Jump to content

Anderson Developments


JT Boy

Recommended Posts

I agree with these comparisons. Spartanburg better watch out or Anderson will surpass it in downtown development. :P There is an incredible surge of interest in downtown Anderson these days, and it is becoming more vocal. Hopefully it will outlast the elections and we will begin seeing larger effects pop up.

Link to comment
Share on other sites


Welcome to the forum erm1981! Are there any other interesting projects going on in Anderson?

While we do encourge participation I'm going to have to ask you to stop plugging your company in your posts. That is a violation of our rules, and you will get banned for it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

erm1981-

Normally I would conduct business like that behind the scenes, but unfortunately I am unable to send you a Private Message. In my opinion you were walking the line of our rule, so I opted to bring it up on the forum.

Firstly, you are not causing any drama. If anything I started it... sometimes balls start rolling and it can appear that way, but that is NOT drama ;). Second, your profile will not be deleted. If you decide to stop posting that is your decision, but your profile will remain in tact for as long as UP is around.

That said, I hope that you will continue to participate here at UrbanPlanet.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Dont really think im going to post anymore here cause i already see the drama starting....I was just trying to be friendly but you think im trying to advertise. I bet its real fun being your neighbor !

later...

That is very disappointing, erm1981! :cry: PLEASE don't let such a misunderstanding by only one member run you away! Greenville and the Upstate owes much of it's recent and present success to Harper Corporation and it's owners. I will not cease from discussing their acheivements as it is occasionally very important to these topics. I never speak of the company as a sales pitch, but have only positive things to say about them. Doug Harper was even a runner-up for last year's 'Greenville Business Person of the Year' award, and has a great outlook on the future of this region. PLEASE stay with us! :thumbsup:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well i guess i could stay around....all i said in my previous post is that i am a Brick mason for them and have worked on all their big projects including river place, and house. ICAR is another, and the charter communications building, and also the new museum. I enjoy building things so i thought it would be fun to be around here. Spartan...i come to clemson all the time and ride my jetski at clemson beach. No hard feelings....i just wanted to share some things ive did and some future projects. I know you are all wanting to hear about that 14 story building called the Camperdown that we are supposed to do the masonry on. Ill stick around

-Evan

Edited by erm1981
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well i guess i could stay around....all i said in my previous post is that i am a Brick mason for them and have worked on all their big projects including river place, and house. ICAR is another, and the charter communications building, and also the new museum. I enjoy building things so i thought it would be fun to be around here. Spartan...i come to clemson all the time and ride my jetski at clemson beach. No hard feelings....i just wanted to share some things ive did and some future projects. I know you are all wanting to hear about that 14 story building called the Camperdown that we are supposed to do the masonry on. Ill stick around

-Evan

:yahoo: Yes, he's staying :yahoo:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Welcome Evan. Glad you decided to stay.

Now - back to topic. GrandSouth Bank opened its first Anderson Branch this week. It's a G'ville based bank, but the key players are Anderson based.

Here's the article in the Independent Mail. April 17, 2006

Also - unrelated, the mayor's race has continued to be both depressing and exciting. Depressing because some of the campaigning has been dirty. Exciting in that a lot of people in Anderson are really interested and downtown development is one of the key issues. Check out this blog from one of the Anderson Independent Mail editorial writers for some of the conversation.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I saw on the news that the mayor's race is having a run-off, so I assume that means that there is some dissapproval of what Mayor

I saw on the news that the mayor's race is having a run-off, so I assume that means that there is some dissapproval of what Mayor Shirley is doing. How long has he been in office anyway?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Anderson has a new mayor! Terence Roberts a business man, former head of the Chamber of Commerce and YMCA is the new man. First African American mayor in Anderson, G'ville or Spartanburg? I'm asking, I don't know.

The mayors race was more complicated than just disapproval of the current mayor. Mayor Shirley was in office for a long, long time...28 years on the city council, 8 years as mayor. It had been a long time since the office was even challenged in an election. He came under heat this year for trying to tax for-profit businesses operating out of the non-profit Anderson Hospital campus. I don't have all the details, but it's a pretty emotional discussion going on.

The other key issue was downtown development. Shirley thought his record was impressive. Currently there is a lot of building going on. The challengers (and apparently many Andersonians) thought that downtown could be a lot further along. Roberts in particular talked about attracting businesses and corporate offices, not just municipal buildings. Anderson's downtown building for the last 20 years or so has been almost exclusively public investment. That's changed some in the last two years.

Anyway, Shirley had two challengers in the initial election. Linnie Otter and Terence Roberts. In the first run, Shirley got 40%, Roberts got 34% and Otter got 26%. Here's where it got interesting. Otter and Shirley are white and Roberts is black. Shirley made a comment after the initial election that he didn't think the run off would be close because he was sure that he and Otter shared votes and that Roberts drew from his "natural base".

