Downtown Projects & Developments

[mainonmain]

Bet it'll be a 4-6 story building with the law firm next door developing it. They'll take a floor or two with maybe ground floor retail and a floor or two of residential.

[spartanburgh]

We'll,  that sucks!

[westsider28]

First tenant for the Bill Barnet-owned buildings being renovated on Magnolia Street: Cara Bella Boutique will occupy 134 Magnolia (next to the Children's Museum).  Looks like the owner's been selling jewelry at Market on Main and various pop-up markets.  The new store will feature "home décor, gifts, women’s clothing and accessories".  Here's their Instagram..  Their website (http://carabellaboutique.com/) doesn't seem to be working yet, as of this posting.

   

[westsider28]

On 6/20/2023 at 7:57 PM, westsider28 said:

Fidelity Bank has purchased the former First Citizens branch at the north corner of North Church and East DMA (across from the Marriott).  They plan to demolish the existing building and build a 2-story regional branch building (with drive-thru ATM, which I think should be banned in downtown).  The article claims they plan to start construction in 3-4 months (which I find unlikely, since they still need to get approval from the DRB).  Should be decent infill, though.

It was mentioned at the DRB meeting last night that this project will likely come before the DRB next month.

[spartanburgh]

At least one development Downtown is on hold until the City gets control of the homeless situation.  The developer, not to be identified 

said that several "soft visits" revealed way too many homeless and homeless encampments that are getting out of control.  An investment

of our magnitude in this marginal City is "too much of a risk" at this time.  

 

[hub-city]

Which one? Not to be identified, but apparently they have been identified to you….  Agree with the assessment though.  Miracle Hill is great and First Baptist is working on the tiny village for women, but walking downtown is not good with all the homeless everywhere looking for handouts….

Edited August 9, 2023 by hub-city

[gman430]

4 hours ago, spartanburgh said:

At least one development Downtown is on hold until the City gets control of the homeless situation.  The developer, not to be identified 

said that several "soft visits" revealed way too many homeless and homeless encampments that are getting out of control.  An investment

of our magnitude in this marginal City is "too much of a risk" at this time.  

 

My guess is…

cough

M Peters

cough

 

 

By the way, the homeless situation is bad everywhere right now. Just look at Sacramento:

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/08/sacramento-district-attorney-mayor-homeless-lawsuit/70555398007/ 

 

Throw Asheville in there too:

 https://gazette.com/news/wex/north-carolina-city-to-crack-down-on-homelessness-to-save-tourism/article_208c7841-9076-5cea-8e61-093434330e5a.html

 

Edited August 9, 2023 by gman430

[roads-scholar]

16 hours ago, gman430 said:

My guess is…

cough

M Peters

cough

 

 

By the way, the homeless situation is bad everywhere right now. Just look at Sacramento:

 https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/08/08/sacramento-district-attorney-mayor-homeless-lawsuit/70555398007/ 

 

Throw Asheville in there too:

 https://gazette.com/news/wex/north-carolina-city-to-crack-down-on-homelessness-to-save-tourism/article_208c7841-9076-5cea-8e61-093434330e5a.html

 

 This sounds like an excuse to (1) bail out or (2) seek additional incentives from the city.   Yes, Spartanburg has a homeless population but I don’t see it as a crisis.   

Edited August 9, 2023 by roads-scholar

[mainonmain]

What a bunch of nonsense. A developer considering a large investment actually said "this marginal city"? 

[sptgguy]

The statement is horrible but it does point a finger at an issue that I have noticed. The number of homeless in Spartanburg seems to be growing faster and faster. When I lived in the Montgomery there were 5-6 that I had fairly constant contact with because I saw them every day in that specific part of town. Now that I have moved and drive through downtown on the way to work, there are probably 10-12 I see along my drive on E. Main, downtown, and in the Hampton Heights area. Spartanburg needs to develop a plan and look into why the population of homeless is growing. 

[mainonmain]

So a downtown homeless population numbering a whole dozen or so is going to scare a bigshot developer away from doing a project? 

He ever done any projects in any other urban areas? 

