The State of Downtown Retail

[GvilleSC]

I completely agree, Greenville. The City has had a strong backbone with many things, and this better be one to add to that list.

[mallguy]

County Square, just across the street from the proposed Walmart, is a 1968 mall that is over 3 times as big as the proposed Walmart (with a former Walmart subsidiary anchor turned into B-grade office space) and has over 3 times the number of surface lot parking spaces.

It's the pot calling the kettle black for the county at least to oppose what Walmart is doing, when what the county has done right across the street is the same, but larger in scale.

My father told me that when the Furman campus was bulldozed for Bell Tower Mall, there was a community outcry.  It didn't change a thing.

[GvilleSC]

This is a different day and age. The Church Street of 1960/70/80/90/2000 is not the Church Street of 2011 onward.

To my knowledge, the County has no dog in this fight, so no one is calling being the pot calling the kettle black. Furthermore, the County did not CREATE the mall and thus County Square. It's a re-use, is it not?

And, I tried to edit the structure of second paragraph's first sentence, as it says "calling being..." The calling should be removed, but the edit tool on the new UP doesn't work. Neither does the quick reply. So, I apologize.

[gman430]

Proaxis Therapy which has over ten locations throughout the upstate region has announced that they will be establishing their corporate headquarters in downtown Greenville on the third floor of the Bergamo building. This is the same building that houses Verizon Wireless on Main Street. Official website:

[Gville2012]

I agree... back in 1968 there was not a master plan with zoning restrictions in place. If this was just a large piece of land sitting open with no zoning or plan established.... it would be a completely different story. Greenville has (or says they have) a plan for Church St. and want it to be the gateway to Greenville from the North - we will have to see if they stick to their guns.

I am still very interested to see how this develops and wonder if some way/some how Wal-Mart could/would work with a developer (Hughes) to build a large mixed use development that the almost full Next could expand to on the corner of Church/University and build the multi story development that was originally planned in conjunction with Next.  This would offer a the live/work connection with Next. A 30k sq ft Wal-Mart could be the anchor.

[gman430]

More info on Proaxis. 70 new employees for their headquarters downtown: http://www.gsabusiness.com/news/40658-proaxis-to-relocate-downtown-expand?rss=0

[GvilleSC]

^^^ That's great to see! Plus, at that location, their employees will be monthly parkers in a City-owned garage (Richardson ST). Multiple bonuses for that additional revenue-- funding for more capital improvement projects in and around downtown, and supporting that credit rating increase the City just obtained!

[GvilleSC]

The Dark Corner Distillery is looking good from the street. Work is still very much underway.

[gman430]

Say goodbye to Atlanta Bread Company. More closings...yippie.

[GvilleSC]

Say goodbye to Atlanta Bread Company. More closings...yippie.

I hate to see any establishments close, but this one I'm ok with. I doubt their space will be empty for long.

[mallguy]

Say goodbye to Atlanta Bread Company. More closings...yippie.

Why is it closing?

Bummed, as it was one of the first places to open downtown in the 1990s; I remember when it opened.

[GvilleSC]

Work on Mac's in the West End is underway. The rear of the building is gone, and the front windows have been taken out.

[apaladin]

Atlanta Bread probably realized the "ONE" project across the street will be a long time coming if ever, LOL!! In all seriousness if the "ONE" project had stayed on schedule they probably would not have closed as it could have provided a boost to their business. Thanks again Heidi and company!! More jobs lost.

Edited August 29, 2011 by apaladin

[GvilleSC]

Atlanta Bread probably realized the "ONE" project across the street will be a long time coming if ever, LOL!! In all seriousness if the "ONE" project had stayed on schedule they probably would not have closed as it could have provided a boost to their business. Thanks again Heidi and company!! More jobs lost.

If ONE had started construction in July, we would be one month in the process right now. That means ABC would have had another 12 or so months to wait on tenants and additional population to move in. I'm sure they've already hung in as long as they could.

[apaladin]

Maybe, but what about the workers? They would be there. Plus if they had seen progress, they may not have folded if it was borderline. We'll never know of course.

[GvilleSC]

We'll never know of course.

That's true. I wonder if Groucho's on Coffee Street was a contributing factor?

[gman430]

-Quiznos has closed.

-Groucho's Deli is now open.

-Urban Thread is now open.

-Cookies By Design or whatever it's called looks to be open now.

-Dark Corner Distillery slated to open Sept. 14th.

-CVS slated to open Sept. 21st.

[GvilleSC]

Quizno's didn't stand a chance with two Subways flanking it, a Jimmy Johns around the corner, and a handful of gourmet sandwich places...

I really like that Urban Thread has been added. More retail shops are always welcome!

[Galley]

That's a shame. I used to frequent that Quizno's (when I was still eating meat).

[GvilleSC]

Mayor Knox White has posted three tweets about the potential Walmart. No application has been submitted, so the city has taken no action, however he states that the "hurdle will be high" for the retailer. Neighborhood meetings are all that have taken place so far, but it's good to see that the topic is on leaders' minds.

[mallguy]

I was sad to see the closed Atlanta Bread Co. during a trip downtown this past weekend, and the closed Quizno's. (I usually don't care about restaurants closing, but both were good to have, especially downtown).

One thought: McBee Station's Publix seems to do well, and I see that the center also just got a Great Clips, yet there are still a few vacancies. Why doesn't the city do something to make the trek between McBee Station and Main Street a little more pedestrian-friendly? I have no problem walking that distance- it's just 2 blocks- but I'd guess that a lot of people wouldn't. That could help business there (and attract more stores).

[gman430]

Yeah...Atlanta Bread and Quiznos have closed several locations in the upstate area throughout the last few months. I think competition from Panera and Jimmy John's might have done them in. Sad to see.

Edited October 7, 2011 by citylife

[GvilleSC]

Why doesn't the city do something to make the trek between McBee Station and Main Street a little more pedestrian-friendly? I have no problem walking that distance- it's just 2 blocks- but I'd guess that a lot of people wouldn't. That could help business there (and attract more stores).

What would you suggest? Most of McBee has been redone. At least one gap (The Peacock site) is understandably waiting on a finished product for its street improvements, but the sidewalk works just fine. More development is the only thing I really see as being a potential motivator for people on foot.

[krazeeboi]

I think the overpass is the real culprit. Not much you can do about that.

[mallguy]

What would you suggest? Most of McBee has been redone. At least one gap (The Peacock site) is understandably waiting on a finished product for its street improvements, but the sidewalk works just fine. More development is the only thing I really see as being a potential motivator for people on foot.

Maybe some signage- "Just 2 Short Blocks to More Great Stores!", have the Main Street trolley go to McBee Station, maybe do more to make the walk more park-like until more is built-- walking through Falls Park for the equivalent of 2 blocks is fine, but walking 2 blocks in a semi-abandoned urban zone is not appealing.