Downtown Projects & Developments

[Spartan]

It's great so see all types of businesses relocating to downtown. The relocation of Neeley's to East Main is somewhat unexpected given that they sell home building supplies, but over time ALL types of businesses are needed in order to have a vibrant downtown.

HJ Article

[Spartan]

The Herald-Journal has a nice article about the dramatic change that has occurred in downtown over the past decade. It doesn't reveal anything new, but its a good reflective piece about how far we've come. It may not seem like much, but if you think about where downtown was in the year 2000 and where we are today, it's pretty impressive.

We have a newly renovated square, three new corporate HQ's, lots of new bars, restaurants, condos, apartments and shops and the Cultural Center. In the works are the USC Upstate and SCC downtown campuses that will add even more people in the mix downtown.

HJ Article/url

[Spartan]

Downtown is getting a bookstore!

The Hub City Writers Project is going to open a non-profit bookstore in the Masonic Temple building downtown at Main & King St. I don't get the impression that they are going to do much to upgrade the exterior, but they will spend about $100,000 on the project so who knows. They will have outdoor cafe tables and sell coffee. Great news for downtown!

HJ Article

[Sparkleman]

I was in the Tap Room on Wednesday after work and there were 25 folks in the bar at 4:30. Thats kind of amazing for Spartanburg, but obviously a good sign. Last night my wife and I stopped at Main St Pub for a drink and they had a decent crowd as did C Edwards Cigar Store which we stopped in next. The new upstairs is pretty slick with a cool bar and windows that overlook the square. I highly encourage a visit here as its easy to forget about this place.

Finally the reason I am writing today is does anyone know if there is any movement to move Music on Main further down Main St? It seems to be it would be logical to try to get the event closer to the new bars and existing restaurants. This also would encourage parking in the Church, Dunbar, and Magnolia St. parking garages if you had is say between Wild Wing & Magnolia or Spring streets.

Any thoughts?

[Spartan]

I don't know if that's going to happen or not, but it would really make a lot of sense to do it.

[Spartan]

I moved the posts about VCOM to its own thread.

[Sparkleman]

I wasn't sure where to put this so I'll just paste it here.If you live in Spartanburg and want to get involved with whats going on in the city, Citizen Spartanburg will hold its first meeting tomorrow night downtown at the Brasserie Ecosse at 6. My wife and I will be there and hope all that are interested can make it. See below for article.

Citizen Spartanburg group aims to improve city

Moderator Edit: Unfortunately we can't allow the posting of articles in full because its copyrighted material.

Edited February 1, 2010 by Spartan
removed copyrighted material

[Spartan]

I'm glad that the Citizen Spartanburg movement is still, well, moving.

[Sparkleman]

The Citizen Spartanburg meeting last night was a pretty interesting meeting (I don't know if any on this board came out or not). Tammy Stokes (the organizer) said many times that this is kind of a grass roots movement of sorts for all folks that love Spartanburg. She talked for the first 10-15 minutes about her love for Spartanburg and wanting to do anything to advance things for the city whether it was downtown or in the various neighborhoods. She talked of attending city council meetings just to get an idea of what is going on in the city. Anyone can attend, but no one hardly ever does. We then wrote down ideas and goals that were important to us and how we thought they could be attained. These were in turn posted on a big board and will be broken down and discussed at the next meeting. The final 30-40 minutes was basically a meet/greet and networking which was good in that I met several folks that I didn't know that had moved here from out of town. I learned Spartanburg has an amazing number of transplants.

I think the central idea was folks coming together because of their love for where they live and how to make it better. This group will never have any real money or power to get a lot of things done, but I think we will be able to influence people to quit being so negative about things. It was said many times last night, that there is a tremendous amount of positive energy in Spartanburg right now. I echo this in that in my 45 years here, things have never gotten to where we are now. I and others feel we are on the cusp of something good. Another thing mentioned several times last night is that Spartanburg is a college town in denial. You have all these colleges close to downtown but you hardly ever see the students downtown whether its in coffee houses or restaurants (Wild Wing excluded), as they all stay on campus for the most part. Obviously the key is getting them downtown.

I could ramble on further but you get the gist of what I am saying.

www.citizenspartanburg.org

[travey]

[

A huge new nightclub for spartanburg... DOWNTOwn... I don't think we have any night clubs.. anymore. Dancing would be COOL.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100217/ARTICLES/2171043/1097/ENTERTAINMENT?Title=Nightclub-set-to-open-downtown-in-Kimbrell-s-building

[Spartan]

That is indeed good news. That spot has been waiting for a new bar for a long time, and it's good to see the momentum growing in times like these. I'm not much for the "club" scene, but it's good to have variety and nightlife in Spartanburg. This is the first actual upscale bar that downtown has seen, so it will be interesting to see what that means in Spartanburg in terms of their music/decor, etc.

It's a shame, though, that the Co-op couldn't have opened there. I hope they are still able to find a good location downtown.

[Sparkleman]

I tend to think that this is a huge mistake by the guy opening this joint. Clubs like this have a hard enough time making it uptown/downtown in bigger cities where there is way more dough behind them and way more people to attend them. I would imagine this guy has some $$$ behind him but the fact that he is gonna be open in 2 months leads me to think that he is not going to put much work into this. It may turn out to be a big open space with a bar.

