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Spartan

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People have talked about wanting a park there for years, but I've always heard that the property owner didn't want people to become attached to something like that if the lot was subsequently built on.  Hence it's current state.

 

I'm a huge park proponent, but that would be a mistake here. We have many small parks DT already, and almost all are underused.  What we need is more activity (apartments, shops, restaurants, offices) to activate the spaces we already have.  Plus a building there would restore the historic Main Street shopfront wall and encourage people to walk up East Main. The empty lot is a mental barrier.  A park would be better than current conditions, but still a vast under-utilization of the site.

Edited by westsider28
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Not sure where to put this but in my book its a downtown development. Tuesday evening Laura Stille was elected to be the District 4 representative with the city thereby joining city council. Laura has done a lot for the city behind the scenes as well as with a lot of organizations like Partners of Active Living, St. Luke's Free Medical Clinic, the Adult Learning Center, & Friends of the Rail Trail. She is also very pro business as she was a founding director of Pinnacle Bank of South Carolina and has continued to serve on the board for the past 10 years. Pinnacle SC has recently announced an upcoming merger with Carolina Alliance Bank. The combined organization will be headquartered in Spartanburg.

 

I know Laura feels the positive vibes that the city is creating right now and will be very good for the future of Spartanburg.

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Not sure where to put this but in my book its a downtown development. Tuesday evening Laura Stille was elected to be the District 4 representative with the city thereby joining city council. Laura has done a lot for the city behind the scenes as well as with a lot of organizations like Partners of Active Living, St. Luke's Free Medical Clinic, the Adult Learning Center, & Friends of the Rail Trail. She is also very pro business as she was a founding director of Pinnacle Bank of South Carolina and has continued to serve on the board for the past 10 years. Pinnacle SC has recently announced an upcoming merger with Carolina Alliance Bank. The combined organization will be headquartered in Spartanburg.

 

I know Laura feels the positive vibes that the city is creating right now and will be very good for the future of Spartanburg.

A new and fresh face on the council.  A worthy replacement for Cate Ryba.

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  • 1 month later...

I thought I would post the latest development updates:

-The Hotel on W. Main is a go and final designs should be available soon.

-Event rentals building is well underway.

-Renato's plans to open a steak house in the former sandwich factory space.

-The old Abby's will not be a steak house because of above, but a Soby's type establishment.

with apartments on the back with shops below on Wall St. This is pending the sale.

-The old Art building on Wall St. will become a candy store with apartments above. This

also is a pending sale.

-Royce Camp's new building on W. Main is waiting on the City to work out the parking.

-Andrew Babb's new building on Kennedy is moving forward.

-Hub City market/café is moving forward.

-The empty lot on E Main on the old Mall section may be a mini golf (putt putt)soon.

-Main St. improvements

-Magnolia St. improvements

Any others?

Edited by spartanburgh
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I thought I would post the latest development updates:

-The Hotel on W. Main is a go and final designs should be available soon.

-Event rentals building is well underway.

-Renato's plans to open a steak house in the former sandwich factory space.

-The old Abby's will not be a steak house because of above, but a Soby's type establishment.

with apartments on the back with shops below on Wall St. This is pending the sale.

-The old Art building on Wall St. will become a candy store with apartments above. This

also is a pending sale.

-Royce Camp's new building on W. Main is waiting on the City to work out the parking.

-Andrew Babb's new building on Kennedy is moving forward.

-Hub City market/café is moving forward.

-The empty lot on E Main on the old Mall section may be a mini golf (putt putt)soon.

-Main St. improvements

-Magnolia St. improvements

Any others?

Wow, lots of activity. 

 

I know Royce pretty well but usually avoid talking to him about his future projects.  Where on West Main will his new building be placed?

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What are the 'Magnolia St improvements'?

 

Where on East Main is the putt putt going? Is it the vacant lot on Fernwood-Glendale?

The Magnolia streetscaping improvements (St. John to Dunbar) will essentially be removing existing street trees and replacing them with ones in the parallel parking "zone" to free up more sidewalk space within the existing width to the curb. I suspect a few parallel parking spaces will be lost, but there's a deck right across the street. A recent article on the East Main streetscaping mentioned a possible August start for the Magnolia improvements.

 

The putt-putt is going in the empty lot on East Main downtown next to the old Kress building.  As I understand it, it would be temporary as part of an art installation by one of Hub-Bub's Artists-in-Residence.  Certainly a creative use for the lot, which will hopefully bring some energy & foot traffic to the area.

 

roads-scholar, I think it may have been mentioned on a previous page, but Royce's building on West Main would be at the corner of Daniel Morgan next to Carriage House Wines (on the current city parking lot).  I really want to see that happen.  Along with the new hotel, it would dramatically change the feel of that corner.

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The Magnolia streetscaping improvements (St. John to Dunbar) will essentially be removing existing street trees and replacing them with ones in the parallel parking "zone" to free up more sidewalk space within the existing width to the curb. I suspect a few parallel parking spaces will be lost, but there's a deck right across the street. A recent article on the East Main streetscaping mentioned a possible August start for the Magnolia improvements.

