Downtown Projects & Developments

[Spartanburg Dude]

Also, heard a rumor over the weekend that the white building behind AC Hotel has been purchased (the industrial building / Grain District). Does anyone have any insight into any redevelopment plans?

[Spartan]

The Wendy's site plan in phenomenal. Setting up the building in that way will set a a great precedent for downtown, and set a new standard in South Carolina.

The urban design is below average - it does have windows, but it looks and feels like a back door. The architecture is terrible. They could dress it up a little bit and still keep the modern/contemporary BS if they wanted to.

[Sparkleman]

On 4/17/2018 at 10:07 AM, Spartanburg Dude said:

It's absolutely awesome to see these historical renovations taking place!!!

There is so little left so it's heartwarming to see preservation and rehabilitation!

I'm curious to see what happens to the old Montgomery Ward and Kress buildings, hopefully someone gets their hands on those two as well and brings them back to glory!

Do any of you see any chance that Belk's might look into making a move back downtown? As I mentioned on the "Westgate Watcher" thread, it never really enters my mind to shop there as I hate Westgate and that Belk's doesn't get a lot of the higher quality merchandise that the Greenville store does. That said, a move back downtown into one of the buildings would get a lot of folks excited about shopping there again.

Any thoughts?

[westsider28]

4 minutes ago, Sparkleman said:

Do any of you see any chance that Belk's might look into making a move back downtown? As I mentioned on the "Westgate Watcher" thread, it never really enters my mind to shop there as I hate Westgate and that Belk's doesn't get a lot of the higher quality merchandise that the Greenville store does. That said, a move back downtown into one of the buildings would get a lot of folks excited about shopping there again.

Any thoughts?

I'd say the chances of Belk downtown are zero.  That chain is now as suburban as they come.  The only downtown I could ever see one in would be their hometown of Charlotte, but they've shown no indication of doing that.  I think department stores in general are in big trouble.  Target, Walmart, and Amazon are killing them.

[Spartan]

I think the market for an urban shopping experience is stronger than the private sector gives it credit for.... think about it- A mall is essentially an air conditioned version of a small downtown. You have streets, restaurants, benches, trees, etc, all lined with stores in a way that looks an awful lot like downtown. You park somewhere far away, and then you spend a decent amount of time walking around in the mall itself. You see people you know, you grab a bite to eat, etc. The only thing you're missing is churches, government buildings, and cultural amenities (Santa and the Easter bunny excluded). The challenge is changing an industry model that has existed quite successfully for many decades.

I think that shift is starting to happen, though. Most malls are dying except for the regional attraction malls like SouthPark Mall, etc. Part of it is the influence of online shopping driving down demand, and I believe that part of it is a change in shopper preferences. I personally don't know anyone that LIKES going to the mall. I know many people who tolerate going to outlet malls when they have to, but would rather not fool with it. As I said in the other thread, I think people want more unique and local experiences; and to that end, some traditionally suburban clothing stores are starting to experiment with non-mall locations - eg: JCrew Mercantile.

It's not impossible to think that Belk could move back downtown someday, but it will require some risk and the market determining that an urban location can successfully exist from a financial standpoint. It's much easier to use the anchors as the "attractions" - but IMO a downtown as the "attraction" would be more powerful and in the long run result in higher sales by virtue of people being in downtown for multiple purposes (as opposed to just shopping). The thing that's most frustrating for Spartanburg is that they typically demonstrate this in larger markets first. The measuring stick, to me, is if Charlotte and Greenville (sorry) get something moving in this vein. If those are successful, then MAYBE Spartanburg will see it as well. Best guess is probably no sooner than that. :/

 

[Spartanburg Dude]

Noticed that the Morgan Square Pawn shop closed it's doors. Does anyone have any insight into what if anything is going on there. So happy to see that they closed. No hate to pawn shops, but they do make a stain on a down town street. 

On a more exciting note:

A new business is coming to Main Street. 
The Spice and Tea Exchange will be opening at 135 W. Main!

Edited June 20, 2018 by Spartanburg Dude

[Spartanburg Dude]

Spice and Tea exchange will open today!

http://www.goupstate.com/news/20180725/spice-amp-tea-exchange-opens-thursday-in-downtown-spartanburg

[Spartanburg Dude]

Heard through the grapevine that the Social Security building on Magnolia is going to be redeveloped into a Residential / Commercial mixed use project. That's all I know. No details. Anyone have any insight that they can share? Sounds like it could be something very interesting.

[spartanburgh]

Its supposed to get 20 apartments on floors added to the building and street level shops on Magnolia, with under building

parking.  Subject to costs.

[westsider28]

@Spartanburg Dude The project is going before the DRB at their next meeting (Aug. 7), so we should know what it's planned to look like then.

Edit: Looks like it will  be called "142 Social" (clever).  It's by Spartanburg Downtown Apartments, a group which I believe includes Andrew Babb.

Edited July 31, 2018 by westsider28
Added info

[roads-scholar]

14 hours ago, westsider28 said:

@Spartanburg Dude The project is going before the DRB at their next meeting (Aug. 7), so we should know what it's planned to look like then.

Edit: Looks like it will  be called "142 Social" (clever).  It's by Spartanburg Downtown Apartments, a group which I believe includes Andrew Babb.