Fortunately the community called him out for it. People from a variety of walks of life were outraged. The Independent Mail reported that and Shirley went on talk radio, claimed he was taken out of context and in the end told the newspaper to "go to hell". :shok: (If you think I'm kidding just go to the Independent Mail website and look at the articles!)

Roberts stayed above the fray. He refused to criticise Shirley and stayed on issues. Shirley dipped into the gutter (my opinion). Never really apologized to Roberts for the "natural base" comment and started questioning his campaign contributions as being from special interests (which IMO was a joke).

Edited by interestedexpat
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Anderson paper confirmed he is the first African American Mayor for Anderson. The cool thing is that his supporters were a pretty diverse group. Apparently even the people who voted for Shirley agreed that Roberts is a class act.

One other part of the Roberts platform that is significant is his support for a performing arts venue downtown. One possibility for a niche for downtown Anderson is the budding arts community. This is already happening to some degree with some galaries and studios and a new Arts Center building which is really cool.

If that's the route the city goes I think it needs to make sure the arts scene is diverse and includes performing arts (which it has a little of) and (especially) graphic design art, not just sculpting and painting.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ashley furniture just announced plans to build in Anderson in the Target Center off of Clemson Blvd. They are expanding in SC and already have stores in G'ville and Spartanburg.

Also Mayor elect Roberts has commented on his initial plans...

... he is hoping to be convinced to move forward with the "mini-city hall" a 5.8 million dollar project on the south side of downtown. It would be a 38,000 sq foot building. I haven't seen a rendering. It's a bit controversial. Many people thought it is a waste of money.

... he plans to get started right away on comprehensive planning. He seems to be looking at Greenville as a model of good planning. Whenever he comments about his vision, he refers to Greenville. In my opinion this is a good move. Greenville has been very effective.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Also Mayor elect Roberts has commented on his initial plans...

... he plans to get started right away on comprehensive planning. He seems to be looking at Greenville as a model of good planning. Whenever he comments about his vision, he refers to Greenville. In my opinion this is a good move. Greenville has been very effective.

I wonder if he sees Anderson having its own version of Greenville's historic West End District in various areas like South Main Street and River Street. If those areas can be cleaned up and rebuilt for something good, it is a step in a positive direction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Spartanburg lacks a river (Greenville has one) and a lake (Anderson has one) to use to their advantage. It will lag behind until it can find something to bring people in.

Anderson fares well with its lake developments. It is a short time away before some developers beg to build 20 to 30 level residential towers overlooking Lake Hartwell. That would just be so cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Those are weak examples, and don't necessarily make those places better. Hartwell is not near downtown Anderson whereas the Reedy River is right in the middle of downtown. Neither of which is a valid comparison to Spartanburg.

Spartanburg has several lakes in the northern part of the county. Granted they are not the size of Hartwell by any stretch, but they do provide the same services that Hartwell does. Greenville's river is not that significant. The falls are what sell it. Spartanburg has the Lawson's Fork, which is not 'downtown' but is in the city, and could refitted to be similar to both. No matter what its a hard comparison. Spartanburg actually has a creek downtown that I think could be made into a decent sizzed pond/lake which could be a great draw to downtown. Either way Spartanburg is not lagging behind by any means. Have you been there lately?

All of that said, I am not trying to knock Anderson's progress. It has a very bright future. Once downtown gets rolling it will be a great destination.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have not been to Spartanburg's downtown area in about six months. The Renaissance Project brought in the Marriott, Barnett Park and some corporate tenants. Busts were the golf course and the developer.

Does Mayor-elect Robers envision building residential mid-rises in town? I think Anderson is ready to create a small skyline of eight to ten-level buildings.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm not sure what Mayor elect Roberts plans are regarding stuff like that. I think everyone is waiting to see what happens with the Calhoun and the Chiquola. I think a mid-rise or two that aren't as expensive might work. Roberts focus in the campaign regarding downtown was twofold... (1) attract corporate offices and (2) do some serious master planning. He's wanting to think 20 years out.

I'm a little hesitant about the master planning 20 years out. I just think it's really hard to predict that far out what will be livable. The world is changing so fast. I guess guidelines or a plan that's constantly being improved. But the idea of creating a document and sticking to it is probably impossible.

But I wholeheartedly agree with the idea that it would be a mistake to focus on creating downtown retail exclusively. Anderson needs a more significant corporate/business presence in downtown.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm a little hesitant about the master planning 20 years out. I just think it's really hard to predict that far out what will be livable. The world is changing so fast. I guess guidelines or a plan that's constantly being improved. But the idea of creating a document and sticking to it is probably impossible.

It's difficult, but considering the costs of replacing/upgrading sewer, water, and/or traffic infrastructure, its a bit of a necessity... even if it is, at times, a shot in the dark.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. We have placed cookies on your device to help make this website better. You can adjust your cookie settings, otherwise we'll assume you're okay to continue.