Where are these magical places with less than a dozen homeless folks? I'd like to visit.

[camtology]

On 8/8/2023 at 9:04 PM, spartanburgh said:

At least one development Downtown is on hold until the City gets control of the homeless situation.  The developer, not to be identified 

said that several "soft visits" revealed way too many homeless and homeless encampments that are getting out of control.  An investment

of our magnitude in this marginal City is "too much of a risk" at this time.  

 

Almost every sociological study these days on homelessness states that the availability of low cost housing is directly correlated with how many people are forced into homelessness. The only way to have a near zero homeless population is for Spartanburg to build without these barriers so that prices and availability shoot down over time. This is a sad excuse for a developer to release and likely just an excuse for their own failings for rerenderings or something especially when there isn't a midsized city in the world that doesn't have homeless people

[gman430]

My guess is the developer couldn’t get financing due to inflation and high interest rates. Using the homeless population as an excuse is indeed sad and pathetic. M Peters has never seemed like a serious developer to me in the first place. They have all of these nice proposed projects but none of them ever get built. Maybe a real developer will come in and take over their proposed project downtown. We can only hope. 

[sptgguy]

16 hours ago, mainonmain said:

So a downtown homeless population numbering a whole dozen or so is going to scare a bigshot developer away from doing a project? 

He ever done any projects in any other urban areas? 

Where are these magical places with less than a dozen homeless folks? I'd like to visit.

There were 6-7 around the Montgomery. 10-12 on my short drive through downtown that isn't past the Montgomery. There is a group that is also different that is along W. Main around the QT/old Church's Chicken. I would guess its about 5-8. The homeless population is far more than a "whole dozen" and far larger than the numbers I have on here. 

[SparkleCity1]

I walked by Bill Barnet's building yesterday and the door was open.  Looks like a full gut job was done on the building.  Should be nice when completed.  Oh, and I checked out carabellaboutique.com and it seems to be working.

Any word on plans for the other half of the building?

Edited August 10, 2023 by SparkleCity1

[roads-scholar]

3 hours ago, sptgguy said:

There were 6-7 around the Montgomery. 10-12 on my short drive through downtown that isn't past the Montgomery. There is a group that is also different that is along W. Main around the QT/old Church's Chicken. I would guess its about 5-8. The homeless population is far more than a "whole dozen" and far larger than the numbers I have on here. 

Just so everyone knows the city isn't standing still regarding our homeless population:

• Homeless Engagement And Response Team (HEART). Launching on March 21, 2022, in collaboration with our service providers to support and respond to all the increasing needs of our unsheltered residents as well as the increasing concerns from community leaders and stakeholders, HEART hopes to address the needs of those living, working, residing, and/or experiencing homelessness in the Spartanburg community.

  This team will operate with the following goals in mind: To reduce the number of homelessness by 10%, to successfully refer at least 75% of our homeless residents to resources within Spartanburg, and to engage in at least 12 educational opportunities with the community within the next year. In order to do this, HEART will consist of service providers, City of Spartanburg staff, and members of the Spartanburg Police Department, including no more than four members at a time.

• The City of Spartanburg Homeless Court is a voluntary program created to help individuals who are either currently homeless or homeless at the time they were charged with a criminal offense that falls within the criteria for Homeless Court participation. The purpose of the Homeless Court is to encourage participants to receive and complete treatment and rehabilitation programs in exchange for the dismissal of the fines associated with a criminal offense and, in some cases, the dismissal of an offense.

• The Litter Hero Program is a 90-day pilot created by the City of Spartanburg, OneSpartanburg Inc., Spartanburg County, and a wide range of homeless service providers that will employ up to four individuals who are experiencing homelessness or housing instability as part of a litter crew working in Spartanburg County. Participants will be considered employees, reporting to work in the mornings to engage in case management and life skills training as assigned prior to heading to the work site. This pilot program was initiated as an innovative means of helping address a noticeable increase in litter throughout Spartanburg County and in order to provide an innovative path toward sustainable employment opportunities for individuals experiencing homelessness.

