Anderson Developments

[Spartan]

It has not! Surely Spartanburg is not far off then.

[interestedexpat]

I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned, but hhgregg is building a store in Anderson.  It's going out in the shopping center with Hobby Lobby.

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That's great. I've noticed in a couple of threads that some of the folks in the Upstate SC forum are sometimes surprised by the level of retail/restaurant development that Anderson gets. It does seem that sometimes Anderson gets stuff before Spartanburg which doesn't make sense to me because Spartanburg is a bigger market. I wonder if Spartanburg is a little sandwiched... Charlotte on the east and Greenville on the west?

Anderson has Greenville on one side, but going west there is nothing until you hit Atlanta which is much further. I know on the weekends all those restaurants and shops fill up. But they can be pretty dead during the week. I'm curious if anyone else thinks about this.

[Spartan]

Spartanburg is a funny place. We have two major shopping areas, one centered around Westgate Mall and Blackstock Rd on the Westside, and the other centered around Hillcrest long E Main at Ferwood-Glendale and Drayton Roads on the east side.

Anderson on the other hand has all of its commercial district there along Clemson Blvd or N Main, whichever it is at that point.

Spartanburg's split means fewer people find it necessary to go to the other side of town to get things resulting in submarkets, so to speak. Its not an iron-clad observation, but its the only justification I can come up with.

I can assure you it has nothing to do with Greenville or Charlotte. Charlotte is too far away to make any difference in that respect. It would be like someone in Anderson driving to Gainsville to buy something. I'm sure it happens, but its probably not very common. And Greenville has no more influnce, if not less, than it does on Anderson.

[interestedexpat]

That's interesting about the two main shopping areas. It's true that Anderson really has only one with a few smaller ones spattered around. A couple of attempts have been made to create another node but to my knowledge none have really caught on. I am thinking of some places along Route 28 to the south and west.

But my thinking was not that Spartanburg residents travelled to Greenville or Charlotte for shopping and dining but that Greenville and Charlotte area folks don't travel to Spartanburg for those activities.

My theory is that the Anderson restaurant/retail corridor services a bigger market than it might first appear because people travel from western Georgia towns like Hartwell, Elberton, etc... to shop and eat in Anderson. Perhaps I'm still off base but on weekends (especially in the evenings) there used to be a lot of Georgia license plates in Anderson parking lots.

Edited August 26, 2005 by interestedexpat

[MAJIKMAN]

That's interesting about the two main shopping areas. It's true that Anderson really has only one with a few smaller ones spattered around. A couple of attempts have been made to create another node but to my knowledge none have really caught on. I am thinking of some places along Route 28 to the south and west.

But my thinking was not that Spartanburg residents travelled to Greenville or Charlotte for shopping and dining but that Greenville and Charlotte area folks don't travel to Spartanburg for those activities.

My theory is that the Anderson restaurant/retail corridor services a bigger market than it might first appear because people travel from western Georgia towns like Hartwell, Elberton, etc... to shop and eat in Anderson. Perhaps I'm still off base but on weekends (especially in the evenings) there used to be a lot of Georgia license plates in Anderson parking lots.

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Your right about Georgians and, as a matter of fact, people living in the southern part of the upstate go to shop there. I have a friend who travel there to work at Target. And the next closest one was in Athens.

[MAJIKMAN]

My friend traveled from Hartwell.

[interestedexpat]

More evidence that downtown Anderson is headed up. The City Council just approved using Hospitality Tax funds for downtown projects. The article in the IndependentMail suggested the hotel project was the likely motivator, but I imagine they are thinking about a lot of stuff including parking if a significant development where to occur.

[interestedexpat]

There is a nice write up in the Independent Mail from yesterday (?) about JAX New Orleans in downtown. Makes me want to try it out. Too bad I don't live in the area any more.

Also Moes Southwestern Grill is opening a new location in Anderson across from Anderson Mall.

For its size, Anderson really does have a lot of restaurants.

[socaguy]

Talbots is opening a new womens store on North Main Street in Anderson.

[interestedexpat]

More news trickling in on the Chiquola Hotel renovation from the Anderson Independent. The city hopes to close the deal with the developer today. It's a little bit complicated so if you want the full story check out the newspaper or online article www.independentmail.com. I would provide the full link, but you'll have to register anyway.

Anyway - the only bit in the article I was unaware of is that the city is planning to build a parking deck to service the hotel and surrounding businesses behind it. I had wondered about parking.

