Spartanburg Area Economic Developments

[spartanburgh]

I think your right hub-city. Jimmy Gibbs or George Johnson should partner with the City to offer a build lease tailored to

CH2M Hill's needs. That, along with all the other development on the way would really give downtown a more substantial

boost in the coming years.

[Sparkleman]

I think your right hub-city. Jimmy Gibbs or George Johnson should partner with the City to offer a build lease tailored to

CH2M Hill's needs. That, along with all the other development on the way would really give downtown a more substantial

boost in the coming years.

This is exactly what needs to happen although since it appears the city is siding with GDJ (was there ever a doubt?) on the hotel, it ought to throw an olive branch to Gibbs on the office building and sit it right behind the Marriot for CH2M.

[Spartan]

CH2M currently leases their building out on I-26.  If they want to continue to lease then Spartanburg has to have a large enough office space with adequate parking for thier corporation. I'm not sure if that currently exists downtown. That is why I was intrigued when Gibbs mentioned a possible office building behind the Marriott.  We need a private developer to step up and reach out to these guys and not simply blame the city for not providing enough incentives.

 

You can add Greenville to the list too.

 

I agree with the general sentiment that Spartanburg isn't doing enough to attract higher income jobs that also require a higher education attainment (ie: 4 year degree). The warehouse/distribution jobs are awesome, and should not be discounted in anyway. It's just that we need to attract and retain the other types of employment too. 

 

Rather than work to attract the next Amazon, the City and County need to do whatever it takes to keep CH2M in Spartanburg County, and preferably in an office building downtown, but a suburban one would be better than losing them to Greenville.

[roads-scholar]

You can add Greenville to the list too.

 

I agree with the general sentiment that Spartanburg isn't doing enough to attract higher income jobs that also require a higher education attainment (ie: 4 year degree). The warehouse/distribution jobs are awesome, and should not be discounted in anyway. It's just that we need to attract and retain the other types of employment too. 

 

Rather than work to attract the next Amazon, the City and County need to do whatever it takes to keep CH2M in Spartanburg County, and preferably in an office building downtown, but a suburban one would be better than losing them to Greenville.

I have a hard time believing that the movers and shakers in Spartanburg have not tried to retain CH2M somewhere in our community.  Look, there is a perception that our leaders are not  aggressive enough in attracting and retaining job creators.  But, i know they did everything to keep Hubbell.  The fact was, Hubbell didn't want to be here.  It is possible that CH2M doesn't want to be here either.  The Lockwood Greene that we all know and love (locally owned and operated) is long gone - absorbed by a much larger engineering firm with many branch offices around the world. 

[Spartan]

Related to 'business retention' -- Spartanburg is kind of late to the game, but they are getting there. I think part of the challenge has been figuring out the problem and not resting on past laurels. The basic challenge is not that businesses don't want to be here, it's that they WANT to be in Greenville. Greenville is proof that people and businesses want more than a cheap labor pool and a low cost of living. They want a high quality of life, and they will pay a little more money for that convenience and skilled labor pool. That's the cycle Spartanburg needs to get in on. People who work in 

 

What we are slowly starting to see is the area starting to work on what Greenville has been doing for a while now: a focus quality of life. Parks and natural space are becoming more or a priority. The "Z" word is finally being talked about.

1. The County needs to get on board with zoning. The #1 thing the people complain about is sprawl-related issues (traffic, loss of natural space). I'll have a separate rant about this later, but I'm not convinced the County is headed in the right direction with their zoning. That said, at least they are talking about.
2. The County is building parks and greenways. Spartanburg has been lacking in this area for a while. These new parks are phenomenal and more greenways are being planned and funded.
3. The City is finally taking visible steps to solve its problems-
   1. It's upgrading the city parks 
   2. It's focusing on making the Spartan Heights/Cleveland Heights area a good place to live,
   3. It's working on repairing infrastructure in the older neighborhoods (Beaumont).
   4. It's working on fewer 'big fish' projects in downtown (ie: Wall Street)

In my view, these are all key steps towards preserving the quality of life as defined by the people who live here and by people we want to move in. It's certainly NOT everything, but it does cover some of the UrbanPlanet-related topics. The reality here is that Spartanburg has to compete with Greenville, Asheville, Columbia, and (sort of) Charlotte. What sets us apart, and how do we preserve and enhance that?

[westsider28]

Tourism spending in Spartanburg is up 34% in the last 5 years.  Nearly 1,300 jobs were created as a result of the increase.  Government revenues have also increased.  Sports tourism has been a driving force (Upward, Panthers training camp, cycling events, baseball/softball tournaments at Tyger River Park, etc).  

 

Obviously the numbers benefit from the general economic recovery after the recession, but it's still impressive.  And it's leading to demand for more hotels, like the one on West Main.  There are also rumblings about hotels near Bass Pro Shops, near Landrum (equestrian-related), near Upward, and near WestGate Mall.

