Florence Developments

[monsoon]

So the county and state pays QVC about $9000 per job and in return QVC provides $400/week menial jobs. Once taxes are taken out, I can't see where it is much of a benefit to the area since no one can live on that. It's really hard to get that excited about this handout to a huge corporation.

[thebarb20]

interesting thought but the menial jobs are often good for the people w/ h.s. educations. the problem is there are not enough jobs here for people like myself (mba) and unfortunately i'll have to move soon it seems. b/c i really did not want to leave my roots. there are tons of people who need those menial jobs .. but you are right the economic impact from the county paying for all the jobs is a wash i think. and 400 jobs (most being low wage) will not really impact the economy that much w/ disposable income being low.

[krazeeboi]

How many jobs were lost with Maytag closing?

[monsoon]

interesting thought but the menial jobs are often good for the people w/ h.s. educations. the problem is there are not enough jobs here for people like myself (mba) and unfortunately i'll have to move soon it seems. b/c i really did not want to leave my roots. there are tons of people who need those menial jobs .. but you are right the economic impact from the county paying for all the jobs is a wash i think. and 400 jobs (most being low wage) will not really impact the economy that much w/ disposable income being low.

Well you hit the nail on the head. If the middle class disappears then what is left never gets the opportunity to move out of the menial job category. It is a viscious circle that is supported by the corporations like QVC and the politicians cited in that article.

[Spartan]

At this point any jobs are welcome in the Pee Dee.

[vicupstate]

One thing I noticed was that QVC already has a distribution center in Rocky Mount NC. That is just 200-300 miles north on I-95. Does QVC really sell that much of their useless crap, that they need major distribution centers that close together?

Damn, that's a lot of bored housewives.

Edited December 22, 2005 by vicupstate

[jjoshjl]

My Grandmother alone Buys half of the gross yearly tonage shipped...

Seriously...

I know many are kinda poo-ish on these jobs, but keep in mind a few things... while yes there are alot of lower paying jobs, this isnt the only type of employement offered there. Dont get me wrong, I am not saying there is a plethera of high paying jobs, but your talking about a city population of just over 32,000 (MSA ~64,000). You jsut wont see the numbers like you would in a larger city. Also. Ive been watching employeement postings for a little bit now and though the postings come slower, its the same percentage of various types of jobs like you would see here in jax. again, it just doesnt seem like its that much because the number of new job postings as a whole. jsut doesnt happen as fast I've jsut started watchign for jobs for me in the past few weeks and already have seen a few in the Computer Programing field.

to further that, 12 bucks an hour sucks for someone in Charlotte and here in Jax, but in florence, especially if your jsut out of HS, you can get by ok with that because things are so much cheeper as a whole. (hell, AOL here is only like 9/hr) anyway... point is, the jobs are there, they jsut arent as noticed because there arent as many. THough I havent seen any stats, im sure the proportions are the same though as any other decently balanced city. Like I said, florence isnt a bad city, its jsut smaller, and a little slower. Many urbanites wouldnt like it too much, but thus is the nature of the beast

Finally - ok great its 400 lower paying jobs... well, its 400 more than they had before. that is 400 slots that can help lower the unemployement rating. thats 400 people more that can spend just a little mroe money now. There is mroe to economic benifit than just the amount of taxes the city gets from the employer.

Anyway, just some thoughts

Cheers

[thebarb20]

my old employer ArvinMeritor in Marion SC was looking for a programmer. its a difficult position b/c of it being manufacturing environment to support automotive customers (they are like walmarts when it comes to dealing with suppliers). anyway onto other stuff.

just thought i'd let u know JJ

[monsoon]

Finally - ok great its 400 lower paying jobs... well, its 400 more than they had before. that is 400 slots that can help lower the unemployement rating. thats 400 people more that can spend just a little mroe money now. There is mroe to economic benifit than just the amount of taxes the city gets from the employer.

Anyway, just some thoughts

Cheers

I don't mind the 400 low paying jobs that QVC is offering. What I do mind is the public money that went to bring these jobs to the area. The government representatives should be spending this incentive money on companies that want to come and improve the area instead of locking people into poverty level jobs.

[Charleston native]

I don't mind the 400 low paying jobs that QVC is offering. What I do mind is the public money that went to bring these jobs to the area. The government representatives should be spending this incentive money on companies that want to come and improve the area instead of locking people into poverty level jobs.

I worked in Cola as a legal assistant for a law firm and made just over $12/hr and I was NOT in poverty. These are not poverty level jobs, especially when the cost of living in Florence is lower than bigger cities in SC.

[monsoon]

It is for a family. Especially if it doesn't include medical benefits. And dont forget taxes that will be withheld, ironically which in part will be used to pay QVC.

[Charleston native]

If there is a family involved, unfortunately, another member of the family will have to work as well. If the employee is single, that will be a good starting salary, especially for jobs with no college diploma. Most employment contracts include medical benefits, but each employee's situation will be different and there has been no detailed information for those benefits.

[jjoshjl]

Hey Metro,

While I understand what you are saying, i only agree to a point...

$12/hr counts out to about $25K a year. While this wouldnt get you buy too easily in cities where cheap rent is $800, a very large percentage of the US population make at or below this. Keep in mind the Average US salary is around 35.K Thats average overall... In a city where cost of living is around 70-80% of national average, that puts 25 close to national average when adjusting for cost of living. Further more, there are a number of high education jobs that start around that level too. Teachers for example start anywhere from 20-30 depending on where you are in the country.

