Downtown Projects & Developments

[westsider28]

Man, I was writing this post and got upstaged by this amazing info.^^  Really looking forward to all the activity!  Awesome stuff!

Anyway, here are a few photos of the old pawn shop on Magnolia, where the original facade has been revealed for the first time in decades!

[spartanburgh]

Things REALLY about to pop downtown. We've officially moved into that next level where multiple significant projects are going to be going on at the same time for the foreseeable future in downtown Spartanburg. To wit:

1. New Miyako location: Renovation of the former pawn shop and loan buildings on Magnolia Street for the new home of Miyako is underway. Will take about a year to complete this extensive project.

2. Renovation continuing on another Magnolia building a few doors down.

3. Hotel project: Demo of Event Rentals, followed by site prep and finally construction of AC hotel is imminent. Hotel still on track to open in fall 2017.

4. Co-Op: Renovation and upfit should start anytime now. Projected to be a 6- to 7-month project.

5. Broadview Apartments: Provided no hiccups, should get underway in the next 2-3 months. Maybe sooner.

6. Royce Camp's residential project next to Carriage House Wines. Not sure what the holdup is, but think this is still inching closer to coming out of the chute late this year or early next.

7. Former Paparrazzi building: Just was bought by a new owner who is highly motivated to land a high-quality tenant sooner than later.

Not far-fetched that all of these projects, with some luck, could be underway at the same time. Gonna be a lot of construction trucks and workers downtown.

Additionally, Miyako is supposed to have a rooftop bar/seating area

                    Royce Camp's building shell beside Lime Leaf' is under contract. Hopefully, this will lead to a development there soon.

                    Magnolia Street upgrades should start soon.

                  

[Spartan]

Things REALLY about to pop downtown. We've officially moved into that next level where multiple significant projects are going to be going on at the same time for the foreseeable future in downtown Spartanburg. To wit:

1. New Miyako location: Renovation of the former pawn shop and loan buildings on Magnolia Street for the new home of Miyako is underway. Will take about a year to complete this extensive project.

2. Renovation continuing on another Magnolia building a few doors down.

3. Hotel project: Demo of Event Rentals, followed by site prep and finally construction of AC hotel is imminent. Hotel still on track to open in fall 2017.

4. Co-Op: Renovation and upfit should start anytime now. Projected to be a 6- to 7-month project.

5. Broadview Apartments: Provided no hiccups, should get underway in the next 2-3 months. Maybe sooner.

6. Royce Camp's residential project next to Carriage House Wines. Not sure what the holdup is, but think this is still inching closer to coming out of the chute late this year or early next.

7. Former Paparrazzi building: Just was bought by a new owner who is highly motivated to land a high-quality tenant sooner than later.

Not far-fetched that all of these projects, with some luck, could be underway at the same time. Gonna be a lot of construction trucks and workers downtown.

Awesome! There are a few of those I wasn't aware of so I added them to the development map!

I didn't realize the 122 Magnolia (First Cash Pawn) was actually two buildings. That's a very pleasant surprise.

Where is the former Paparazzi building?

[hub-city]

Wow these are some great developments!!   Paparazzi was in the large building between Monsoon and  Renato's.  It's been several failed nightclubs.  Hope a quality tenant can go in there since it is in the middle of Morgan Square.

[mainonmain]

127 West Main. Directly across from the Square. CRITICAL property.

[Spartan]

Oh yeah. I  forgot it was something after "Rome."

[roads-scholar]

Critical is an understatement.  This is arguably the most important vacant building on the square. A quality tenant is vital for Morgan Square and the existing businesses there.  . 

[clemsonfn]

Hub City Tap House will have a soft opening September 15-17, followed by the Grand Opening September 18-19.

[Sparkleman]

I am pretty sure we would all agree that it needs to be a retail establishment, but not another furniture store. As we have discussed in the past a Mast general store would be an awesome addition. I know there is one in Greenville & Hendersonville, but who would have thought Waynesville NC would get one when Asheville has one as well and they are only 40 minutes away? The only problem with getting a Mast is that it would probably put the Local Hiker out of business unless they could form some kind of partnership which is doubtful.

