interestedexpat

That's a good point about people flying into and out of nearby airports robbing G'ville of a chance for the kind of traffic necessary to draw a low cost carrier. For example, I'm going from G'ville to San Antonio this summer with the family and I've been looking. G'ville is over $150 more expensive than Charlotte. With 4 family members, that's $600. Do you know how much golf I can play for $600? I'll be driving to Charlotte despite the inconvenience. I think a significant amount of G'ville's vacationer traffic is probably going to other airports. I'm waiting axiously for GSP to Bangkok. That'll save me a ton of time once a year. It will probably cost me my annual salary though.

I got an answer for you about Bella. It's going to be a women's and children's store with some unique fashion emphasis. The info comes from an Anderson Independent piece about new businesses moving to downtown in the near future. There is also a new restaurant on the way across the street from Bella. Check out the article here.

A Pittsburg based plastics company is expanding their Anderson operation and moving their headquarters to Anderson! They are located in the Advanced Materials Center (formerly Clemson Research Park) and plan to expand their current site. Anderson Independent Article Here. Company rep says over the next few years they'll invest about $6 million, add 40-50,000 sq ft of space and add an addtional 20 employees. For anyone that doesn't know - that research park is one of the real bright spots in Anderson. It's located off of I85 exit 14 towards Pendleton in a very quiet area. The park targets research and tech companies and cooperates closely with Clemson University. I'm not sure on the numbers, but there are probably 10 companies located there. Anderson recently started marketing it more aggressively. Hope this is a sign of things to come.

I have a theory about Pendleton Station although I have no evidence other than watching Pendleton politics for a long time. My theory is that a lot of people never wanted Pendleton Station. They prefer not to have their town developed. They don't want more housing 'cause they don't want new neighbors...especially students! They couldn't legally stop Pendleton Station, but they waited until the developer made a mistake and shut the whole thing down. Admittedly this is a very cynical perspective, but these are the same people that chased BMW away from Anderson to Spartanburg! Don't know what Bella is. I'd like to though.

I didn't read Krazee or Spartan as the least bit negative. Question for everyone: if you had to choose between two 30 story 'highrises' and five or six new 10 story buildings which would you prefer? Which do you think (assuming comprable mix of housing, office and retail) do you think would contribute more to an urban vibrancy? I should preface this with: I don't think it's necessarily a choice that G'ville has to make. I think in all likelihood within the next 5 or 10 years we will see a both/and senario. But the point of the question is to flesh out a little bit more of what we're talking about. Krazee said he prefers DC to Atlanta or Houston. DC has a large urban core which is all slightly more than 10 floors. It feels very urban. Lots of street life. Atlanta and Houston, not as much, although I'm not sure their lack of vibrant street life is the fault of the highrises per se, but perhaps of the lack of urban design, multiuse design in many of them. I actually prefer Boston to DC or Atlanta/Houston. It has a mix of highrise and mid-rise which creates an urban feel that I don't think either DC or Atlanta/Houston can match. My current residence in Bangkok, Thailand is an interesting case study. Some of the really tall high-rises are some of the least attractive areas in terms of urban street life. The reason is they were not designed to encourage it. Some of the most attractive urban areas are full of 10, 15 and 20 story buildings. The population density is huge. And there is all kinds of life.

thanks for the website Skyliner.

The inaugural Downtown Sounds concert was a huge success! The people count was 700+ in downtown Anderson. Good job Anderson. This will be going on every Thursday till the end of August from 5:30pm till 9:30pm. If you haven't been to downtown Anderson recently (or ever) I would encourage you to check it out. Go, enjoy the free music, stroll around a bit and then grab dinner at one of the local restaurants. A good night out.

