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The State of Downtown Retail

GvilleSC

By GvilleSC
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vicupstate Metropolitan Area

vicupstate

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There is room for improvement definitely. There is no formal word on whether there are other tenants or uses, but it would seem that if there were, that would have been mentioned.

Just adding some windows to the Walmart building would help.

Thee city needs to put Bo Autry or Bob/Dick Hughes together with the Walmart folks to expand and redesign this into the project it could and SHOULD be.

The road diet is a non-issue IMO. This is NOT a supercenter, which draws from a larger area. This will draaw from the underserved Augusta Rd and DT corridors.

Edited by vicupstate
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gman430
gman430

1. IMO…this forum needs some negativity once in a while. All of the positivity all of the time with making Greenville look like the perfect Utopia is honestly boring and makes me feel like I need to b

vicupstate
vicupstate

The Teal clad building at N. Main and E. North will soon get a new façade. It will go before DRB next month.  They informally reviewed it today.  Top two floors will have windows for a change.   

GVLer
GVLer

Seriously?? First of all, what is the City supposed to do to ensure a business succeeds? Some are thriving and some do not make it....that is called capitalism. If downtown was dirty, crime ridden, or

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Gville2012 Hamlet

Gville2012

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I agree with what most people are saying... initial renderings look basic and not what this location could be. I guess the rendering is just of the store though... and not of the actual development. A developer teaming up could easily expand this in McBee style. I actually wish that it was down some and took that middle section. Then it could be the center anchor for a mixed use development on the university corner (retail, restaurant, apartments facing DT with great views since they are on the top of the hill) and a mixed use development on the Pearl Ave. corner with more restaurant/retail/office. Then Walmart could team with Greenville to build a parking garage and be a central point for the whole development. Think University Town Square that was proposed a few years ago with the Bi Lo in the middle and everything on each side "capping" the development.

I would think this now would not be an option for them though since the Church St. plans are closing the entrances at Carson, Wakefield, and Springer which would hinder the ability to enter from the other side of the road.

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vicupstate Metropolitan Area

vicupstate

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Posted (edited)

Walmart - Urban design example

This is a much better exterior design. They need to use this as a guide for improving this potential location.

Use this design and put some of the parking on the roof (ie Lowe's in Charlotte's South End) and that's a great start toward something acceptable.

BTW, maybe this desires it's own thread.

Edited by vicupstate
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Gville2012 Hamlet

Gville2012

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Walmart - Urban design example

This is a much better exterior design. They need to use this as a guide for improving this potential location.

BTW, maybe this desires it's own thread.

For some reason your link doesn't load for me, it adds extra things to the beginning... Link if it doesn't work for others http//www.walmartwashingtondc.com/rendering-of-proposed-ward-4-walmart/

Agreed though.. that looks good. Would still like to see another level with townhouse type units like McBee or another few stories with apartments. That location (I think) is too key to not have some sort of residential becuase of the view ontop of the hill.

Agreed that it could use its own thread.

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mallguy Town

mallguy

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I'd hope that some additional retail would be added.

For apartments, if there's a market for that, I'm all for it, but who wants to live next to Walmart? The condos next to the Lowe's on S. Blvd. in Charlotte didn't exactly get snapped up quickly.

ETA: ironic that the east anchor at Bell Tower Mall was a Walmart chain (Big K) for a while, so Walmart should be described as "returning to the Church Street and University Ridge intersection".

Edited by mallguy
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mallguy Town

mallguy

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This COMPLETELY depends on design and other components, and has little to do with the anchors, IMO.

OK, to each his own.

Compare the Residences at SouthPark to those condos next to the Lowe's. The Residences at SouthPark are definitely fancier, but their proximity to Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, etc. allowed the developer to attract more affluent purchasers, in my view, compared to the Lowe's condo developer.

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GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

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OK, to each his own.

Compare the Residences at SouthPark to those condos next to the Lowe's. The Residences at SouthPark are definitely fancier, but their proximity to Nordstrom, Neiman Marcus, etc. allowed the developer to attract more affluent purchasers, in my view, compared to the Lowe's condo developer.