Edited September 14, 2005 by interestedexpat

[Spartan]

I would provide the full link, but you'll have to register anyway.

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Always provide a link, even if you have to register!

UrbanPlanet recommends that you use BugMeNot to get around those pesky registration pages B)

[emo]

I heard by word of mouth that downtown Anderson may be getting a Wild Wing Cafe and a Sticky Fingers. I was really surprised by this, but if it happens it will be a great thing for A-Town. I wish they would put a Sticky Fingers in DT Spartanburg.

[Spartan]

I heard by word of mouth that downtown Anderson may be getting a Wild Wing Cafe and a Sticky Fingers.  I was really surprised by this, but if it happens it will be a great thing for A-Town.  I wish  they would put a Sticky Fingers in DT Spartanburg.

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Me too

Good for Anderson though. B)

[btoy]

I heard by word of mouth that downtown Anderson may be getting a Wild Wing Cafe and a Sticky Fingers.  I was really surprised by this, but if it happens it will be a great thing for A-Town.  I wish  they would put a Sticky Fingers in DT Spartanburg.

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I wouldn't be so surpirsed about the Wild Wings, downtown Greer was very close to getting one, and who knows may still. And Anderson is bigger than Greer.

[GSP Tiger]

I only ate at the Wild Wing in Greenville once. I did not get to enjoy it that much. The food was good; dealing with mosquitos and bugs flying around every 30 seconds when eating was not. I would like to try it again to see if I have a better dining experience.

As for locations, I can see Wild Wing being in Anderson, Asheville, and Hendersonville. Those three cities have viable downtowns that can use a great wings place.

[emo]

i was more surprised about the Sticky Fingers

[Spartan]

I've eaten at that one several times, just not outside. I ate outside at Sticky Fingers once though. It was nice, but also in the Spring when the bugs weren't out.

[interestedexpat]

There are a couple of interesting articles in the Anderson Paper today.

The Belk Building demolition is supposed to start next week and take about two months. If the Chiquola Hotel deal comes through, new restaurants, the Calhoun project and the Belk Building site all happen, I would call that momentum. Can we be far from having some sort of office/condo/retail announcement for downtown Anderson?

In potentially more significant news, Clemson has inked a deal for $5 million in state funds to build an incubator for new advanced materials companies.

They would build a 40,000 sq ft facility in the Clemson Research Park on S.C. 187.

The idea is to attract high-tech, high-paying jobs in fields like optics, microelectronics, polymers and plastics.

A related development is that the Anderson County Development Partnership has agreed to purchase the remaining 103 acres in the research park to recruit high-tech business in and around the county.

[Spartan]

Wow, that is definately momentum.

[RestedTraveler]

I only ate at the Wild Wing in Greenville once.  I did not get to enjoy it that much.  The food was good; dealing with mosquitos and bugs flying around every 30 seconds when eating was not.  I would like to try it again to see if I have a better dining experience.

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You've gotta sit inside some time. Mosquitos and other flying insects aren't a problem, but smoke sure is (if you're not a smoker). It's a pretty cool place all-in-all though.

[interestedexpat]

I see that the Anderson Hilton Garden Inn is opening today. They are billing it as Anderson's first full service hotel, which I guess is true. It should be a great addition. It also looks great from I-85. Especially northbound as you pass Exit 19 on the way to Greenville. That whole exit has really taken off in the last 5 years with much more on the way.

[GSP Tiger]

Thumbs up to both Hilton Garden Inn and Exit 19's growth in recent years with hotels and restaurants. All it needs is some retail and residences.

Does anyone think Exit 19's current interchange could use some improvement?

[btoy]

WYFF says that the developer that planned to renovate the Chiquola (sp?) Hotel in downtown anderson has pulled out of the deal.

[Spartan]

That sucks. I am sorry to hear that. Perhaps there will be another in line.

[interestedexpat]

There is also an article in the newspaper about it. What's interesting is how angry other local merchants were with the city council. Most of them sided with the developer and expressed frustration with the council.

The developer has been pretty blunt in his assessment of things. He used the word "sabatoged". And other downtown merchants commented that they weren't surprised at the difficulties because they had trouble when they bought and/or renovated their properties downtown.

I would love to see the IndependentMail do a really indepth article about what happened and how difficult it is to do business (in terms of city fees, regulations, working with local government) in downtown Anderson compared with say Greenville and Spartanburg.

Something doesn't sound right to me. I have a feeling we aren't getting the whole story.

A terrible setback for downtown Anderson.

Edited September 27, 2005 by interestedexpat