RiverWalker

Great news! Did the bid package indicate a target completion date?

Well, somebody was on the ball, as it's already been fixed. It once read, "...in a warm, modern ambiance, in the heart of Greenville's West End, at the new Courtyard by Marriott." That version is now visible only in server caches, as the site now reads, "...in a warm, modern ambiance, located at the new Courtyard by Marriott."

Are you saying the two new jet bridges for Southwest are already on site? Has any construction work at the gates or retrofitting of other GSP facilities begun yet?

I was curious about that company myself. Just last evening I spotted a vehicle in downtown Greenville with an Appalachian Organics sign on it and I was going to look it up.

On the Stone Avenue Corridor web site there's a photo of the building from back when it was a Sears store: http://www.planstoneavenue.org/study-area/about-stone-avenue/sears-building-currently-canal-insurance/

Nice! I'm so looking forward to this store.

Thinking on a more regional scale: "In the Greenville-Spartanburg market, 27 companies being recruited have identified the lack of low-cost or daily flights as a possible impediment to coming to the Upstate, said state Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, the chief proponent of the state incentives legislation. If all 27 companies came to the Upstate, that would equal about 14,000 jobs, he said." http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100511/ARTICLES/100519942/-1/favicon.ico?Title=Southwest-Airlines-coming-to-GSP-Charleston-airports

Interesting concept, although I'd like to see the other three ideas. Wonder why Greenville News chose to show just this one.

In case anyone missed it, according to the The State, "Changes to tax incentives designed to bring Bass Pro Shops to Greenville County were rejected in a roll call vote Thursday in the South Carolina House of Representatives." http://www.thestate.com/2010/03/05/1186850/house-votes-down-tax-incentives.html

If it isn't, it should be. That's a no-brainer if you ask me.

I long for a Trader Joe's in Greenville!

Not that I have a definitive answer, but it's the same franchisee, Kainos Partners Holding Company LLC of Greer. The Columbia Star newspaper recently reported: "The interior renovation construction project in the 1200 block of Main Street [in Columbia], where the sign used to say Dunkin’ Donuts, will never be completed as a Dunkin’ Donuts shop, as announced Tuesday, February 16." Meanwhile, The State is reporting that there are three DD stores that won't open in the Midlands. (The other two are in Red Bank and Northeast Richland.) All three were Kainos projects. In addition, the Main Street site is now featured on the Columbia Closings web site (http://columbiaclosings.com/wordpress/?p=1294). At the time of the Kainos Partners' bankruptcy last year, a spokesperson for Dunkin' Brands said, "[W]e want to assure our customers that we remain committed to the Buffalo, Greenville and Las Vegas markets." Another company spokesperson admitted that the planned time frames probably would change. Kainos Partners had been the largest Dunkin' Donut franchisee in the Buffalo area, where they had planned to open 107 stores - yes, I said 107 stores. In fact, the franchisee had been named the Dunkin' Brands "Rising Star of the Year" for 2006 and "Developer of the Year" for 2007. Now, however, the company seems to have vanished, as indicated by the vacancy of their web site (www.kainospartners.com). Given what is known about the state of the stores in the Columbia area, I seriously doubt that the downtown Greenville location will open, either. (At least not as currently planned.)

Personally, I'd like to see one the the new Element by Westin hotels built on that location, or perhaps another location adjacent to ICAR. They're contemporary, relatively green and a definitely a great value. Here's an example in Lexington, Mass., just off I-95 (Route 128 to the long-time locals) in a high-technology corridor: http://www.starwoodhotels.com/element/property/overview/index.html?propertyID=3210

The compelling need for expanding air travel options at GSP was brought home recently in a Greenville News article concerning the effort undertaken to land Proterra at CU-ICAR. Damian McKinney, who is said to have represented Proterra with eRealty Companies, Inc., is quoted as saying that what ICAR has is the "exceptional" collaboration of government figures and private companies, while what it lacks is direct and easy airline access. McKinney described that as a “big hurdle” for corporate figures. I wish the same team that pulled together to land the Proterra project would come together again to improve the situation at GSP. Here's a link to the article: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100207/BUSINESS/2070322/Proterra-drives-into-Greenville-thanks-to-teamwork-incentives

Interesting opinion piece in today's Greenville News concerning the impact of Greenville's downtown airport on the local economy, growth in the midtown area and the success and growth of GSP: http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100106/OPINION/1060320/1016/Downtown-airport-is-crippling-Greenville-s-economy/Downtown-airport-is-crippling-Greenville-s-economy Though some may view some of the ideas as controversial, they should spark a lively debate.

And, in case you aren't already aware, the last of the Bowater people have relocated to the third floor of 10 South Academy St., space that is being sublet from Agfa HealthCare. That appears to be a long-term arrangement - unless, of course, the federal gov't decides to site the new federal courthouse on that property.

