Spartanburg Off-Topic

[Spartan]

Wow, I never thought I'd hear something like that from Mintz. Boiling Springs is among the larger black eyes in Spartanburg County. If zoning were adopted in the county, there might actually be mechanisms in place to create change over time.

[alias007]

Is there a Mexican restaurant in Spartanburg that has a Mariachi band? I've done some google searching with no luck. I think it's been a decade since I've last seen one.

[roads-scholar]

Is there a Mexican restaurant in Spartanburg that has a Mariachi band? I've done some google searching with no luck. I think it's been a decade since I've last seen one.

Not that I know of. Most of our Mexican restaurants are the plain vanilla type without any authenticity or real ethnic flavor. Don't get me wrong, the food is generally good but all of 'em are about the same.

[Sparkleman]

La Paz in Boiling Springs is probably the best in a bad bunch. The most authentic (believe it or not) is Chipotle wich is a chain, but serves with fresh ingredients. This is an example of yet another type restaurant we are lacking that every other town has.

[westsider28]

Just today I noticed a sign on the window of the Carolina Gallery (145 W Main, corner of Wall St) that said they were moving to 523 W Main (somewhere out near West Main Artists Co-op). So that's yet another vacant building in the lower Morgan Square area. Wish something would move into one of those spaces...

[Spartan]

I've always thought that would be a cool location for a british pub. Is that the one with the stone facade?

[westsider28]

No, that's the one next door (which is also vacant). This is/was the Carolina Gallery building:

Here's a map I made showing the occupied (green) and vacant (red) buildings on Morgan Square. Many of the lower square buildings are vacant (and the occupied ones include a pawn shop and a lawyer's office--not ideal). We really need those buildings to fill up to connect with the Grain District.

Edited July 24, 2012 by westsider28

[roads-scholar]

No, that's the one next door (which is also vacant). This is/was the Carolina Gallery building:

Here's a map I made showing the occupied (green) and vacant (red) buildings on Morgan Square. Many of the lower square buildings are vacant (and the occupied ones include a pawn shop and a lawyer's office--not ideal). We really need those buildings to fill up to connect with the Grain District.

Excellent report on Morgan Square's prime real estate, some of it vastly underutilized.

[westsider28]

Google has added high-resolution street-view imagery in Spartanburg. The imagery was apparently taken between September 2011 and June 2012. Here's an example. Unfortunately, they haven't added imagery to smaller streets (as most other places have--even Gaffney & Union), just upgraded the quality on major streets (they did add Main St near Morgan Square). Nice to see.

Edited August 13, 2012 by westsider28

[Spartan]

Well it's about time they made SOME progress. I don't understand why it's taken them this long.

[westsider28]

Well, well, well. For the first 10 months since the smoking ban was enacted, restaurant sales in the city are up 7-percent from the same period a year before. Also, the month the ban went into effect (September 2011), restaurants posted the highest sales volume of any September on record.

Herald-Journal article

Who'da thunk it?

[roads-scholar]

Well, well, well. For the first 10 months since the smoking ban was enacted, restaurant sales in the city are up 7-percent from the same period a year before. Also, the month the ban went into effect (September 2011), restaurants posted the highest sales volume of any September on record.

Herald-Journal article

Who'da thunk it?

Just as I predicted.

[westsider28]

The BMW Charity Pro-Am golf tournament has dropped Carolina Country Club in favor of The Reserve at Lake Keowee in their course rotation for 2013. That kinda sucks for Spartanburg. Though the tournament never really acknowledged us on the TV coverage.

GSA Business article

[westsider28]

I saw the Google Street View car today! I first saw it at Hunt and Forest Street, then tried to follow it around a bit. I saw it go down York Street, Wofford Street, & Thompson Street before I lost it. Anyway, hopefully this means we'll have high-resolution imagery of ALL roads (even minor ones) in a few months!

[Spartan]

'bout time!!