Edited March 17, 2015 by westsider28

[westsider28]

You may have seen this a few days ago, but BMW supplier Concept Packaging Group will be spending $2.5 million to renovate the old TNS Mills site at Hwy 221 and I-85 for a manufacturing and distribution hub.  They are consolidating operations from 6 other facilities around the county, but they're adding 50 jobs in the process.  I'm glad to see an empty building/site get new life, and I'm glad to see more jobs on the Eastside.

[Jet-set]

Haven't heard anything about Toray lately, are they still on schedule to begin production in 2016?

 

Also, I think a certain amount of development is inevitable around BPS, especially with its proximity to GSP and BMW. Will be good to see more and more development along the 85 corridor between Greenville and Spartanburg!

[mainonmain]

"Will be good to see more and more development along the 85 corridor between Greenville and Spartanburg!"

Yeah. Sprawl rocks.

[hub-city]

I was not sure where to post this but this looks like a good spot. I happened to bump into a buddy of mine who is an engineer out at CH2M Hill. I had not seen him in a good while and I asked him how things were out there. He said job wise good, but said management is actively looking for a new place in downtown Greenville. He's pissed about the prospect of driving to downtown Greenville every day (probably an hour from where he is).

 

Can we not retain anyone or is it that they don't want to be retained?

Might as well go ahead and prepare for the worst.  I've heard that they announced this to the employees last week.  They'll probably wait and put a small blurb in the paper at the last minute hoping people won't notice.  This is a shame...

[GvilleSC]

Might as well go ahead and prepare for the worst. I've heard that they announced this to the employees last week. They'll probably wait and put a small blurb in the paper at the last minute hoping people won't notice. This is a shame...

Indeed. What's worse is they aren't going downtown in either city.

[Jet-set]

Indeed. What's worse is they aren't going downtown in either city.

What do you mean

[hub-city]

Please don't tell me they are going out on 85 somewhere....

[gman430]

Please don't tell me they are going out on 85 somewhere....

They are which really sucks. They'll be locating in a new building. I'd rather have them just stay in Spartanburg then do this.

Edited June 23, 2015 by gman430

[vicupstate]

They are which really sucks. They'll be locating in a new building. I'd rather have them just stay in Spartanburg then do this.

 

Aren't they on the Interstate now?  Where is the new building?  Sburg County? Greenville County?  Millennium perhaps?

[spartanburgh]

Verdae

[Jet-set]

Verdae? I'd rather them stay where they are as well.

Why do all these companies feel the need to build new when there are massive buildings sitting empty all over Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

[GvilleSC]

Verdae? I'd rather them stay where they are as well.

Why do all these companies feel the need to build new when there are massive buildings sitting empty all over Greenville and Spartanburg counties.

Verdae was an option, but my source says they've decided on a different option.

[gman430]

Looks like they will be moving according to the story in today's Greenville News. Announcement coming within the next month.

[jpridmore13]

 ^{Anybody know what the closed session was about at the city council meeting last night. Heard it was a economic development discussion. I was just wondering if there where any details}

[gman430]

Verdae was an option, but my source says they've decided on a different option.

I'm hearing it's Verdae.

[gman430]

I wonder who could be moving here: http://ldiline.com/home.cfm?id=185087

[drexel]

I wonder who could be moving here: http://ldiline.com/home.cfm?id=185087

This past week I talked briefly with a County Council member and a city employee involved with economic development. They both truly believe that the Spartanburg Futures Group/Economic Development folks presented CH2M Hill with a better incentive package than did Greenville. It is my understanding that Johnson Development also made a pitch to CH2M Hill to build offices in downtown Spartanburg. Corporate big wigs chose Greenville over Spartanburg for a number of reasons. Recruiting young engineers being the primary one. Greenville has also been known for their engineering segment for years. I believe when you add that to county per capita income and a higher percentage of college graduates we fall short. I personally would much rather work in  downtown Spartanburg than some corporate office park in Greenville. (even if was young)        

[Sparkleman]

If I were just out of college with an engineering degree, I would probably choose Greenville over Spartanburg. However if I were older it would be the reverse for many reasons including cost of living, schools, and above all the traffic. If you can't afford to live the in city proper, getting into Greenville these days from Simpsonville, Greer, Fountain Inn, or Spartanburg can be a major pain.

[Spartan]

I honestly have to agree with their logic. I can personally attest to it because it's part of why I live in Charlotte and not Spartanburg. While Spartanburg has a good quality of life, it simply doesn't offer the amenities combined with white-collar job opportunities that Greenville and other cities offer. Spartanburg is, however, moving in the right direction. The city, county, and business community have to make more efforts to create more amenities for the residents of the community. This, in turn, helps attract businesses who want to live and work in the area for more reasons than a cheap labor pool and low cost of living. Those two factors are basically the main selling points for Spartanburg economically. Higher costs of living aren't as much of an issue if overall wages and demand for quality employees is higher.