CONSTRUCTION THREAD: ONE Greenville (Main @ Washington)

[HomerJay]

I'm disappointed that there is no residential component to this project. Downtown needs more housing units and it is residents, not just office workers or occasional visitors, who support the kind of businesses and street life that create a true Main Street, as opposed to just a working/shopping/eating destination. Landing an Anthropologie is also nothing to be excited about. Hooray, a bland national chain store. The plaza design is the next piece I really want to hear more about. That will be as important as whatever glass and steel building is put up.

[GvilleSC]

Verizon must be loving their new location at Main and Coffee. This is great for some long established local places, too, like Coffee Underground, and Trio! They deserve the influx of people and investment.

As far as it being the largest investment in downtown's history... AWESOME!

[GvilleSC]

I'm disappointed that there is no residential component to this project. Downtown needs more housing units and it is residents, not just office workers or occasional visitors, who support the kind of businesses and street life that create a true Main Street, as opposed to just a working/shopping/eating destination. Landing an Anthropologie is also nothing to be excited about. Hooray, a bland national chain store. The plaza design is the next piece I really want to hear more about. That will be as important as whatever glass and steel building is put up.

In order to sell residential units, you need parking. The Richardson Street Garage is NOT close enough for the price that would have to be asked for this location. And, the stacking of parking on site would remove significant rentable space, and be expense to design on this awkwardly sized piece of land. Office is the best use for this piece. I agree we need more residential, but not here. Riverwalk is providing some, and the future phases of Riverplace might help too.

[StrangeCock]

Great. Another women's/boutique store, albeit a national one.

Zzzzzz...

[gman430]

The women at the event went nuts after the store was announced...lol. I've been to a lot of economic development announcements in my time and the sheer amount of energy and people at this one tops them all. Certus is worth $1.6 billion currently and is growing very fast.

Edited May 25, 2011 by citylife

[GvilleSC]

Great. Another women's/boutique store, albeit a national one.

Zzzzzz...

Another? This isn't a pink and green polka dot and monogramming shop. This is a significant retailer that will be a destination. No, I won't be shopping their either, but we might very well see spinoff from this investment by them. There's other retail parcels that remain to be rented...

[adrockc2]

http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20110525/NEWS/305250054

"We’re already working on plans for future phases of the project, which could include residential and possibly even a hotel component,” said Hughes

[gs3]

Some may want to darken the doors of Anthropologie.....they have a huge home area in most stores. It isn't just womens clothes. Some may also want to check out Anthropologie's location in the Southeast....Lenox, Southpark, Green Hills, etc, etc....the best malls in larger cities. To get this type of retail downtown, in a city the size of Greenville is a huge win and will be a major draw.....ho-hum national retail would be Kohl's. Anthropologie falls into the Apple, Whole Foods, J.Crew type demographic.

Edited May 25, 2011 by gsupstate

[StrangeCock]

Obviously this is in another league. It's very impressive. But it's still a niche store. Very niche. 80% of Greenville will never step foot in it.

We need more "general audience" stores. Mast is a great example. Barnes and Noble would have been, as well. I pray the rest of the retail is more crowd-pleasing.

[GvilleSC]

The rendering of what looks to be a future phase along Laurens Street looks sweet! It's on the WYFF page.

[adrockc2]

The rendering of what looks to be a future phase along Laurens Street looks sweet! It's on the WYFF page.

[GvilleSC]

THANKS! Very contemporary and yet, so contextual. I hope it happens in that capacity.

[RiverWalker]

Why are so many websites poorly designed these days? They even misspelled downtown on the front page.

Many can design, few can proofread (or at least bother to do so). I was looking today at the Senior Action web site, apparently managed by RedHype, and noticed a number of typos, including one on the membership page in which the address is given as "Granville, SC 29615." (It's written that way on the membership application as well.) Such carelessness not only reflects poorly on Senior Action but also discourages those who otherwise might want to hire the web developer. Unfortunately, even though there are many sites that need the attention of a good editor or proofreader, the owners and developers don't realize that need, so marketing such services would be difficult.