Also where are the patrons going to come from? Most folks that would want to come are going to be under 21 and cannot get in. I am not of the "club" scene either (although I did some in my mid 20's in other towns), but I just don't see enough 21-35 aged folks to support this place. I may be wrong, but there is a reason that the old nightclub out on Blackstock Rd at Westgate has been about 20 different things since its high point as O'Sullivans back in the early 80's. I work on this side of town and drive by there occasionally and have noticed that it has changed names 2 times in the last 6 months (Hush & Visions).

The only good thing that can come from this (if it does not work out) is that the building will be somewhat improved for the next tenant.

[Spartan]

I think it depends on how the place looks, and how they define "upscale." If its a trendy, modern feel with boxy furniture and sushi, or if it looks/feels cheap then it probably won't go very far.

[roads-scholar]

I tend to think that this is a huge mistake by the guy opening this joint. Clubs like this have a hard enough time making it uptown/downtown in bigger cities where there is way more dough behind them and way more people to attend them. I would imagine this guy has some $$$ behind him but the fact that he is gonna be open in 2 months leads me to think that he is not going to put much work into this. It may turn out to be a big open space with a bar.

Also where are the patrons going to come from? Most folks that would want to come are going to be under 21 and cannot get in. I am not of the "club" scene either (although I did some in my mid 20's in other towns), but I just don't see enough 21-35 aged folks to support this place. I may be wrong, but there is a reason that the old nightclub out on Blackstock Rd at Westgate has been about 20 different things since its high point as O'Sullivans back in the early 80's. I work on this side of town and drive by there occasionally and have noticed that it has changed names 2 times in the last 6 months (Hush & Visions).

The only good thing that can come from this (if it does not work out) is that the building will be somewhat improved for the next tenant.

I rarely agree with Sparkleman but think he may be right on this one. Unless the owner puts some serious money into this thing I doubt it will succeed. In my opinion the dance club will really have to be something special (good live bands, jazzy decor, exterior renovations - tear down that yucky facade, good food and drink, etc.)

I believe this location has more long-term potential as a retail anchor than a dance club. But, as a former landlord myself, I can surely understand the motivations behind getting a rent-paying tenant in an empty building.

[Sparkleman]

Thanks for the vote of confidence roads.

Here is the website for Rome. I got a bad feeling about this one coming downtown.

http://romespartanburg.com/

[Spartan]

It's interesting that they chose the Parthenon for the homepage of Rome (which for those keeping track is located in Athens).

[roads-scholar]

Thanks for the vote of confidence roads.

Here is the website for Rome. I got a bad feeling about this one coming downtown.

http://romespartanburg.com/

As a marketer I'm impressed! I just hope this thing is first class and done right.

[lifeisajourney]

It's interesting that they chose the Parthenon for the homepage of Rome (which for those keeping track is located in Athens).

They must have changed it pretty quickly then because it's showing the Coliseum when I click on the link.

[Spartan]

The planned renovations to Barnet Park are moving forward. They are going to set up some designated spots for vendors to set up on during festivals, improve the restrooms for larger crowds, replace some dead trees, and construct a ticket booth/office area on Converse St.

One of the changes that I don't understand is that they are going to "relocate" the entrance from St John St to Converse St. Can anyone explain that?

HJ Article

[westsider28]

There isn't really a formal entrance to the park currently, so at paid events, like Red White & Boom, they just set up a table in front of the entrance by the statue and interactive fountain (the current "main entrance"). I think the new ticket plaza will allow the park to have a more formal entrance for paid events. Hopefully we can draw some bigger-name performers with these improvements. Of course, the stage itself still needs expansion...

Here is a link to some of the plans for the ticket booth and restroom additions. I recommend the "Architecture" and "Civil" sections for a good idea of the project.

LDI-Line

[Spartan]

Ah, so really they're creating an additional entrance.

Thanks for that link.

Here is a screen shot of the expansion area site plan (found it under Civil, page 2).

[Sparkleman]

How about the following for something cool to do on Friday nights? This is why its good to have bars and restaurants close to each other.

http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100304/ARTICLES/3041036/1097?Title=With-outdoor-music-series-Fridays-will-rock-a-little-more

I hate posting the whole link like that. How do you do it the correct way for this forum?

[Spartan]

Just click the "Insert Link" icon next to the smiley face. When you do that you will see a prompt that allows you to paste your link and type the text you want to use for that link.

As for the live concerts- I'm all for it. I think that's a great idea, and a great location. With two bars on either side of the dock/stage area and both that have outdoor seating it should be a hit. I know that I personally love to sit outside at a restaurant while listening to live music.

[travey]

Thanks to Qs-1, another old building bit the dust. Here is the chain of events..... private citizen sold to Rick Cobden (realtor) and he flipped it to Qs-1///

They grazed to fulfill their dream of completing an awesome parking lot....

Before

after

[before

after

[westsider28]

That's a shame. Spartanburg has had far too many of its historic old buildings torn down over the years. And it's not like we don't have enough surface parking lots...