Apparently this project is delayed, as the September 1 target has come and gone without the promised opening, and the web site has been changed to read "...MOVING TO OUR NEW LOCATION IN SEPTEMBER..." I was Best Man at a wedding held downtown this weekend, and I had wanted to bring the men in the wedding party to the new H2H for drinks and smokes after the rehearsal dinner on Friday. (The groom, in particular, would have liked that.) However, earlier in the week I had looked into the window to see that work was far from complete. I'll be surprised if the new location is finished by the end of the month. Still, I think this should be a popular venue once it opens. There's a place in the downtown for both smokers and non-smokers, and, even though I generally belong in the latter group, I welcome this unique new enterprise that should cater to a well heeled, upscale clientele.

A visit to Halfway to Habana's web site (http://www.halfwaytohabana.com) reveals this announcement: "GREAT NEWS!!!!!!! HALFWAY TO HABANA IS MOVING TO OUR NEW LOCATION ON SEPTEMBER 1-- 631 S. MAIN ST. GREENVILLE IN THE HISTORIC WESTEND. CIGARS/MARTINI'S/SCOTCH/BOURBON/COGNAC." I'm not a regular cigar smoker, but I do enjoy a good martini, and I'm looking forward to entertaining out-of-town business associates there.

Sears logo is back on the front, and is visible also on the back, facing I-85. Apparently the front sign was just out for a little R&R.

How is Sports Authority doing? It has always seemed to me that it has the worst retail location imaginable, tucked away on the back side of what is now a defunct mall, with no visibility to incidental traffic other than to the cars zooming by on I-385. On a similar note, I noticed earlier this week that the Sears Outlet, which opened just a few months ago in the former CompUSA location, appears to have become just "Outlet." The "Sears" part of the sign is gone, but the store does appear to be open for business, as there were a couple of riding mowers visible at the door. I think the store did a lot better business when it was farther out Woodruff Rd., next to the duck. I would think that, in a down economy, there would be much higher demand for surplus and outlet merchandise, so I would have to guess that the new location, way in the back of the strip, may have done poorly due to lack of visibility. Location, location, location...

"Dunkin' Donuts franchisee files for bankruptcy," according to Greenville News (http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20090708/BUSINESS/907080339) The article says that "Kainos Partners Holding Company LLC... hopes to complete the Dunkin' Donuts restaurant it began building in downtown Greenville, though no decision has been made." Although I prefer Dunkin Donuts over Krispy Kreme, I wouldn't be all that disappointed at not having a DD store in downtown. Actually, I'd be kind of glad, as I don't like the stores' gaudy color scheme. However, I don't like seeing vacant storefronts on Main Street. That particular one is in a very prominent and highly visible location, and its status probably won't be resolved for quite a while. I expect that, eventually, the "Coming Soon" signs, which have been up for more than a year, will be replaced with "Available" - not a good sign at all.

It appears that you have tapped into some invalid information. Your Google Maps link points to 118 E. Orchard Park. Dr., which is not a valid address. The address of the Courtyard by Marriott, as given on the Marriott web site, is 70 Orchard Park Dr. The ZIP Code look-up on the USPS web site (http://zip4.usps.com/zip4/welcome.jsp) gives the the ZIP Code for that street address as 29615. According to the USPS, 29616 is reserved for PO boxes but currently is not active.

Hmm... You didn't happen to notice whether or not that applies also to its conjoined twin, Sushi Murasaki, did you?

I couldn't tell from the picture whether the high-rise was part of the plan or not. I finally concluded that it wasn't - way too costly and way too much floor space. Meanwhile, I have heard information to the effect that NO decision has been made nor funds allocated for the Greenville courthouse. Some speculate that the Mayor, along with and city and state leaders, is merely trying to pressure the government to decide now so as to take advantage of stimulus money. With so much money going into the new Homeland Security headquarters, as was reported in the Nashville paper, it's still hard to believe that there will be any left for Greenville. Keep in mind, too, that the new administration is still making political appointments throughout the government bureaucracy, and it probably will take some time for them to get down to the GSA Properties level. There were a few bumps along the way, like when it looked like the Little River tract (including three stunning waterfalls - High Falls, Triple Falls and Bridal Veil Falls - all featured in the movie "Last of the Mohicans") was going to be developed instead of being preserved, but thankfully it all got sorted out.

I like the looks of what apparently is the design proposed for Nashville. A circular building with a dome, like the one pictured in the Nashville Post article, would be an awesome replacement for the three-story box that is occupied currently by Agfa HealthCare. A little history on 10 South Academy St., the current Agfa location. It was a BellSouth facility until 1997, when Sterling Diagnostic Imaging (spun off from DuPont) moved in. I believe that Sterling may have obtained some incentives from the city to choose the Greenville site over another location in Charlotte. Agfa Corp. took over the building when it acquired Sterling in 1999, along with an x-ray film coating plant near Cedar Mountain, NC. (Agfa closed that plant in 2002 and dismantled it in 2006. When DuPont completes remediating contaminants on the site, 440 acres will be donated to become the final addition to the DuPont State Forest.)