interestedexpat

We do. Didn't you see the Swiss guy fly over the English channel last week with a personal jetpack strapped to his back??!!! Maybe it was only top story on CNN International. Anyway - forget widening. Free jetpacks for everyone! It would sure help us out in Bangkok. I see what America's traffic future looks like without substantial planning... it's bad. Very, very bad.

A new middle school is being discussed to be built in the Cobb's Glenn area. Apparently McCants Middle School (former Hanna building) was designed for 800 students and has 1200 now. With the growth in this part of the county - seems like a no-brainer to expand.

AIM is reporting that Life Stone Materials LLC is going to bring 45 jobs and 5.5 million in investment. They are filling an existing building in West Anderson. It's a high tech textile employer producing specialized fabrics for military, law enforcement and other emergency responders.

AIM is reporting that Microtel is building a four story hotel at I85 and Clemson Blvd. Story here.

Ethanol Company to invest $10 Million to build near Belton. Not many jobs with this one, but the article says it will create a pretty good amount of tax revenue for District 1 and that it coudl open up this area to more development. I'm not sure I see how that will happen, but here's dreaming. That part of Anderson County sure could use some high quality jobs.

If the case is made (that G'ville can support mass transit) by a successful BRT - then why would you want to switch to LRT? The case being made successfully would mean that the BRT is being used heavily, right? If it's being used and it's working....

I thought the Audi rumor was the VW rumor, although I might be wrong. The other huge rumor for Anderson was Rolls Royce poking around Anderson County near Clemson, but that one seems to have died off. I think there was also talk that Rolls might be looking at other sites in the state too.

Greenville is correct. That's the site. It's closer to the city of Anderson than the city of Greenville, but it's reasonably close to midway. My memory says that at most times of day it's about 15-20 minutes from downtown Greenville. As has been said before, this would be great for the upstate (Anderson in particular). It would really knit together Anderson and Greenville thereby making the entire Anderson - Spartanburg corridor feel much more like one big metro.

Two hotels in Anderson are getting facelifts and a new name in the new year. The Ramada Inn on Clemson Blvd (not sure of the address) is becoming a Knight's Inn. My limited experience of hotel chains, that's a downgrade. However, the Quality Inn at Clemson and Beltline is going to become a full service Holiday Inn. The artists rendering makes it look like it's going to be six floors to boot. That's a little taller than it is now! I wonder if the artist got is wrong though - 'cause the article doesn't say anything about building up. But it does emphasize over and over again how extensive the renovation will be. At any rate - that's news.

The developer doing the shopping cntr on Clemson Blvd purported to include a few big box retailers and a starbucks (among other things) is asking for tax incentives. The investment is $29,000,000. I have some mixed feelings, but I'm a bit uncomfortable with tax incentives for retail. What about you guys? Is that a good idea from a development perspective? Is it normal for a retail project (big as it is) to request and get tax breaks?

Kennedy Street School Redevelopment The AIM is reporting a major senior living complex development from an old decrepit school facility in south Anderson. An area of the city which has long been neglected. This is good news on many fronts. It is not far from downtown. It's in a neglected area of town. It's infill. It sounds like a quality project. I could go on and on.

Clemson Brick Forum to be hosted in Anderson County! I know it sounds silly but it's 700 delegates, 1200 hotel rooms and 144,000 in economic impact per year. AC has it in 2008, 2009 and 2010.

I'll chime in on the International thing since I fly to and fro every once in awhile to Thailand. I don't see GSP getting any direct to Asia flights until the fly time is significantly less. The flights options from Atl are limited enough as it is. Many of the itneraries that come up for Bangkok to GSP stop twice to get to GSP. This past July coming to GSP from Bangkok, we flew to Tiapei, LA, Chicago and then GSP. We've done Seoul to LA to Atl to GSP. I've also done Shianghi, LA, Atl, GSP. ThaiAir does Bangkok to New York, but it's hugely expensive (about twice the cost of stopping for a two hour break along the way). For international stuff I think Europe (Germany, London, Paris) and perhaps Latin American destinations are more likely. Seems to me that the focus would be better spent on getting lower cost regional travel and some longer leg direct flights. I'd love to see an LA to GSP or San Fran to GSP. Don't know that demand would justify it though.