I think we've missed a couple of residential developments going on in downtown Anderson. I just checked out the downtownanderson.com website which i hadn't looked at in awhile and they have two developments I'd not heard of listed... Benson Street Apartments 109B & 111B West Benson St. Anderson, SC 29621 Phone: 864-934-9342 Upscale loft apartments on the Courthouse Square now under construction and... Sharpe Street Apartments 121 Sharpe St. Anderson, SC 29621 Phone: 828-274-1004 Totally refurbished apartments available Summer 2007 My guess is both of these are smaller rehabs; however, they are significant in that they are adding to a developing nice core in the city center. I also read recently that someone is rehabs space across Main from the Chiquola Condos for first floor retail and second floor apartments. I should also mention the Chiquola has a website up that gives a fabulous picture of the finished product. It also looks like those condos have sold really well. The Calhoun also has a website but it's not nearly as attractive and it looks to me like only a small number (less than 25%) of the condos have sold there.

Downtown Sounds kicks off in Anderson this week. Anderson Independent Mail The gist is that every Thursday from 5:30 till 9:30pm there will be a band playing in downtown in front of the courthouse. The events are free and the bands are high quality. The inaugural performance features Charleston-based country/rock group The Blue Dogs this Thursday. Come check it out. You'll get up close looks at some of the excitement surrounding downtown Anderson recently.

I generally like to post positive stories. This one is more sad. Pendleton Statin (in ?? ) is not doing well. The bank foreclosed on the development. Here's the story Anderson Independent Mail

Anderson Independent Mail Easily High Tech Company Expanding into Anderson CO. Ortec purchased an old manufacturing building in Pendleton. It's a 50 million dollar investment that will create 50+ jobs. Good to see a local company expand. Good to see an empty building brought back to life. And good to see high tech jobs come to Anderson.

Thanks for the info. Good news about Dillards. I had begun to wonder. But the article you linked to made me think, "maybe that's it." Good for the confirmation. This all begs the question: where is NewSpring Church gonna put their youth stuff? I know they have big plans, but are they gonna build? On their current campus? In related stuff - NewSpring had a huge pastor's conference last week. Almost 1000 attendees from all over the country. It got major blog attention and people were saying it was the best conference of the year. This is significant. For those who don't run in these circles, all the 'megachurches' do the conferences geared mostly at pastors. It's sort of an excuse to come together, share best practices and show off their stuff. So for NewSpring's to be called "conference of the year" is a pretty big deal. It's major exposure for Anderson. The other news worthy of note on Newspring is they recently added a nationally known author to their staff. Tony Morgan. See some of the blogosphere reaction to the NewSpring conference on his blog here. Go into any Christian bookstore and you can find his stuff. I'm often wary of the attention Anderson gets for its religiosity...fundamental and intolerant. NewSpring is part of a bigger US movement that is definitely conservative theologically - but they are hip too. They don't come off judgmental, but authentic. Perry Noble is really becoming a major figure in this movement. Seacoast Church is also in this vein. They are based in Charleston, but it's their Greenville venue which has received all the press because their song leader on American Idol. Not to diss Bob Jones, but IMO this new breed brings a lot more positive exposure to our region.

Here is some fun news... Anderson Independent Mail Irish Festival coming to Anderson Sounds like a great festival coming in 2008! Hopefully this will give some folks an excuse to come downtown and enjoy a pint a McGee's Irish Pub.

That sounds more like the Anderson I know and love.

No parking in DT Anderson! Are you serious? I assume you are familiar with some of the 'hidden' lots off main. If not, signage is the answer. If so, the Chiquola parking deck is more needed than I thought. There is a lot being written about downtown recently. We're all still waiting to hear the plans for the Old Belks site. I worry that at this point with the rumors flying aound that anything they actually come up with will be a disappointment.

That makes more sense. But wouldn't most roads have a projected 'f'? There will always be growth. So it stands to reason that any road which is not improved will end up an 'f' someday, right? How long into the future is the 'f' projection for 24? I just can't see anything on 24 causing traffic delays in the next 10-20 years. I know things can change radically by then, but... I just don't see it. I actually still hold out hope that southern cities will stop the sprawlopolis mindset resulting in more 'urban' style transportation being a realistic possibility. Don't build more roads, zone for density and protect the rural areas and greenspace from stripmalls. That's my dream. I'd like to see Clemson Blvd as a more urban core. As density increases and traffic gets worse, we could consider an efficient bus system! That's a long way off though.

