Greenville Journal contents

[gs3]

One of my favorite quotes from the 'Pogo' article in Greenville Journal:

"(Mayor) White said landing the company would help create an economic climate for Greenville similar to Charlotte and Atlanta. 'These jobs are so critical at all levels.'"

Love this!!!!!

[Spartan]

Hooray! UrbanPlanet.org was mentioned in a positive way, and in the TBA column!!!! This is indeed an elevated status symbol! Thank you, Greenville Journal!

Thats great news Congrats to the Gvegas crew for getting a mention in what is quite possible the best place in that paper to get mentioned except for the front page

[upstategeek]

Contents for March 17.

Really big story on front page about South Financial. Some nice details in there. Mentioned they once wanted a second downtown tower, but it couldn't be done. Explains the incentives better.

Biz cover is a story on housing in the city. Interesting note about how 62 percent of city homes predate 1959.

A small story on part of Woolworth's building being sold.

TBA:

-- City Hall plaze revelopment may be back on the table.

-- CSX railine conversion starting

-- Expo Center gets funding

-- A little tidbit about Caterpillar: Talks about how that was rumored to be Pogo

-- Cheesecake Factory looking at Greenville.

[goodbye]

So they actually did consider another tower!? Oh well, their new location will give them good visibility along I-85.

[mallguy]

Why couldn't the second downtown tower be done?

If Charlotte banks can sprout towers, why can't Greenville ones?

[NYTransplant]

What's the ownership status on the Wollworth building now? Is it a single entity?

[goodbye]

Although The South Financial Group decided to build a new suburban campus instead of a new highrise, I am encouraged that the numerous other banks based in Greenville (most in the state) could end up growing to the point of needing a large amount of space. Hopefully they'll decide to build downtown signature towers instead. Gotta look at the bright side!

[mallguy]

Bright side as well is that it's only 600 jobs- and only at most initially probably 200,000 sf of space- about the size of the Haywood Mall Belk's or Dillard's. Downtown is still on the rebound. Can't win them all.

But city leaders really need to be working with some developers to get more projects downtown- the Cheesecake Factory downtown would be a huge draw. CF usually goes to malls although sometimes in downtown so the only other places I'd think it could go would be one of the outdoor malls on Woodruff Road or Haywood.

[gs3]

Can't win them all.

Anyway you slice this one, it's a HUGE win. 600 additional jobs at 54K average! Huge for ANY city anywhere. This is great not only for Greenville, but for the entire stateof SC. The whole state should be happy!

[mallguy]

Anyway you slice this one, it's a HUGE win. 600 additional jobs at 54K average! Huge for ANY city anywhere. This is great not only for Greenville, but for the entire stateof SC. The whole state should be happy!

Very glad for the development- definitely good news- but I was so hoping that it would go downtown.

[upstategeek]

What's the ownership status on the Wollworth building now? Is it a single entity?

According to the story, there are two owners... Pavillion, who has the contract with the city, and a group called North and Main, which are the same people behind Bank of America...article says they bought some other property adjacent to woolworth's as well.

[NYTransplant]

Thanks upstategeek.

[Greenville]

Greenville must start getting some good retail developments elsewhere besides Woodruff. If Cheesecake Factory also goes to Woodruff, it is going to suck. I really, REALLY hope they will end up downtown. We need it.

[upstategeek]

Greenville must start getting some good retail developments elsewhere besides Woodruff. If Cheesecake Factory also goes to Woodruff, it is going to suck. I really, REALLY hope they will end up downtown. We need it.

I have a feeling they are looking at The Point....but it could be RiverPlace... That is just my hope/hunch.

I also think Laurens Road will make a comeback in the next few years for retail/ restaurant. It is too close to Verdae and I-CAR not to.

[jfl25]

I couldn't agree more upstategeek. The laurens rd area should start a major revitalization within the next 5-10 years.

[Eastside]

But city leaders really need to be working with some developers to get more projects downtown- the Cheesecake Factory downtown would be a huge draw. CF usually goes to malls although sometimes in downtown so the only other places I'd think it could go would be one of the outdoor malls on Woodruff Road or Haywood.

I agree. A Cheesecake Factory downtown would be a huge draw, especially on the river. They have a standalone Cheesecake Factory at their Buckhead location in Atlanta (pictured below....hopefully) that would be an excellent template for a location on the river. While I'd rather have the CF downtown, if they decide on the Woodruff road area I think it could still succeed. I just think its chances are better downtown. Regarldess, put me down for a reservation on opening day. The Cheesecake Factory is gooooooooood!!!

[NYTransplant]

Didn't the Journal state that CF was looking at Woodruff/I-85?

[Danmire]

I really think woodruff road is about at saturation point. It would be great to see new development and new national chains look for somewhere else other than the 1-85/I-385/Woodruff Road triangle. Greenville is so much more than that intersection. I agree that Laurens Road would be ripe for some of this development. You have these big empty box stores with their sea of parking out front that are big parcels of land that would be ripe for re-development. It would be great to see more development pushed towards some of Greenvilles under developed arteries. The woodruff road artery is set to explode.

[Greenville]

I think that is especially true given the fact that the Greenville Mall site will be redeveloped with retail (at least partly). Plus, traffic is so bad on Woodruff Road that I try to avoid it if I can. Just exiting off of I-85 and trying to get into Greenridge takes 10 minutes. Something needs to be done with the width of Woodruff as well as the traffic signals, but how likely is that? Certainly not anytime soon.

