is some precedent of one government entity transferring the land, if to another public use.

One thing I like about my job is working in a nice, high-end office building; it's attractive. Surely county government workers would want to work somewhere nice as well.

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If it's very appealing to developers, how come nothing has been done there then? Have there been any proposals for this site at all? If there haven't then it must not be that appealing to developers for some odd reason.

I don't think it has been very appealing in the past, but it is starting to get that way. The location is only going to get better:

- the new shopping center very close by that we learned about in the last couple of days (Bi-Lo, etc.) is huge for that area

- McBee Station is really close

- downtown and its attractions are within walking distance/easy driving distance

- continued development of the West End/Reedy River (it is now actually desirable to front the river)

- improved skyline/views (even 2 or 3 new towers will dramatically change things)

Most of these "pluses" were not selling points at all even 5 years ago. Now, that area is changing and becoming better real estate as developments occur and master plans are created (including the Haynie-Sirrine master plan by the city). Perhaps the county will prefer to stay here, but the price of that land they are currently sitting on is only going to increase in value. When you consider what they likely paid for it (next to nothing), it could make a lot of sense for them to move. That's all I'm thinking/hoping.

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The stores themselves are usually quite nice, for a regular grocery store, and since they got rid of the bull head, the facades are pretty classy as well.

I forget, anybody know what will happen to the Bilo on N main?

Bi-Lo's bull logo from years ago is much better than the current one, which has been in use for nearly seventeen years. I hear there's a movement to revive it with an updated look. The Bi-Lo bull is still a popualr favorite.

The North Main Bi-Lo could be replaced by this new South Church Street Super Bi-Lo. The existing store currently lacks the room for a major expansion and is among the older stores within the company. I would not mind a minor expansion into the old Rite AId for a pharmacy. It would be a nice small neighborhood market with the necessary essentials to live. I hope it remains open.

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:rofl: I'm sorry, I had to do it:

BabyBullPoster.jpg

A nice marketing scheme:

If you have seen commercials of a grizzly bear speaking of Gatlinburg, TN, would it be nice to have a bull walking around promoting all the things Bi-Lo has to offer for a complete shopping experience? Food Lion should also bring back its lion from the mid-1990s commercials.

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I agree that Greenville COUNTY is not progressive minded enough to sell the property unless it will profit from it. By profit, I mean it would get more money than it would cost to completely replace the offices in an acceptable alternative location. There was a proposal for the county to swap County Square with the city's Palmetto Expo. Center. The city would have built a new convention center at the County Square site. For whatever reason, that deal did not go off.

Once EVERYTHING around County Square has redeveloped, THEN, maybe the numbers might work for the county to sell it. Until then, this is a dream, albeit a wonderful one. That parcel could produce millions in property taxes (not to mention the selling price), if developed to it's highest use.

As for Drive parking, there is a medium to long-term plan to built a municipal parking garge in the West End, so that would cover that.

Governments do sell property from time to time. For instance the city is currently planning to sell City Hall Plaza. Of course, the city is exponentially more progressive-minded than the county.

Other examples are old schools that have been replaced, The old County Courthouse (next to the Westin) also is in private hands now.

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Not to get us too far off-topic, but speaking of City Hall Plaza, does anyone know when we should hear what is going to be developed there? It was originally going to be sometime in May, and then we heard that they were considering proposals and that it would be later. Does anyone know if that is an announcement we can look forward to in the next few weeks?

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I agree that Greenville COUNTY is not progressive minded enough to sell the property unless it will profit from it. By profit, I mean it would get more money than it would cost to completely replace the offices in an acceptable alternative location. There was a proposal for the county to swap County Square with the city's Palmetto Expo. Center. The city would have built a new convention center at the County Square site. For whatever reason, that deal did not go off.

Once EVERYTHING around County Square has redeveloped, THEN, maybe the numbers might work for the county to sell it. Until then, this is a dream, albeit a wonderful one. That parcel could produce millions in property taxes (not to mention the selling price), if developed to it's highest use.

As for Drive parking, there is a medium to long-term plan to built a municipal parking garge in the West End, so that would cover that.

Governments do sell property from time to time. For instance the city is currently planning to sell City Hall Plaza. Of course, the city is exponentially more progressive-minded than the county.

Other examples are old schools that have been replaced, The old County Courthouse (next to the Westin) also is in private hands now.

I still have a feeling it's not so far off...

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One thing I could see happening regarding county square in the short-term... selling off some of the parking area for redevelopment. As the facility previously was a mall, the parking provided is very plentiful... much more than is needed by a county building.

Even during heavily-attended Drive games, there is still plenty of parking available.

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One thing I could see happening regarding county square in the short-term... selling off some of the parking area for redevelopment. As the facility previously was a mall, the parking provided is very plentiful... much more than is needed by a county building.

Even during heavily-attended Drive games, there is still plenty of parking available.

I agree completely. What was on the Governor's School site before it was built- I'd guess more parking?

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One thing I could see happening regarding county square in the short-term... selling off some of the parking area for redevelopment. As the facility previously was a mall, the parking provided is very plentiful... much more than is needed by a county building.

Even during heavily-attended Drive games, there is still plenty of parking available.

That is actually called for in the master plan.

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