AIM reported on Tuscany a new upscale neighborhood off of 81 N in Anderson is moving along well. It features fountains and lagoons. Interesting. One of the really interesting things though is this is another Anderson neighborhood locating on the far side of I85 from Anderson. I know of a few. It's a fairly recent trend that shows Anderson stretching its wings a bit. As neighborhoods stretch across the freeway, we are likely to see Anderson becoming more and more visible along 85 in the near future both in terms of traffic and development.

^ Wow. This looks great. Good going GREENville.

^ Couldn't agree more Bo. I would say that Pendleton's approach is borderline illegal. Is a city allowed to blatantly target a particular population of folks to keep out? Seems like classic discrimination. I'm sure college students are not a protected group in terms of civil rights, but can you imagine if a town tried to create ordinances targeting African Americans or gays. It seems like this came up in Arlington VA or one of the towns in Fairfax Co when I lived in DC. Same type of ordinance - limits on numbers of non-relatives living together under one roof. It was targeting Latino group homes and I think there might have been a court challenge. Can't remember. Definitely remember it seemed discriminatory. Seems like a better way to go would be to put fines in place making it clear that Pendleton wasn't the place to live if you want loud parties. A noise ordinance with a hefty fine would do the job.

^ Agreed. I was excited to hear that another developer was willing to step in. This could have just sat and sat and sat until it was unredeemable. I understand that the people of Pendleton have to give the developer a variance allowing more than two unrelated people to live in the same dwelling. This seems targeted at CU students. Pendleton has been pretty clear in the past that they don't want to be a housing option for CU group homes. However, this might be the exception because of the alternative - abandoned development.

Some interesting stuff in today's AIM. Hilton Garden Inn management dispute. Work at Pendleton Station to begin again. Pendleton Station developers accuse bank of funny business. Anderson Chocolate Maker is doing well

It was announced at the Anderson County Council meeting this week that Michellin will invest an additional 25 million dollars in the Star plant. I assume this includes new jobs as the Council was considering tax incentives.

Stine Gallery in downtown Anderson will be closing. It is a family business and the owners are retiring. The good news is the building is under contract. They didn't say who or what the plans are. But I have to think that when someone new puts a contract on a building, they must have plans. Article Here.

The Food Lion opened on US 24 at the intersection with Whitehall Road. AIM Article here. There is a Bilo being built right next door and an Ingles across the street. How much you wanta bet at least one of these stores is empty in 3 years? Along with the Food Lion, there are the standard tag alongs. Chinese carry out, an ABC store and a Credit Union. Rumor has it that a national restaurant is looking at the space. McDonalds? It would do well there. The McDonald's notwithstanding - this is classic sprawl. On the upside it does create a new commercial cooridor in Anderson in an underserved up and coming community.

A Greenville doctor just bought the Old Anderson Hardware building in downtown Anderson. He also bought a couple of other sites. The Old Hardware building has been closed since the early 1970s. It's great to see something positive happen there. It is a strategic location in the downtown. Read about it in the AIM story here.

I too thought I'd lost my southern accent when I lived in Boston, but then someone pointed out that I still had a southern accent - only it was more properly called a "southie" accent now 'cause I lived in South Boston. To this day - I can still speak a little 'southie'. I remember the first time I moved into a really urban neighborhood, I couldn't for the life of me figure out why they had the concrete waist high cylinder posts so close together and bordering the sidewalk in front of the supermarkets. "You can't even get the freakin' cart (buggy, trolley) through those things to get to the parking lot." Then someone pointed out that was the point. If you can't get to the parking lot, you can't get out of it either. Cuts down on theft. From the on, my measure of whether a supermarket is truly urban has always been - Can the carts get to the parking lot? If the answer is "yes" then it's not really urban.

Danny Ford is one of the partners in a group that is going to invest $5 million to put a biodiesel firm in Anderson County. The article in AIM said it would bring about 30 jobs. It's a partnership with Clemson U. Additionally it said the facility would be in district 3. Isn't that Iva? That's awesome for that part of the county. It's not a hotbed of development. This will be really important for that community. AIM Article Here.

Anderson County has two economic development related items on their agenda for this week's meeting. Anybody have any ideas? I haven't heard any rumors other than the big ones that are supposed to be a little further off (VW and Rolls).