[westsider28]

Spartanburg has won Plug-In Carolina's 2012 Plug-In City of the Year. The city was recognized for its electric vehicle charging stations (21!) and supportive group of stakeholders. They also said, which I didn't realize, that South Carolina ranks 8th in the nation for number of charging stations per capita!

WYFF video

Edited October 2, 2012 by westsider28

[Spartan]

Wow 21 stations? Where are they? I can't say that I've seen one in Spartanburg.

[westsider28]

Here are the ones I know for sure: 2 in each of the 4 parking decks, 2 in QS/1 lot across DM Ave, 2 in County lot across from Auditorium, 2 in a lot near City Hall, 2 at the Downtown Airport, and 2 in the Marriott garage. There's a map on Plug-In Carolina's website that shows them all.

On an unrelated note, new City website coming soon...

[westsider28]

Oh man, the new City website launched today, and it is amazing! They've got a new, more dynamic city logo, there's much more information (future projects, events, etc), and everything is MUCH easier to find! It also has info on SPARTA including bus routes overlaid on Google Maps (good riddance to the old, stuck-in-the-90s SPARTA website), and info on parking garages including locations and rates (and mentioning they're FREE on nights & weekends). I'm still browsing around, but as something of a web design nerd, I'm really excited about this new website! Check it out!

[Spartan]

Wow, that's a major change. I'm glad that the website moved away from all the beige, but I have to wonder about the artistic brushstroke "S" ... I was always a fan of that. I'm not really a fan of the new 3D "S" at this point.

[westsider28]

City Council must decide by the end of the calendar year whether to close the Swim Center (June 30, 2013) or fund major repairs. The capital costs are projected to be $2 million. Funding the Center would lock up a lot of money and pretty much commit the City to keeping it open for 10 years. If they close the Swim Center now, that would free up significant funds for other projects.

Herald-Journal article

This is a big decision. I don't use the Swim Center (so I'm not a good judge of its worth), but I know a lot of people do. If there was a concrete plan for a new center soon, then I'd be fine with the Swim Center being closed. I wish Spartanburg County would pitch in (since more than half of users live outside city limits), but I know that won't happen. What do you guys think?

[roads-scholar]

City Council must decide by the end of the calendar year whether to close the Swim Center (June 30, 2013) or fund major repairs. The capital costs are projected to be $2 million. Funding the Center would lock up a lot of money and pretty much commit the City to keeping it open for 10 years. If they close the Swim Center now, that would free up significant funds for other projects.

Herald-Journal article

This is a big decision. I don't use the Swim Center (so I'm not a good judge of its worth), but I know a lot of people do. If there was a concrete plan for a new center soon, then I'd be fine with the Swim Center being closed. I wish Spartanburg County would pitch in (since more than half of users live outside city limits), but I know that won't happen. What do you guys think?

I have never used the swim center, but like you, know several people who do use and enjoy it. Aquatic facilities cost a lot of money to maintain and I'm sure that after 30 years of use the swim center needs the renovations. Spartanburg, like all cities these days, has to make tough choices. To me the swim center, while well run and popular, is not that vital in terms of quality of life for the residents of the city. I'm sure many of the swim center's patrons could join one the many health clubs in the area that have aquatic facilities. I'd rather see the money spent on projects that impact more people.

[spartanburgh]

They should close the Swim Center and work with the County to open a new Swim Center that has a Water Park included so that many more people would use its as well as share the expense with the County.

[drexel]

I also do not use the swim center. It is my understanding that some high schools still use it for swim meets. Not sure what they will do because the new YMCA has only six 'short' lanes. (Middle Tyger is much better for meets) I believe we should close the center and plan a new one when the county and county schools come on board. Could build it on the north side and get Wofford to contribute money to use it. (they do not have a pool)

[westsider28]

The Herald-Journal announced today that they are following the trend in the dying newspaper industry that will surely hasten their demise (pardon the hyperbole).  Starting next week, they will be charging a fee to view articles on their website (unless you're already a subscriber to the physical paper).  Anyone know of an alternate local news website?  I guess the TV stations' websites will suffice.