 

The putt-putt is going in the empty lot on East Main downtown next to the old Kress building.  As I understand it, it would be temporary as part of an art installation by one of Hub-Bub's Artists-in-Residence.  Certainly a creative use for the lot, which will hopefully bring some energy & foot traffic to the area.

 

roads-scholar, I think it may have been mentioned on a previous page, but Royce's building on West Main would be at the corner of Daniel Morgan next to Carriage House Wines (on the current city parking lot).  I really want to see that happen.  Along with the new hotel, it would dramatically change the feel of that corner.

Yes, it was mentioned earlier.  Thanks for reminding me.

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The Magnolia streetscaping improvements (St. John to Dunbar) will essentially be removing existing street trees and replacing them with ones in the parallel parking "zone" to free up more sidewalk space within the existing width to the curb. I suspect a few parallel parking spaces will be lost, but there's a deck right across the street. A recent article on the East Main streetscaping mentioned a possible August start for the Magnolia improvements.

 

The putt-putt is going in the empty lot on East Main downtown next to the old Kress building.  As I understand it, it would be temporary as part of an art installation by one of Hub-Bub's Artists-in-Residence.  Certainly a creative use for the lot, which will hopefully bring some energy & foot traffic to the area.

 

roads-scholar, I think it may have been mentioned on a previous page, but Royce's building on West Main would be at the corner of Daniel Morgan next to Carriage House Wines (on the current city parking lot).  I really want to see that happen.  Along with the new hotel, it would dramatically change the feel of that corner.

 

Gotcha. When I read 'old mall' I was thinking Hillcrest, not the old pedestrian mall.

 

They already did some striping changes on Magnolia, so I (incorrectly) assumed that was the "streetscape" project. I'm glad to know they are still moving forward with something more substantial.

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Re: Magnolia, it's not just tree removal from the sidewalk. The sidewalk itself is going to be widened by several feet, plus the trees are going to be replanted in roadway "bumpouts", creating PLENTY of room for sidewalk seating, etc., outside those storefronts. Also, new LED lighting. It's going to be a heckuva improvement.

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Spartan, I just listened to a City podcast on the streetscaping projects, and they said that the sidewalk on Magnolia will be doubled in width from 10ft to 20ft! (same as West Main, I think)  Taking that into account, along with parallel parking, I believe the bike lanes will have to be removed.  But honestly, they're not necessary on a small, low-speed city street like that (plus they currently disappear at Main anyway).  Some stormwater improvements will also be done, like evening out the curb-to-curb grade (the street currently has a pretty steep crown).

 

I did not realize quite how dramatic the change would be.  That will make Magnolia look amazing.  Hope we get many of those vacant buildings along there renovated once this is done.  The street will certainly be MUCH more attractive to potential businesses.

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Spartan, I just listened to a City podcast on the streetscaping projects, and they said that the sidewalk on Magnolia will be doubled in width from 10ft to 20ft! (same as West Main, I think)  Taking that into account, along with parallel parking, I believe the bike lanes will have to be removed.  But honestly, they're not necessary on a small, low-speed city street like that (plus they currently disappear at Main anyway).  Some stormwater improvements will also be done, like evening out the curb-to-curb grade (the street currently has a pretty steep crown).

 

I did not realize quite how dramatic the change would be.  That will make Magnolia look amazing.  Hope we get many of those vacant buildings along there renovated once this is done.  The street will certainly be MUCH more attractive to potential businesses.

I also just listened to the podcast and had no idea about how much Magnolia Street will be transformed. 

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  • 3 weeks later...

This will be a great use of a currently dead lot.  Interest and excitement are very high, based on Facebook posts.  And I'm sure the course can be moved somewhere like Barnet Park if/when a building is eventually built there.  Here's a pic of the course set-up:

11350569_830607746993576_285973741853425

Edited by westsider28
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This will be a great use of a currently dead lot.  Interest and excitement are very high, based on Facebook posts.  And I'm sure the course can be moved somewhere like Barnet Park if/when a building is eventually built there.  Here's a pic of the course set-up:

11350569_830607746993576_285973741853425

This lot has been "dead" for many, many years.  I don't know what was there and whether it burned down or was torn down.  Nevertheless, this seems like a novel way to fill in the space.

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The City streetscaping webpage that mainonmain posted in the Main Street thread has renderings of the upcoming Magnolia streetscaping.  It eliminates some street parking, which is fine with the deck right there.  And sharrows for bikes, which I'm okay with too.  I'm not sure how I feel about the wall/fence.  Ideally, it will make for a cool, European vibe.  I really think there needs to be a striped mid-block crossing for all the people coming from the Magnolia Deck.  But all in all, it looks good (much better than current conditions).

Magnolia3.png

Edited by westsider28
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  • 2 weeks later...

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