Are these initiatives enough?  Of course not.  There's an acute shortage of shelter beds, especially in the winter months.  Affordable housing is still unattainable for many people.  Mental health resources have been reduced statewide.  And then, sadly, some men and women prefer to be homeless.   They live nomadic lives moving from city to city. 

Anyone who believes homelessness is just a "Spartanburg problem" is missquided.  Anyone who thinks homelessness can be addressed by tougher law enforcement is simply dead wrong.  Anyone who thinks that "just building more shelters" will solve the problem of homelessness doesn't understand the depth and complexity of homelessness.    

I encourage everyone reading this to tour the Miracle Hill mission on North Forest Street.  You'll learn real fast what the challenges are.  

[spartanburgh]

I personally would number the homeless in the hundreds.  Also, I think the number of homeless seems a bit magnified because we

don't have as many pedestrians as most other cities.  This makes it seem as though there are more homeless and the ratio of homeless

to pedestrians is larger.  I really think a larger or as significant issue is the blight as you enter the city on W Main St.  When you see the

unsightly buildings and grounds it also magnifies the number of homeless hanging out there.  I think there are things in the works that

will help this soon, but as of now it is pretty depressing. 

[djh1963]

We also have to remember that Miricle Hill and the Soup Kitchen are both on Forest street on opposite sides of W Main. So the homeless population seems more there because it is more concentrated. The lack of affordable housing is a problem that needs to be addressed. I know the city requires developers to offer a certain percentage of units at lower rates for worker housing, but even, that is fairly high in my opinion.  I give the city credit for trying to do what it can. Unfotunantlly the homeless have always been and will always be with us.

 

[NotNotSanti]

If I understood correctly, today at Council it was mentioned that two full time staff members will be hired in the next 30 days to address to reality of homelessness, in addition to improvements to our parking garages as well as a homeless action plan. Finally, an federal opioid grant has been obtained to tackle the issue from that perspective. 

Link to video: https://www.facebook.com/spartanburg.sc/videos/831927945231670/

Time: 1 hr 3min mark-.

Edited August 14, 2023 by NotNotSanti

[NotNotSanti]

Parking deck safety overall plan. 

[hub-city]

I could care less as to what deck level  is closed.  I parked in the Dunbar deck the other day and when I went back 3 homeless people were asleep under the trees as the entrance and one was at the bottom of the stairwell.  I was not comfortable…. Something needs to be done.

[westsider28]

The biggest issue I've experienced in the decks are immature people loudly revving their car/truck engine and speeding/racing on the upper levels.  Also, being able to close the upper levels says something about the under-utilization of the decks...

 

Edited August 15, 2023 by westsider28

[spartanburgh]

3 hours ago, NotNotSanti said:

If I understood correctly, today at Council it was mentioned that two full time staff members will be hired in the next 30 days to address to reality of homelessness, in addition to improvements to our parking garages as well as a homeless action plan. Finally, an federal opioid grant has been obtained to tackle the issue from that perspective. 

Link to video: https://www.facebook.com/spartanburg.sc/videos/831927945231670/

Time: 1 hr 3min mark-.

There must be a lot of homeless to hire 2 staff members to address the problem!

[NotNotSanti]

20 hours ago, westsider28 said:

The biggest issue I've experienced in the decks are immature people loudly revving their car/truck engine and speeding/racing on the upper levels.  Also, being able to close the upper levels says something about the under-utilization of the decks...

 

I think a lot of people forget they are even there! When people complain about parking and I bring up the numerous lots, sometimes I just get back a blank stare...

The upper decks would be reopened for July 4th and the like.

[spartanburgh]

I was thinking of all of the projects in the pipeline and it looks like the following:

Project Core         go

Fairfield Inn          go

Planetarium         go

New City County Administration building     go

Blue Wall Kennedy St. Apts      stop

John Montgomery offices         stop

M Peters E Main project     stop

Liberty St office    stop

109 E Main St mix use   ??

First Baptist expansion    stop

Danmor   dead

Cambria site   dead

Jimmy Gibbs hotel/office proposals dead

Convention Center at County Administration site ??

Blood bank renovation   dead

Smith's drug store apts  dead 

W Main road diet  go