Zebra

A new tenant is going to be moving into the old Belk building downtown. The tenant moved out of downtown within the last ten years but was very popular while it was there. I for one will be glad to see them back. I can not say at this time who the tenant will be but feel free to guess.

The Longhorn Steakhouse Building will be demolished and Bojangles will be building.

Del-Taco is going in at that location. I worked on some plans pertaining to it. My understanding is that it is similar to a Taco Bell.

Just one note on the fire protection comment. In the city all firemen are paid employees which work 24 hr shifts. There are 3 shifts in the rotation. With the county fire depts. most are volunteer or combination. They have to rely heavily on personnel that may or may not respond. For the money spent the city has decent fire protection coverage but is lacking severely in manpower for a city of it's size. The City needs to pony up a few extra dollars to bring our City's fire protection up to the standards that have been recommended to Charleston. On a side note- Sparkleman Hillbrook is a fire response mess. It is cut up between the City, Converse, and Glendale. One good note is that if you are in Converse's district you will recieve automatic aid from Converse, Drayton, and Cowpens. *Gets off soapbox*

Here is an image I found somewhere showing what is proposed for Renaissance Park. Enjoy.

In my opinion the East Main diet should be extended to Saint John. The two incoming right lanes of 29 should be right turn only to Saint John and the single left lane should flow through to Pine. There will be some issues with street trees on Pine (from SCDOT). I have had problems with this in the past with streetscape projects. I would personally like to see all four corners of the Pine & E. Main intersection raized and started over. Kinkos could incorporate into a larger mixed us building and the hotels and money tree could just go away as far as I'm concerned. This area is in need of redevelopment bad and has enormous potential. Just think of the space we would have to work with to redo the intersection if all four corners were raized and new buildings were built with a setback from the street that would allow parking, large sidewalks, and pedestrian refuge on Pine. I have a overlay sketch I did of a concept that I will post later when I have more time.

I'm not real clear on if it will actually conect to Church St. or not, although in my opinion if it doesn't there is no real purpose for it and it will not flow well at all. Sorry I could not be of any more help but I will ask around about it....I know the City was very vague on it and I dont belive they know what they want. Renaissance Park is in a very critical stage right now. With the USC Upstate Business School being implemented, the new parking garage, the Chapman Arts Center (already up and running well), and this new road being planned this site which has enormous potential could go either way. They need some sort of plan for the infill and hopefully mixed use developments which this area needs. I heard of one a major developer had proposed for a mixed use development but I have not seen it. If any one knows where I could find it please let me know. On a side not I was in Krispy Creme the other day and they had the plans on a bulletin board showing the conceptual plans for the Alba Ct/Memorial Dr. realignment and the Memorial Auditorium expansion.

The name for the new street will be Promenade Road. This has been floating around. I work for one of the companies that bid for this project and that was the name that was used for those purposes. This is original bid discription for the project: Scope of Work : NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN The City of Spartanburg is requesting competitive proposals to provide engineering services needed for a potential road construction project to be built starting behind the Marriott Hotel and connecting to North Converse Street behind the Chapman Cultural Center. The street will include storm drainage, sidewalks, street lights, landscaping, and electrical infrastructure to provide power for public events. The consultant selected will develop full construction plans and specifications based on the City

The City just put out a RFQ to bid on construction documents for the E. Main narrowing. -Told ya so- I had to say it. As well as some other interesting work. Particularly notice the appraisal RFQ for 145 W. Broad St. (AKA City Hall) and Thier Public Saftey building beside Nautilus. This accompanied by the City looking for a team to assess thier needs in an administration building means they are moving towards a new city hall quickly in my opinion. Also notice all the attention around the Chapman Arts Center now. The new road, parking garage, and USC Upstates new building would be a great addition. Scope of Work: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN The City of Spartanburg is requesting competitive proposals to provide engineering services needed for a potential streetscape project on East Main Street. The City has developed a preliminary design and landscaping plan for this project. The consultant selected will develop full construction plans and specifications based on the City's preliminary design and incorporate landscaping plans to be provided by the City. Scope of Work: NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN The City of Spartanburg is requesting qualifications from architectural and/or engineering consulting firms for design services needed for a parking garage that the City intends to construct. The garage is expected to be constructed near the intersection of Liberty and East Saint John Street. Full details and requirements for the Statement of Qualifications are contained in the Request for Qualifications that will be available on October 2, 2007. Scope of Work : NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN The City of Spartanburg is requesting competitive proposals to provide engineering services needed for a potential road construction project to be built starting behind the Marriott Hotel and connecting to North Converse Street behind the Chapman Cultural Center. The street will include storm drainage, sidewalks, street lights, landscaping, and electrical infrastructure to provide power for public events. The consultant selected will develop full construction plans and specifications based on the City

Back early this year or late last year Glendale had a design charrette which focused on the old mill site. The plans included the Outdoor Learning Center by Wofford as well as some quality pretty high-end yet affordable townhomes and apartments fronting Lawson Fork Creek. The Outdoor Learning Center which Wofford will build might be the first step toward implementing this plan. I've already seen a couple of classes which are being held on the rocks right in the creek. I think this could be a major park area and learning pavillion for the Spartanburg area.

There was an article today in the herald journal about George Dean buying the Bank of America property on E. Main and the Broadwalk Building. Here is a link to it: http://www.goupstate.com/article/20070919/...332/1026/NEWS07 Sounds like the E. Main narrowing could take place with everything that is going on here.

East Main will be narrowed first. I've seen the plans for this personally myself. I believe it is a joint project by the Nobel Tree Foundation and another group. It will narrow the st down to two lanes with pedestrian cross walks and add angle parking on the sides with large planting islands. It looks and sounds to me a lot like the Lawrence Halperin design right up the road (Greenville). This would go great with the razing of both the travel lodge and the East Main and Pine marketplace. I have no idea what is going to go back in this area once razed. Lets also remember the second addition to George Dean's East Main Building. This area is ripe for development and I believe we will see it quickly. As far as Saint John St. it will not be narrowed, its the down town bypass. Has anyone seen George Johnson's other project at Broad St. and Liberty? These condos are coming up rather quickly. Does anyone have any idea what type of veneer will be on the outside of this building?