Birdbrain

This may be a bit off the beaten path, but I stumbled across a large land-clearing project and am wondering what's all the hubub, Bub. It's off Woodruff Road, near the intersection of Butler, on a back street named Bagwell road. The project is essentially behind MiMi's Japanese Steakhouse, if that helps. My first thought is that it will be housing, most likely apartments. Anyone know for sure what's going in there? http://goo.gl/maps/ClmhI

Good point, ausrutherford; Walmart used to be in the "Old Time Pottery" building, so why open a store one block over? ...But here's something to chew on. Wallyworld is looking at Haywood, right? And Toys-R-Us is moving to Magnolia, right? So you'll have an empty Circuit City, empty Toys-R-Us, and a few small shops in between that can easily be moved. Plus, there is that planned "strip mall" on the current Fluor property by Stax Grille... I don't know, but it sounds like a primo spot... (Yes, I'm ignoring the wide open land by Harbor Inn just to start a baseless rumor.)

This is still a complete facepalm to me. Whoever designed the sidewalk has never seen a piano. Those are stripes, not "sharp/flat keys," which should be shorter than the white "keys." And really - huge gateway signes around only one block with basically a single restaurant? What next - two massive signs around Bergamo's proclaiming it "Little Italy?" <end good-natured sarcasm> Sorry for the venting. I just get so "bent" when there's a great idea that gets completely screwed up.

I saw cranes gently removing the Clemson spire and loading it on a flatbed. No apparent damage. Had me wondering why, too. All kinds of thoughts - is Clemson pulling out; are those two buildings going "rogue" (ha!) or are they more likely going to replace it with some Marketing-driven campus-wide branding effort? I guess we just get to "stay tuned."

Ha ha - DEFINITELY cursed. And yet, for unfathomable reasons, the seafood joint across the street still thrives. It's got to be all the small cemetaries along Pelham; they must have just paved over one for Tony Roma's in the first place - Poltergeist style. <grin> Perhaps one of our realator members can give us a hint on the new owners. All I could turn up is that Palmetto Alehouse in Charleston (James Island) didn't last very long. No idea if it's the same owners, or if the name is just a co-inky-dink. Message to whomever does open in that location - STAY AWAY FROM THE LIGHT!

The old Tony Roma's/American Pie/Salsateque building on Pelham's (Beacon Dr.) restaurant row is again vacant. Signs posted recently have announced the coming of "Palmetto Restaurant and Ale House", supposedly in August. In a cursory search, I could find no other info. Let's hope it fares better than the previous occupants!

They sure are making it look so much better than what we've been led to believe recently. Maybe it won't be "Cherrydale 2" after all. Have to give them credit for a sense of humor, though, as seen on page three of the brochure citylife provided earlier: http://www.magnoliap...arkBrochure.pdf Notice the 4 guys in the crosswalk? Ya never know, maybe this whole plan will finally "come together." Ugh, sorry. Couldn't resist.

It looks to be going into the restaurant space "under the water tower," formerly the Fish Market and many, many, MANY other restaurants. The way places fail in that location, I've always suspected it was on top of a former burial ground or something. I sure hope this (or some other future project) can break this "curse."

That pretty much eleminates everything but Bass Pro Shops. Go ahead and spread the rumor, I'll wait here, chuckling.

Wait a minute.... The Chinese are outsourcing to America? Hmmm...

Sorry, just gotta do it.... "I'll drink to that!" Ugh. That even irritated me... :-)

I like the idea of no chains, but if you live downtown, need to grab something quick; you can't beat hitting Subway and getting on your way. (Not promiting them, just an example.) Unfortunately, reality and our wish list will never meet. Walk down Main and count the chains. Geez, in the past couple of weeks - I ate at several places that would have to be run out of town: Subway, Bertolos, Grouchos, Wild Wings, Carolina Ale house, Mellow Mushroom -- and those are just a very few off the top of my pointy head.... (heck no I can't cook!) :-)

OK, the new sign is up - the old Garcia's (Yeah, it was a chinese buffet for much longer) on Orchard Park (Pelham and Haywood road area) is now a new restaurant called Ni Hao Grill. Here's the website: http://nihaogrill.com/ Doesn't tell us much, but at least they spruced the old place up. Glad to see.

Thanks for the link to the Magnolia development story, Citylife. I absolutely love (sarcasm) this line in the article: Menin has unveiled new plans for the site that includes a town square center. The plan calls for walkways and a gathering spot half the size of a football field where events can be held and people, including those who live in the development’s planned residential units, can relax. Said it before, and it bears repeating. A patch of grass surrounded by parking lots, "Toys R Us," and bowling alleys is ABSOLUTELY NOT A TOWN CENTER SQUARE. Throw all the spin on it you want, it's Strip Mall Hell with a few square yards of lawn which "residents" are going to use as a place to let their dogs poop. (Yeah, yeah, if I don't like it, do go there. I know. I don't go to White Horse Road either.) Well, shoot. Looks like I've run the gamut from excited, to thrilled, to mild anticipation, to dissapointment, and now just plain anger. What a complete waste of a very nice, if not often overlooked Greenville Mall. Sorry for venting, folks. It's tough realizing I've been suckered by a development company. It's like believing a politician - I should know better!