[goodbye]

I do not try to avoid Woodruff Road. To do so is to ignore the largest and fastest-growing retail corridor in the region, IMO. There are just too many great new establishments locating there for me to stay away. And I don't think most of the traffic issues are a result of too many vehicles using Woodruff Road, but that the traffic controls (lights, turning-lanes, etc.) are not positioned or timed properly. Where else do you have immediate access to two major interstates? When travelers see the hotels and all the retail, they'll be far more likely to stop for a longer period and this could even result in visitors taking a closer look at the rest of the City. I believe that if we can fix the problems hindering the systematic flow of traffic on Woodruff Road, we'll be better for having such an attraction on display along I-85 and I-385.

Now, this again brings up our discussion about the urgency for LRT. Check out that thread for more on the subject.

[mallguy]

I am glad that Woodruff Road is developing, but I still think that the problem with it is that it's poorly planned. If the area were built with grid-patterned roads and buildings close to the street, the area could be walkable. People could drive to it (or better yet, take public transportation to it, although realistically that's not going to happen) and walk around. Traffic would be significantly reduced. But now, the area is so auto-centric that the only way of getting around is by car; I'd even guess that people who go to the Shops at Greenridge drive if, for example, they're going from the Best Buy to the Lowe's, since buildings are so far apart and are separated by huge parking lots. Compare Woodruff Road on a Saturday to, say, uptown Charlotte; as many as 60,000 people head into uptown Charlotte each day but even though traffic leading into uptown can be bad, traffic within uptown Charlotte is minimal since people park in parking garages and then walk around.

Didn't we learn anything from the way Haywood and Laurens Roads were developed in the 1980s?!

[gs3]

I do think get Woodruff is getting to a saturation point, however this 85 core is not. I'm glad to see the kinds of developments going here too.....things that are lasting, and not fly by night.....CU-ICAR, South Financial, dense residential in Verdae, upscale shopping hotels and restaurants.....development with staying power! I look at this as more infill since it's the center of the metro and being build fairly dense. Suburban sprawl would be whats happening in Simpsonville on Fairview Road.

I don't view this as a competition between downtown and the 85 core. They are both booming and I love seeing multiple areas of a city boom. It means the whole area is truely on fire! Look at what all downtown has received in this same timeframe as the 85 core:

New Ballpark

Fieldhouse Condos

Mellow Mushroom

Sworn

Life is Good store and the whole serious of local boutiques in that block

Rick Erwins

Riverplace with hotel, condos, office, The Grape

Poinsett Corners

McBee Station with Publix, Staples, multiple retail, restaurants, condos, apartments

Oysters at the West End

Sticky Fingers

Wasabi

Port City Java

and on and on and on and on...............................

So I'm very happy to see Downtown, AND 85 core, AND Cherrydale, AND Eastside all booming!

Oh yeah, and great to see that an area like Haywood has such staying power, who new in the 80's when it was built that in 2006 it would only be going more upscale with stores names like Coach! This area just keeps getting better!

[upstategeek]

I do think get Woodruff is getting to a saturation point, however this 85 core is not. I'm glad to see the kinds of developments going here too.....things that are lasting, and not fly by night.....CU-ICAR, South Financial, dense residential in Verdae, upscale shopping hotels and restaurants.....development with staying power! I look at this as more infill since it's the center of the metro and being build fairly dense. Suburban sprawl would be whats happening in Simpsonville on Fairview Road.

I don't view this as a competition between downtown and the 85 core. They are both booming and I love seeing multiple areas of a city boom. It means the whole area is truely on fire! Look at what all downtown has received in this same timeframe as the 85 core:

New Ballpark

Fieldhouse Condos

Mellow Mushroom

Sworn

Life is Good store and the whole serious of local boutiques in that block

Rick Erwins

Riverplace with hotel, condos, office, The Grape

Poinsett Corners

McBee Station with Publix, Staples, multiple retail, restaurants, condos, apartments

Oysters at the West End

Sticky Fingers

Wasabi

Port City Java

and on and on and on and on...............................

So I'm very happy to see Downtown, AND 85 core, AND Cherrydale, AND Eastside all booming!

Oh yeah, and great to see that an area like Haywood has such staying power, who new in the 80's when it was built that in 2006 it would only be going more upscale with stores names like Coach! This area just keeps getting better!

I agree. Downtown's growth and I-85 growth will mirror each other eventually. Hopefully, they can connect to each other and help hurting districts such as Pleasantburg and Laurens.

[Danmire]

Speaking of Cherrydale, I'd like to see them come back and add some decent plantings and trees there. There are sporadic patches of grass amongst a sea of asphalt. The worst has to be at the ingles. The parking is never full. I'd like to see them tear up some of the asphalt and do some serious planting. It would make a huge difference. It's not to late to correct some poor planning and it would make a huge difference.

[hiker_nc]

Speaking of Cherrydale, I'd like to see them come back and add some decent plantings and trees there. There are sporadic patches of grass amongst a sea of asphalt. The worst has to be at the ingles. The parking is never full. I'd like to see them tear up some of the asphalt and do some serious planting. It would make a huge difference. It's not to late to correct some poor planning and it would make a huge difference.

I agree strongly with that, Danmire. From what I heard, the developer was going to have more landscaping, but the county had no ordinance in place and plans were scrapped. The entire perception of a shopping center that size can be changed for the better with properly placed plantings (say that really fast a few times), even if on a subconscious level. Barren asphalt centers are also hotter and tend to look run down sooner. Granted, it would take a while to establish noticeable shade, but you have to start somewhere. I'm all for any improvements in this area.