goodbye

I'm always in favor of more hiking/biking trails. However, if it is the end of our near-future hope that Greenville will have a north/south highspeed lightrail transit option, then I would steadily oppose such trails. If, by building these trails, it is being stated that the abandoned right-of-ways will not be developed into LRT anytime soon (10+ years), then I support the trails 100%.

I would too. In downtown Greenville. That would make the most sense as Greenville is the center of the entire Upstate - and is also disputably the center of business in the entire State. How serious is this rumor? Just a local discussion, or is it national buzz?

"Star Wars Episode III" is AWESOME! Now I need to see it at Camelot! I read another article about the new digital projection system. It said that Lucasfilms had representatives here who were pushing the work to open on time and to meet their specific standards. The article also stated that the closest screen like this is in Orlando, FL! B)

In yesterday's Greenville News there was an article on the new townhomes (currently the JJT site) with a nice rendering of their appearence.

Fascinating! I had heard rumor quite awhile back of an Italian development (presumably connected with Villagio D'Montebello) cascading down the hill (Piney Mt.) behind Home Depot on North Pleasanburg Drive. This is supposed to be specialty shopping if the information was correct.

That's Great! They needed to tear those old rotting townhomes down long ago. I hope the quality of living within these neighborhoods will improve. This is very important to the future of that section of the city.

Check out the Eastside Shopping thread for any posted info on those new developments. I know nothing other than the articles I've read and the little I've heard from others living over there. Has anyone been to the new waterpark in Simpsonville yet? How would you rate it?

I doubt they think it's a sin, but rather unnecessary. Greenville has got everything and much more than Spartanburg for most people. For the most part, Spartanburg is at least a decade behind Greenville in overall development. That being said, I enjoy my trips over there and find the new development to be very attractive. That would be a good location for a BPS, but it will be up againszt the likes of Greenville Mall among others.

I'm surprised no one else posted about the awesome Hubbell Lighting article in yesterday's (Sunday) Greenville News! There were renderings and great info on how the building will serve its purpose while creating a visual role model of sorts for the rest of Millennium Campus. The Building is a total of five stories tall and will have, "a curving, four-story glass wall [which at night] will make the Hubbell Lighting headquarters look like it's glowing from the inside." It will be built right next to I-85 so at least one side of the building will be highly visible to all travelers on the interstate. B) Construction is expected to begin by this Fall and be completed by the end of 2006. The building is $36 million and 175,000 square feet. Complete Article - Minus the Renderings

That would be a huge addition to an already heavily used Upstate interchange. Last time I was down on Clemson Blvd on a weekend night, you had to wait for more than an hour to eat anywhere decent. That road seems to have just about everything on it.

Wal-Mart is seriously considering another Supercenter on Laurens Road, at the former Sams Club and Goodys sites. They've been talking about this for several years, so I don't know how far away any actual construction may be.

You can visit the official Verdae website @ http://verdaedevelopment.com/

The land where the new baseball stadium is being built looks to be moving quite well. There are large piles of dirt where the construction equipment is digging down to the field level.

The new residences being built at McPherson Park are really coming along nicely. Those would make a decent place to live.

Thank you, krazeeboi! Great to read such a story. Another interesting thing regarding Greenville's Global exposure: United Airlines passengers will be reading about Greenville and especially the Greenville Symphony Orchestra in this month's onboard issue of UA news and spotlights. I don't recall the name of the publication, but every one of their planes have these for the passengers. This is excellent notoriety for one of the absolute best symphony orchestras and cities in the Country. They've been making leaps and bounds in the right direction every year since Edvard Tchivzhel became the music director and conductor. Also, there is an absolutely fabulous group of trombone players I heard on Saturday at Falls Park. They will be playing again on May 20, at Piazza Bergamo sometime in the evening. You should definitely plan on being there to hear them. I had a hard time believing they are actually from Greenville. It reminded me of being in New Orleans.

I don't know about you all, but I'd gladly give up two of these 14 story buildings for a single 30+ story building about now. That's not to say I don't greatly appreciate the additions to Greenville's skyline, but I would love to see us get something of a magnificent icon in DT - something people will see from miles away and either be stunned by or just plain proud of. I know it's possible...

Paint!? Ugh!

It should be well under construction or nearly complete. They started several months ago, I believe.

Looks like the "14-story" building @ Main & Elford in the article is definitely The Pinnacle on Main. This should mean that construction will soon begin!

At around $55 million, a courthouse on the Gateway site would be quite impressive. That 14-story building @ Main & Broad is most likely the other Bob Ellis building that was previously spoken of. Thanks for the post, Brad!

Another thing which was mention in this week's Greenville Journal was that the city plans to sell its share of the Woolworth building to a developer, who plans to obtain the remaining pieces and begin construction on a multi-story mixed-use structure sometime within two years. This will be great for that block of Main Street! The developer hopes to coincide the project with the other ones on the same block.

Which is exactly why people love to live here! This is definitely NOT a big city, although you may get that feeling while visiting a concert at the Peace Center or Bi-Lo Center, and of course Greenville is known by its residents and visitors as having a high-level quality of life. Put this together with the other cities and towns all over the Upstate and you don't get Las Vegas or Orlando, but aother rather unique place with a population that exceeds general expectation. People who neither live here nor visit very often just can't realize the incredible rate at which Greenville is changing weekly! As with most cities, this growth doesn't always go the way every resident would like to see, however when you look at the progress from the standpoint of someone who's either lived here for a while or visited often, you'll understand without doubt what I am talking about. It doesn't do anyone good to speculate merely on a preconception or even an earlier experience because the area is in a constant state of change (a rapid level of progression).

Those will be some high-dollar condos! I hope the exterior wil be uniquely attractive. I also read last week that Greenville First Bank is looking for a location for their new downtown office. Apparently they want to build something "unique" if they construct anything new.

Interesting... I wonder what the real holdup is. There is absolutely no reason to even consider denying such a project's approval simply on the grounds related to the preservation of the oldish (and NOT particularly attractive) Kimbrells building. BTW, the old Kress building was already demolished because it would have cost too much to renovate. I don't quite understand what they mean by that statement (I haven't read the article yet). Thanks for the heads up, Brad.