Thanks to CITYLIFE for re-posting what I called "the preliminary sketch." (Including the "confetti shooting out the spire." HA!) GvilleSC's photos above really show the project in better detail. Darn. No 80-story skyline-changing landmark in this rendering. It's a great project, but not what I - an admitted architectually-stunted moron - would call "signature." Worst of all, it looks like they've gotten rid of the spewing confetti. My enthusiasm suddenly wanes.

Something Grand? Aw, c'mon, That's just TEASING. What rumors have you heard? We've seen the preliminary "sketch," but could the "signature tower" be something we can call a landmark? (And we don't mean landmark like a name someone slaps on the Daniel Building!) So what can we be seeing here - an architectual masterpiece? An engineering marvel? 80 stories of graceful glass and steel? How about the worlds largest treehouse? What??? (Yeah, I'm a little wound up with anticipation. Adding to the skyline is always a thrill. I'm sure there must be some meds I can take, but let me enjoy this moment....)

This would be good news for the strip mall beside the old Sams (Books-A-Million, etc.); they have a few shuttered spaces like the old Sports Authority. This influx of 100+ people could pump new life into it. More buisinesses, more employees, etc. Glad to see that the "dead area" left after Sams and Goody's pulled out is getting a new lease. AND THANK GOODNESS IT's NOT ANOTHER OBNOXIOUS CAR DEALER! (Sorry car dealers, but watch one of your own commercials and you'll finally understand.)

I actually drove by and asked one of the workers what they were putting in, and he just shrugged and said "Some other restaurant." He may have been the wrong person to ask because he was working on the entranceway roof. If I ever see a "white hat" while tooling around - THAT would be the person to ask. Will keep you advised. (Anyone guessing another mexican or chinese joint?) :-)

It's at The Point at the end of the strip mall with Whole Foods and the new REI. It used to be the building where Doc Chey's was. (It's behind the Chipotle, so you may not see it from Woodruff.

Sorry for being late on this, but.... Waaaaiiiit a minute, I don't want to skip quickly over the reference to the Auditorium Site. So the whole "GATEWAY" project is not only dead, but forgotten? Or will these apartments be part of that? Is Greenville giving up on the whole grand entrance to the city and selling the Auditorium hole to the first bidder? You good folks with your fingers on the construction pulse - can you shed any light on what KIND of apartments are "speculated" to be going in there? Could it be the gleaming 25-story promise of yesteryear, or just another 3-story block of "affordable units within walking distance of great downtown destinations?" Please, oh please, let it be the resurrection of the Gateway project!

This is getting better every day! Can't wait to hear more on this "Signature Tower..."

If the new building looks anything like the Wells Fargo, then I'm thrilled. For some reason, I like the Glass-and-Steel look to counter the existing Daniel Building (as it should always be referred to) and the big white concrete monstrosity behind this new (cough) "tower." Architectural purists, gimme a break. Different can be good. (Sorry folks, pure opinion. After years and years of travel, you wonder why Greenville's skyline is so non-descript!)

For that matter, what happened to Bass Pro Shops? Did they change their mind AGAIN? Nope, I am not going to bring up the proposed Cheesecake Factory, which we also haven't heard diddly about... Ooops.

Just kidding about the check-cashing - I was listing the most horrid I could think of. And since all the originally cited "interested" stores have fled Magnolia like it was radioactive, I suspect the venture will only be left with "lesser" shops unless something BIG changes. (Apologies - not meaning to call any business "lesser" such as nail salons, check-cashing, and rent-a-rims, etc. I applaud small business owners and their entrepeneurial spirit.) Here's a thought that suddenly crosses over to another thread on this board - why not take the smoking shambles of Magnolia Park and just make a really "nice," if such an adjective applies, OUTLET MALL. Then, my freinds, we would not need Gaffney for anything other than peaches. (That's all kidding, too. Gaffney is lovely and so is (are?) their Outlet Mall,rug-and-home store, and 33 thousand peach stands.)

Which DEVELOPERS do you mean? The ones who've turned Greenville Mall into shambles and left it that way, or the ones who are out-parceling every square inch to restaurants, discount clothing, mega-shoe-shops, and check-cashing joints? (And a sea of parking...) Town Center my foot. Hey - I actually went a whole post on Magnolia and didn't call it "Cherrydale 2!" ...oops...