I also think it could be a restaurant as that's kind of what it is set up to be right now. Is there a major chain that would fit our downtown that we don't currently have?

[Spartan]

I think tourism is a huge part of it too. Greenville, Hendersonville, and Waynesville all get much higher levels of tourist traffic that Spartanburg.

[roads-scholar]

Columbia has a Mast General Store and (sorry all USC alumni) isn't much of a tourist destination either.

[westsider28]

Mast General tends to create tourism.  It's a pretty big draw in and of itself.  Back when Greenville got theirs, the city was nowhere near the tourist destination that it is now.  But yeah, cannibalism of The Local Hiker would not be cool.

I had a different idea.  I know it's not as exciting as one large tenant, but I was thinking that the building could be subdivided into several smaller spaces with a hallway down the middle.  An arcade, in the traditional retail sense (not video games).  That would provide a nice access point between Main and Broad at the center of the block, and the smaller spaces could accommodate a variety of businesses, retail or restaurant.  Small spaces downtown seem to be very successful--see 201 Wall Street, among others.

[roads-scholar]

Mast would be the kind of destination retailer we need downtown. I see it helping, not hurting other retailers including The Local Hiker (which, incidentally is a store I love!).

[westsider28]

The Herald-Journal has an article about The Leader/Kimbrell's/nightclub building being sold.  It was bought by Spartanburg businessman Sean McEnroe, who serves as CEO of Greenville-based Proaxis Therapy, for $650,000 (pretty good deal).  Not really any new info.  I'd love to see it returned to its original look, rather than its current faux-Roman appearance.

You may have seen the H-J article about Miyako's new building.  It talks about demolition of the current structure, but isn't very clear.  I assume/hope they mean interior demolition while retaining the facade?  Anyway, it sounds cool: 5,000 sq ft dining area for Miyako's on the ground floor, plus 2,800 sq ft bar and 2,000 sq ft patio upstairs for a separate concept called "Bar 1884" in honor of the year the original building was constructed.  In total, the new location will have seating for 263 customers!  Apparently we have a shortage of commercial kitchens DT, so the current location being freed up will allow another restaurant to more easily move in.

I noticed that the current Miyako's was slammed Friday night.  I've never actually eaten there.  Apparently I'm missing out and need to go!

[Spartan]

The rooftop bar at the new Miyakos should be cool. I'm looking forward to that.

Columbia has a Mast General Store and (sorry all USC alumni) isn't much of a tourist destination either.

I disagree. Columbia isn't on the level of Charleston or Greenville, but they get a lot of tourist traffic between the museums, the state house, the zoo, USC, Congaree National Park, etc. At the very least, it's significantly more than Spartanburg.

[westsider28]

I noticed that the triangular corner of the building at Church and Dunbar was recently opened up.  Anyone know what's going on?  The building is available for lease, so maybe they're trying to make it more ready for occupancy.  NAI Earle Furman has a PDF that shows a possible set-up that features indoor/outdoor seating there.

On another topic, I'm glad to see that the City is preparing to add string lighting on Wall Street.  That was in the original plan, but I was afraid they had dropped it.  The street will look absolutely fantastic once those are up.  Hope we get the 2 adjacent buildings leased up soon to fully utilize this great space.

[Sparkleman]

The Herald-Journal has an article about The Leader/Kimbrell's/nightclub building being sold.  It was bought by Spartanburg businessman Sean McEnroe, who serves as CEO of Greenville-based Proaxis Therapy, for $650,000 (pretty good deal).  Not really any new info.  I'd love to see it returned to its original look, rather than its current faux-Roman appearance.

You may have seen the H-J article about Miyako's new building.  It talks about demolition of the current structure, but isn't very clear.  I assume/hope they mean interior demolition while retaining the facade?  Anyway, it sounds cool: 5,000 sq ft dining area for Miyako's on the ground floor, plus 2,800 sq ft bar and 2,000 sq ft patio upstairs for a separate concept called "Bar 1884" in honor of the year the original building was constructed.  In total, the new location will have seating for 263 customers!  Apparently we have a shortage of commercial kitchens DT, so the current location being freed up will allow another restaurant to more easily move in.