Think about this... If Walmart crammed into a few retail spaces on Main Street and your views were of other historic storefronts and a beautiful street, then apartments above would sell well despite "being above Walmart". If you're located above Walmart and look out upon a sea of asphalt and nothing else, then yes it's more of the surroundings than what you're located above. Clearly that's the two extreme situations, but makes the point that the retailer matters less than the setting.

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gs3 Metropolitan Area

gs3

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I really thought the Augusta Roaders would have had a massive NIMBY fit at the Wal-Mart proposal by now. Odd... dontknow.gif

I have hopes they are working behind the scenes.

This proposed Wal-Mart will be 100,000....which is right at the size of the highly debated Wal-Mart on the Eastside, off Pelham. Unless there is a parking deck, or unless the store is on two levels, this Wal-Mart will not be urban in any way. This apparently is not the smaller Neighborhood Market format. I'll wait to see more info, but unless things change, I'm definitely in the "against this project" group.

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Birdbrain Whistle-Stop

Birdbrain

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I have hopes they are working behind the scenes.

This proposed Wal-Mart will be 100,000....which is right at the size of the highly debated Wal-Mart on the Eastside, off Pelham. Unless there is a parking deck, or unless the store is on two levels, this Wal-Mart will not be urban in any way. This apparently is not the smaller Neighborhood Market format. I'll wait to see more info, but unless things change, I'm definitely in the "against this project" group.

Love the result from the Pelham Road Wal-Mart NIMBYs, not naming any Thornblade subdivision at all. I seem to recall their protest and bumper stickers to be a version of "40 years of darkness, earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from graves, human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria!"

Fast forward a few years.... And as I do frequent shopping at said Pelham Small-Mart (yeah I'm cheap!), I notice quite a few very high-end luxury vehicles in the parking lot. And when I say "quite a few," I mean a Yacht-LOAD. Hey, it's a nice looking Wallyworld, it's a hella lot cheaper than Bi-Lo, and it's convenient.

Message to Augusta Streeters: Get over yourselves and embrace the Wallyworld. They may not offer Valets, but life is full of compromise.

(This is all good natured ribbing. If you're offended, then you have my sincerest mockery.) shades.gif

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johnpro318 Hamlet

johnpro318

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I love Groucho's and it's good to see them expand, especially outside of the Midland's.

And people need to get over the Wal-mart fiasco. It should come and it should be forced to include mixed use and good design. If it doesn't want to comply then just pass it up but I'm sure a deal can be worked out. People on here always want affordable housing and such downtown but why can't their be some cheaper retail downtown? This store isn't a supercenter so take that part out of your head and try to think clearly about it. This could be an excellent opportunity for Greenville to have something unique.

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mallguy Town

mallguy

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I have hopes they are working behind the scenes.

This proposed Wal-Mart will be 100,000....which is right at the size of the highly debated Wal-Mart on the Eastside, off Pelham. Unless there is a parking deck, or unless the store is on two levels, this Wal-Mart will not be urban in any way. This apparently is not the smaller Neighborhood Market format. I'll wait to see more info, but unless things change, I'm definitely in the "against this project" group.

Walmart is RETURNING to the intersection of Church Street and University Ridge. There was a Walmart subsidiary at Bell Tower Mall, in the east anchor slot on the 2nd floor, in the 1970s. So Walmart was there before, in a less urban format than the proposed store, and it wasn't the end of the world.

And people need to get over the Wal-mart fiasco. It should come and it should be forced to include mixed use and good design. If it doesn't want to comply then just pass it up but I'm sure a deal can be worked out. People on here always want affordable housing and such downtown but why can't their be some cheaper retail downtown? This store isn't a supercenter so take that part out of your head and try to think clearly about it. This could be an excellent opportunity for Greenville to have something unique.

ETA:

Agreed 100%. Walmart will also fill a need for day-to-day retail for central neighborhoods. My parents live in Alta Vista and have to trek to the Woodruff Road Target for such things (they wouldn't go to the Church Street Kmart), which is inefficient. (Hopefully Target will open a more central location as well like it did in Charlotte.)

I am thinking that the Church Street Kmart is now doomed.

Edited by mallguy
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