What does a 'level of service rating of 'F'" mean? I agree with both of you. I think if the Hwy were widened there would be increased development, but I don't think it's an issue of need. It's an issue of perception. Obviously i don't live in Anderson right now, but my parents do and they live out 24 near the bridge in question. I have never seen congestion in that area. Even if there is an accident, traffic does not back up. At the traffic light at Whitehall and 24, you are never more than four or five cars from the front. I think people in Anderson have a tendency to exaggerate traffic issues. Road construction is really expensive and shouldn't be entered into unless there is a real need. Whitehall could be improved, but even it doesn't have the kind of traffic that would make me want to spend the kind of money it would take to increase the size of the road. Just my two cents.

100 new jobs and two new high tech companies to downtown Anderson? Maybe. Just the possibility proves, 'There is a God!' Anderson Independent Mail Monday, March 12 Council eyes two high-tech companies Also continued residential and commercial development on the city's westside. I have mixed feeling about this stuff because it's basically poorly managed sprawl Anderson Independent Mail Monday, March 12 Cheaper land, same convenience

Great link G-man. There have been a lot of interesting articles in the Anderson paper recently about development issues. I'm not going to link to them ('cause I'm lazy) but... *A downtown summer concert series (weekly) announced *A few articles on further renovations and plans for downtown buildings (nothing major - just smaller scale things) *An 'impact fee' passing through the county council to make developers pay. This is ironic (in my mind) given Anderson politicians 'anti-tax' rhetoric. It's the same folks voting for the 'impact fee'. I'm in favor of it, I just think it's interesting. *Blue laws are history again. *An interesting post by Heather Jones (the new econ recruitment person) on one of the paper forums. She indicated that she is amazed by how many inquiries Anderson gets regarding industry relocations, etc.... She came from Hilton Head/Beaufort area. So that is an interesting statement. She then hinted that the community shoots itself in the foot alot by being unfriendly towards those showing interest. (She didn't say it, she hinted!) But God bless her, someone needs to shout it from the rooftops! *The G'ville based developer pulled out of the running for the old Belk's site. So we have two left... one from Anderson and another from Charleston. But as usual there is fighting going on about control and procedure. It's enough to scare off anyone with money!

Pendleton can go in the Anderson thread. Right? Apparently the Pendleton housing market is booming. Interesting article in the Anderson Paper. Read it here. The town has as much housing under construction as currently exists. Proximity to Clemson and I85 is to blame (credit).

New Bank Coming to Downtown Anderson. Independent Mail Former Anderson Mayor Richard Shirley just took a job with Arthur State Bank. Arthur State is moving into the area and has purchased two lots at Greenville Street and Main. Shirley had his good and bad points as a mayor, but he was consistently a big advocate for downtown. Here's the quote that has my hopes up...

I believe the Watermarke has toped out. 8 floors, right? You can see the image and monitor construction here. That's the same link as in the thread earlier. It's well above the tree line. This development is very interesting to me. It seems to have flown under the radar. I don't remember reading about County Council fights over impact on the lake shore line or anything. I just remember seeing an ad for it about a year ago... and then wham. I wonder if they kept it low key on purpose. An eight floor luxury condo building in Anderson is huge.

I learned recently that the Uptown Lounge, an old eatery in downtown, is moving out near Beltline blvd. The downtown manager had an interesting comment. She said, "it's good news or bad news for downtown depending on what replaces it." She pointed out that when downtowns (or other parts of town) begin to revitalize some of the 'old' merchants move as new ones come in. Let's see what replaces it. Does she have something in mind? This eatery was in a great location next to the rundown hotel that sits between Main Street and the Library. But it was kind of an eyesore. It's a good example of a longstanding business that does well because of history. I doubt they'll do well out on Beltline.

I thought the one at 24 and Whitehall was a bloom. Either way - the rendering was in the Independentmail today and it looked sharpe.

Thanks for the great links G-