Finally, not ALL jobs are that rate. There will still be a number of higher paying jobs easily in excess of 40K a year added to the Florence Payrols. My guess would bs that about 40 or so are higher paying jobs. Again, close to national average.

here are some things to keep in mind when judging florence with respect to oter places...

two bedroom apt can easily be found in the 450-500 range.

good houses in good neighborhoods can be found in the 60-80K range. (which would probably come out to be about 600-700 per month mortgage. Again all easily maintainable if you kow how to watch money at that salary.

Energy costs are a deal lower on average

smaller city so much less driving (less gas expense)

Food is a little cheeper

I could keep going, but you get the idea.

25K is no where near poverty even for a family. I think something like 17K is poverty for a full family.

Anyway, jsut some things to chew on...

Cheers

[vicupstate]

According to the Morning News, McLeod Medical Center will build a 500 space parking garage to accompany it's new building. There will also be some retail space in the garage. This will be only the second parking garage in Florence. Bids are due on Jan.5.

[thebarb20]

last i checked i never saw a good house here at 60-80K. thats great news from mcleod. that'll be really cool to have another parking garage. maybe those jokers will finally hire me haha. i've applied for about 75 jobs with them over the years.

[thebarb20]

if anybody has any information regarding the mcleod parking garage, i would appreciate it. i have been able to find any information out regarding this new project. any activity like this is definitely a boost to downtown.

[flotown]

I'm new to this site and I see that this forum has been dormant for a while, so I thought I'd add to it. I'm from Florence and hope to see downtown redevelopment take shape. I was saddened by the death of LeRoy Adams, who was a progressive thinking African American who was making great inroads to remaking downtown.

I'm not going to pull any punches here; racial politics in this town is one of the main stumbling blocks to cleaning up what a crime and filth ridden mess downtown Florence has become. In order for downtown to come alive once again, you've got to get people and their money willing to go down there and spend money. Most whites (and many blacks) are turned off by the rundown store fronts, the groups of young males who hang out in front of the stores, the crime, the gangs etc etc. I dare anyone to ride down the 100 block of West Evans and Dargan Street and tell me you would feel comfortable taking your family down there. Any efforts to clean it up and to bring businesses that will attract consumers of all races is bound portrayed by Councilman Ed Robinson and his ilk as "kicking out the blacks". While I understand wanting to ensure that black business owners are not forced out due to rising rents, there seems to be no efforts from these same business owners to clean up their own stores. The city does need to go after the building owners, which what I believe Mr. Adams was doing by trying to create historical districts as a way for aesthetic integrity to be enforced.

I agree that downtown Florence needs a performing art center, a museum or the Little Theatre. I personally would love to see a ballpark built on the site of the old McLeod Infirmary for the RedWolves, and a possible future Single A ball team (it's a pipe dream, I know). I'd love to see a brew pub open up. I'd love to see a major retailer build downtown. Or a first class hotel. Francis Marion Univ needs to build SOMETHING downtown. Their decision to take the free land in Mars Bluff has been a double edged sword; while it doomed downtown Florence to decades of decay, it also kept the college from having any real identity or presence in this town (unlike Coker in Hartsville).

Well that's it, just my two cents worth, you're welcome to disagree and comment. I'll add some pictures in the future for those out of towners who haven't been here in a while.

[krazeeboi]

Flotown, welcome to the forum and thanks for those insightful comments. It's a pity that Florence is suffering from what seems to be a high level of racial tension in the city; it seems to be SC's version of Durham. I do know that the city often ranks high for crime for a city its size (along with Sumter).

We look forward to you participating us and keeping us abreast of what's going on in the Pee Dee.

[Spartan]

welcome to the forum flotown! I look forward to hearing more of your thoughts on Florence!

Once of the hardest parts about turning a downtown lke Florence's around is changing the attitudes of the residents. Some people will think its hopeless. Others might give it a chance. It will definately take some time, patience, and persistence on the part of Florence's leaders- if they can move past the politics and get things moving.

[vicupstate]

Welcome to the forum Flotown. Your insightful comments hit the target very well. Krazeeboi and Spartan had excellent comments too. I look forward to your future postings.

BTW, I am a Flotown native and my family still lives there, so I visit quite a bit. I am an FMU grad as well, and you are correct in your assessment of the campus location decision. Of course, that decision was made in the late '60's and I guess it looked like a no-brainer then. Before the Wallaces made there land/house donation, the school was planned for the Cashua/ Third Loop area near Delmae school.

[jjoshjl]

Hey Flotown...

Good to see you here... Im one of the few pro florence people on here. but hey. the more the merrier. Especially consideing you actualy live there. Like vic, I am an ex native as well, so, I a pretty interested in whats going on. Look forward to your posts...

Josh

[Spartan]

Hey Flotown...

Good to see you here... Im one of the few pro florence people on here. but hey. the more the merrier. Especially consideing you actualy live there. Like vic, I am an ex native as well, so, I a pretty interested in whats going on. Look forward to your posts...

Josh

I don't think you will find that there are many (if any) anti Florence people here. Personally, I just don't know that much about it, as it is not an area that I have ever spent a great deal of time. It is good that the interest in Florence is picking up. I hope that Florence will have its own subforum one day.

[vicupstate]

HUGE NEWS !!!

$40 million Performing Arts complex going up Downtown

I knew there were efforts on this, but I didn't realize they were this far along. This is the biggest news in Florence in about a decade I would say.

Plans in place for $40mm Cultural and Performing Arts center Downtown

Edited January 13, 2006 by vicupstate

[Charleston native]

^ Wow! Excellent news. Maybe something like this can start bringing in more interest for people to bring their businesses and residences there.

[Spartan]

Wow that is great news for Florence!