[gman430]

Don't know if this has been posted or not:

-Anthropologie will be 6,400 square feet.

-Certus will hire 350 for their headquarters downtown.

[vicupstate]

Obviously this is in another league. It's very impressive. But it's still a niche store. Very niche. 80% of Greenville will never step foot in it.

Get real. If 50-52% of population is female, then at least that much of the population will visit it.

[GVLbikeNboard]

So there are still two retail spots without a definite tenant? I would still like to see a bookstore and I think Urban Outfitters would be cool...some of their clothes are a little too hipster for me but they have some cool stuff.

[StrangeCock]

50% of the population is female. And 50% of them can't afford Anthroplogie.

It's a nice complementary store, not a centerpiece. We needed something like Crate & Barrel there...upscale, big name, and not gender-specific. You see all kinds of people there.

[btoy]

Who ever said that the signature tower is dead? Notice that todays annoucement didn't include he parking lot and old parking garage next to BofA at Washington and Richardson St. My guess is that would be the site for that tower. They may not totally know the scope, scale and makeup yet of that part of the project so why announce it.

[gman430]

Landing an Anthropologie is also nothing to be excited about. Hooray, a bland national chain store.

In your opinion. If a high-end national retailer like Anthropologie wants to come downtown then they have that right. Who are you to tell them otherwise? There are plenty of local retailers/restaurants downtown for you to patronize.

[btoy]

Who ever said that the signature tower is dead? Notice that todays annoucement didn't include he parking lot and old parking garage next to BofA at Washington and Richardson St. My guess is that would be the site for that tower. They may not totally know the scope, scale and makeup yet of that part of the project so why announce it.

[vicupstate]

There are two spaces, but one APPEARS to be in the SECOND building, not the first.

[gs3]

Obviously this is in another league. It's very impressive. But it's still a niche store. Very niche. 80% of Greenville will never step foot in it.

We need more "general audience" stores. Mast is a great example. Barnes and Noble would have been, as well. I pray the rest of the retail is more crowd-pleasing.

You have your "general audience" stores down the street....Mast General, CVS, etc and you have them in the burbs. You may be right about the 80% of Greenvillians not setting foot in Anthropologie (though I bet Anthropologie did their work, so my bets are on their corporate team more than a post on a forum ). Retailers open in packs and some even have loose agreements to open together when possible....(ie: find an Ann Taylor Loft and you'll probbaly find Talbots.....find a Crate & Barrel and you'll probably find a Container Store). In this digital age of the slicing and dicing of demographic lists, the opening of Anthropologie will bring an entire grouping of new to the market stores downtown......think REI opening at the point beside a proven successful Whole Foods........you didn't really think that was coincidence did you?

[HomerJay]

In your opinion. If a high-end national retailer like Anthropologie wants to come downtown then they have that right. Who are you to tell them otherwise? There are plenty of local retailers/restaurants downtown for you to patronize.

Nobody said anything about their right to come downtown. I merely expressed my view that a mall-style retailer will have an effect on the character of the neighborhood which in my opinion is less than ideal. But thank you for giving me permission not to shop there.

[vicupstate]

And at least 50% of them can't afford Anthroplogie.

That is NOT going to stop them from going in.

[B&R]

This is a better looking design than the previous proposal that fell through. The suggested concept for the second phase is very attractive too. I would love to see some street activity on the north side of Washington to match the other side of the street. Also glad they have some major tenants lined up.

A little disappointed there isn't a taller tower involved but that isn't a deal breaker.

Is Anthropologie a regional draw that will pull in newer visitors in large numbers? Or will it take customers away from other, local shops? It should be very good for that part of Main Street in any case. Hopefully it will help surrounding retailers and encourage others to locate nearby.

It seems Certus Bank wants to be a big time player in the banking world. It would be great if they can do it from Greenville. It is interesting that these execs from Charlotte's big banks wanted to start up their new venture away from Charlotte. Are they trying to escape the taint of the problems at Wachovia and BoA?