I noticed that the current Miyako's was slammed Friday night.  I've never actually eaten there.  Apparently I'm missing out and need to go!

I was talking with a friend last night and I asked what Sean intended to do with the old Kimbrell's/nightclub building. He told me at this point there is no real plan other than to keep it from falling into the wrong hands (another nightclub) and to insure that the building remains kept up to date and code and does not fall into disrepair just sitting there.

I applaud this Spartan for taking this action to save this building and prepare it for its future.

[westsider28]

Work is currently being done on the ground floor of City View apartments on Spring Street.  These were originally retail spots, but I recall that the new owner was going to put in apartments there.  I wish we could support retail in those spots, but it will be nice to have them in use instead of boarded up.  Renovations on the rest of the building look like they were finished about a month ago.

[Spartan]

It's disappointing to be sure, but not the end of the world. The spaces are still there if it needs to be converted back. I'd rather there be more residential units in and around downtown first. The old adage is that retail follows rooftops... 

[westsider28]

Last night I noticed the string lights on Wall Street had been moved to accommodate some equipment.  Well, today I saw that there was a building permit on the window of the former Carolina Gallery that says, "change all windows, repair stucco facade, repair/replace rotten/damaged roofing & trim."  They've already replaced most of the windows on the Wall Street side.  This is great to see.  That building was looking pretty worn.  It still has a For Sale sign, so I'm not sure if it sold and they didn't take down the sign yet, or if they're renovating to make the building more desirable to a buyer.  Either way, exterior renovations are a good thing.

[hub-city]

I noticed that demolition work is going on inside the old nightclub on Morgan Square.  I don't know if there is a new tenant or if  the owner is getting rid of the columns etc... to make it more attractive for a tenant.  Any ideas?

[westsider28]

I noticed that demolition work is going on inside the old nightclub on Morgan Square.  I don't know if there is a new tenant or if  the owner is getting rid of the columns etc... to make it more attractive for a tenant.  Any ideas?

I walked by there and saw that.  The permit on the window said something about the ceiling.  I suspect it's just to take the interior back to a blank slate, but I don't know for sure.

I noticed that work was going on in the small space at Church & Dunbar, next to Growler Haus. They had one lane of Church closed. Same question with that: tenant coming, or just improvement to attract one?

Edited November 12, 2015 by westsider28

[Sparkleman]

I walked by there and saw that.  The permit on the window said something about the ceiling.  I suspect it's just to take the interior back to a blank slate, but I don't know for sure.

I noticed that work was going on in the small space at Church & Dunbar, next to Growler Haus. They had one lane of Church closed. Same question with that: tenant coming, or just improvement to attract one?

I talked to a buddy of mine that is a realtor and he said that Sean is going to turn it into a family entertainment center with things like amusement devices, skee ball, etc kind of like the model that Gatti Land is but not Gatti Land. It would be somewhere you go after dinner with kids (or they may serve food, not sure) from say Wild Wing other than just going home.

[drexel]

I talked to a buddy of mine that is a realtor and he said that Sean is going to turn it into a family entertainment center with things like amusement devices, skee ball, etc kind of like the model that Gatti Land is but not Gatti Land. It would be somewhere you go after dinner with kids (or they may serve food, not sure) from say Wild Wing other than just going home.

A mini Dave and Buster's would be cool. That would mean high tech games and a bar with beer/food. Maybe too expensive???  

[westsider28]

I talked to a buddy of mine that is a realtor and he said that Sean is going to turn it into a family entertainment center with things like amusement devices, skee ball, etc kind of like the model that Gatti Land is but not Gatti Land. It would be somewhere you go after dinner with kids (or they may serve food, not sure) from say Wild Wing other than just going home.

That would actually be pretty cool.  I always hear people complain that there's nothing for kids/teens to do downtown, so that would certainly fill a need.