Interesting name (142 Social). 

I love Magnolia Street and glad to know that ugly building will be modified. 

[westsider28]

H-J article on the 142 Social development on Magnolia Street.  Two additional floors are planned (set-back similar to Aug Smith), 18 apartments, ground floor retail on Magnolia (and Spring!) and basement parking.  Architecture is rather uninspiring (though this was conceptual approval; DRB may have something to say before final approval), but it's an improvement on the building's current state.

(As an aside: What is with the current obsession with grey? It seems to be the trend in urban design right now, and I'm not a fan. Give me color!)

 

 

Edited August 8, 2018 by westsider28

[Spartan]

That building is way better than what's there now, but I agree it could be improved. The second level feels awkward.

[Spartanburg Dude]

As I see it, yes for sure better than what's there now, but it needs to be taller. 3 or 4 stories. With the add-on of just the two, from street level it will look kind of... unfinished I think. I'd also love to see them put a commercial venue on the roof. With our amazing weather here, roof top bars, lounges, music venues, night clubs, restaurants should be the norm!

 

[westsider28]

Here's some more info from their website, including floor plans (you can see the retail spaces): https://livespartanburg.com/142-social/

@Spartan I agree, the setback seems a bit too deep to me.  And the existing parapet is quite high, which is challenging.  I wish it looked more like a cohesive building, especially since this addition (unlike Aug Smith) doesn't really need to differentiate from a historic base.

@Spartanburg Dude I like rooftop venues well enough, but I honestly prefer sidewalk outdoor seating because it makes the streets more lively and inviting (rather than people being tucked away up high).  In this case, the wooden construction, floor-plan, and budget for the apartment addition likely prohibits such a venue (and more height), unfortunately.  I'm happy that they included amount of street retail spaces that they did.

[roads-scholar]

A huge improvement!   

I just hope all the “ground floor retail” spaces in this building and others downtown get filled.     

[westsider28]

Kind of quiet on the forums lately.  Anyway, the building that Jennifer Evins bought has now been painted blue.  I think it looks great.  This part of East Main desperately needs the color.  It's like 50 shades of beige up there.  My dream is that someday these 3 adjacent properties will be reunited into one contiguous building (or at least improve the Kosch & Gray part).

[westsider28]

City Council approved a few miscellaneous streetscaping projects tonight.  One is essentially repaving the sidewalk between the Montgomery Building and the Marriott, and I think adding streetlights.  Another is adding a left turn lane from southbound North Pine onto East Main for the UCB project.  The last is widening the sidewalk from ~7 feet to 11 feet on Liberty Street in front of the Co-op grocery store, including narrowing the oddly-wide Commerce Street intersection (and adding streetlights, I think).

Edited September 10, 2018 by westsider28

[westsider28]

Data is in from various pedestrian counters around downtown.  The counters are placed periodically on Main Street from RJ Rockers to the Denny's building.  Friday and Saturday have the most foot traffic by far, and 7 to 10 PM are the busiest hours of the day.  The linked article also has some miscellaneous stats on recent & future business openings, etc.  Here are the daily downtown pedestrian counts:

Monday - 4,250

Tuesday - 5,847

Wednesday - 6,469

Thursday - 7,481

Friday - 15,441

Saturday - 15,348

Sunday - 4,901

[roads-scholar]

On 9/20/2018 at 10:25 PM, westsider28 said:

Data is in from various pedestrian counters around downtown.  The counters are placed periodically on Main Street from RJ Rockers to the Denny's building.  Friday and Saturday have the most foot traffic by far, and 7 to 10 PM are the busiest hours of the day.  The linked article also has some miscellaneous stats on recent & future business openings, etc.  Here are the daily downtown pedestrian counts:

Monday - 4,250

Tuesday - 5,847

Wednesday - 6,469

Thursday - 7,481

Friday - 15,441

Saturday - 15,348

Sunday - 4,901

I imagine most cities experience a similar pattern, albeit with higher (or lower) counts. 

[westsider28]

According to a sign in the window, Two Cumberland (a women's boutique) is coming to the long-vacant storefront to the left of Prices.  Good to see something go in here.  Now about the former blood bank building...

[Spartan]

On 9/24/2018 at 12:42 PM, roads-scholar said:

I imagine most cities experience a similar pattern, albeit with higher (or lower) counts. 

Yep. It's a similar pattern everywhere. If you really want to nerd out on it, there are lots of studies on it. You can even see it throughout the day with AM, Lunch, and PM peaks. Certain parts of town will peak during evenings and weekends if the place tends to be used more for recreation (ie: rail trail), and others will peak depending on local factors like shift changes (hospital) or bell times (colleges).

[westsider28]

The 1-story building across Church Street from the Montgomery Building that's been vacant for ~8 years finally has a new tenant: CycleBar.  The concept is very popular right now: group classes on stationary bikes, in the dark, with music & lights, and a coach leading the whole thing.  Should be successful.  Good to see another vacant building filled.

Edited October 17, 2018 by westsider28

[gman430]

This is cool: https://www.wspa.com/news/-i-love-you-sculpture-unveiled-in-spartanburg/1547014278

[Spartan]

Very cool. Can't wait to see it in person!