Kohl's center on Clemson Boulevard

[GSP Tiger]

Anderson Independent-Mail: It is confirmed Kohl's will be anchoring a new retail center on Clemson Boulevard across Ruby Tuesday and Ryan's. It will be its first location in the Anderson area. Starbucks and Staples are rumored to be additional tenants.

This is a great infill project adding additional business to this corridor.

[ab1137]

That's good to hear. Is the complex officially being called the Khol's Center? And now the guessing game begins on who will join the complex? Has anyone seen how many stores are spec'd to go in?

[GSP Tiger]

Anderson Independent-Mail (2007-09-25): Dick's Sporting Goods, a major general sports store, is rumored to join the center with Kohl's. Hardee's is also mentioned for a freestanding parcel.

Anderson gets a major void of a sporting goods store filled with Dick's.

[interestedexpat]

Dicks will be a great addition. I agree - sporting goods has been a weak point in Anderson's commercial strip. Dillard's is a neat store but if you aren't into hunting and fishing, you're left a little dry. Ironic because when I was a kid (in the 70s and 80s) there were a good range of sporting goods stores.

[GSP Tiger]

For hunting, fishing, and anything else wilderness outdoors, Grady's Great Outdoors and possibly White Jones are okay. They have nice selections, but Dick's will win with convenience.

[GSP Tiger]

The center may be known as Beltline Plaza. Such a sign states it between Golden Corral and the razed AAMCO building across from Ryan's.

[interestedexpat]

Apparently this one is having trouble with their financing and the Anderson County Council tabled a financial incentives package last night as a result. I hope these set backs don't doom the project.

[ab1137]

http://www.independentmail.com/news/2008/j...tion-would-eff/

This news really disturbs me. Apparently county council and more specifically Ms Floyd are unable to grasp the whole picture here... The economic benefits to the public far outweight the negatives here. Ms Floyd you need to realize that this complex is the type of place that employs citizens in your district, and you should be encouraging more business like this that would give them an opportunity to do something positive for their family and the community at the same time. I pay taxes too, and the idea that some business gets a discount and I don't certainly doesn't sound fair, but having these business here provides me a place to make and spend my hard earned money. If you want to keep living in Mayberry USA take your financial ideals somewhere else please. I'm not sure where county council learned about economics, but could some professor please provide a refresher course for them?

[GSP Tiger]

The Greenville News appears to made a mention of the complex, per them known as Midtown Park Shopping Center. The three "major" tenants maybe Kohl's, Dick's Sporting Goods and Staples.

[interestedexpat]

I think the incentives will get bogged down in local grudge politics. The issue is the incentives include water tap and rate breaks. There is a group of county residents that are really angry about the water rates they pay because they are on city provided water at roughly twice the cost of city residents. I don't hear as much opposition to the incentive package per se as to the specific issue of the water aspect of it.

Bad news all the way around. Anderson County politics hold the area down on a regular basis. No exception here.

[interestedexpat]

The Kohl's center has hit a snag. Don't know if this will effect it moving forward - but they won't be getting any incentive package from the county. The County Council met last night and declined an incentive package. The city of Anderson has already given this development standard incentives.

The reasons for the County Council rejecting them were varied.

(1) We are mad at the city for charging county residents who receive city water more than city residents.

(2) We are mad at the city for recruiting this development without our input.

(3) We do not think it is fair to give a retail development tax breaks when other retailers don't (or haven't) gotten the same.

This was/is going to be a really big development with an estimate of 450 jobs created. And is/was rumored to be Anderson's first "Starbucks" location.

Anyway - reasons 1 and 2 seem to be to illustrate everything wrong with Anderson County. The bickering and political grandstanding. Reason #3 seems reasonable to me.

Hope this doesn't derail things completely.

[Spartan]

Indeed. 1 and 2 illustrate a very bad mentality. All they need to do is annex into the city and those issues will be taken care of

[erm1981]

That is probably why anderson city charges more to city residents in order to get the county ones to annex into the city.

[interestedexpat]

I understand this one is moving forward even without the County incentives.

[Spartan]

Why incentives to big box retail?

[interestedexpat]

Why incentives to big box retail?

[erm1981]

I think only bigger and better things will come of it though.

[Spartan]

As a society, we should not be subsidizing crappy auto-oriented big box development. It may be 450 jobs, but its 98% low wage service jobs. This type of store would have come anyway if it was worth the money- and I expect that it was, they just found out that they coudl get discounts to do it.

As a state, we should change this philosophy. Most cities/counties CHARGE IMPACT FEES to developments, and Anderson County (and South Carolina) provides discounts.

[interestedexpat]

As a society, we should not be subsidizing crappy auto-oriented big box development. It may be 450 jobs, but its 98% low wage service jobs. This type of store would have come anyway if it was worth the money- and I expect that it was, they just found out that they coudl get discounts to do it.

As a state, we should change this philosophy. Most cities/counties CHARGE IMPACT FEES to developments, and Anderson County (and South Carolina) provides discounts.