Hello my fellow Florentines. I am myself from Florence, just living the columbia, working in politics. This developement by the Drs. Bruce and Lee foundation could be the catalyst that the downtown area needs. We have the new library, performing arts center, florence little theatre-and some addition development plans that will increase the traffic in this area.
We have seen "downtown redevelopment" in every town across the country, and most of the time it doesn't end up benefiting the community as originally thought. The foundation seems to have a real sense of the future-bringing traffic into this area (that's what it needs). The fact of the matter is that development down East Cheves needs a real area leader, because if we are waiting for an Outback or other national chain restaurant/store to come in to boost the traffic, we are wasting our time.
As with the previous post of having a major employer in the area -we have many (McLeod, Honda, Roche Carolina, Smurfit-Stone, ESAB, and now QVC).
I think that the "Celebration Centre" (area between cashua drive and west palmetto) project that is slow to get off the ground, could end up being a great addition for locals, if planned and developed the right way. Here's a link to an idea that would be neat to have.
http://www.tilt-up.org/awards/2000/pleasant.htm
