Greater Spartanburg Projects & Developments

[roads-scholar]

Starbuck's has released the list of all 600 US stores that will close. Only one location is listed in South Carolina and i'll give you one guess as to what city it's located in.

Frustrating, isn't it?

I've been to the Starbucks on North Pine several times and the place was always busy. I never visited the Hillcrest location and was never able to observe the business there.

Some folks might automatically assume Spartanburg is to blame here. Spartanburg residents seem to be always begging (me included) for new dining and cultural options but fail to support them when they arrive. Perhaps this is the case. But another problem could be Starbucks. Was this the best location for a stand alone Starbucks in Spartanburg? Would a westside location been a better choice? Was the store management up to the challenge? Was Starbuck's expansion plans too aggressive?

[Spartan]

The Hillcrest location was never as busy as the North Pine location. There was hardly ever a line inside or out, and the N Pine location is on a major traffic route. Obviously I hate to see it go, but its just a Starbucks. We are fortunate to have lots of good local coffee places to choose from.

HJ Article

Starbucks' list of closures

[Jael]

The Hillcrest location was never as busy as the North Pine location. There was hardly ever a line inside or out, and the N Pine location is on a major traffic route. Obviously I hate to see it go, but its just a Starbucks. We are fortunate to have lots of good local coffee places to choose from.

It took forever to get the building renovated and was in an awkward location for getting to it and back out. Also, Panera Bread was already established and easier to get to as is the little drive-up place in Quizno's parking lot. Add that to the number of vacancies in Hillcrest in general, I'm not surprised. I don't drink coffee at all, so personally it doesn't affect me other than losing a business draw over here.

On another subject, I see that there's a sign in Garner's old spot about AT&T opening soon there. I thought they tried to run Garner's off in order to open a national chain restaurant there? Garner's came out well in that deal, though, with getting the breezeway seating for their lunch crowd. I hope they continue to prosper in spite of strip owner's poor management.

[roads-scholar]

It took forever to get the building renovated and was in an awkward location for getting to it and back out. Also, Panera Bread was already established and easier to get to as is the little drive-up place in Quizno's parking lot. Add that to the number of vacancies in Hillcrest in general, I'm not surprised. I don't drink coffee at all, so personally it doesn't affect me other than losing a business draw over here.

On another subject, I see that there's a sign in Garner's old spot about AT&T opening soon there. I thought they tried to run Garner's off in order to open a national chain restaurant there? Garner's came out well in that deal, though, with getting the breezeway seating for their lunch crowd. I hope they continue to prosper in spite of strip owner's poor management.

Overall, the eastside is moving in the right direction. Hillcrest's strategy is to pull in some higher end tenants and they're slowly working to making that a reality. Easton hasn't broken ground yet but the signs are positive. I was hoping for an urban village out there but it doesn't look like that's going to happen. If not an urban village at least we'll bring in some new retailers to the area.

As someone who religiously follows the business press I know that retailing in the US is experiencing a recession. Landlords are struggling to fill space in malls and strip centers all over the country. Check out this past Wednesday's Wall Street Journal story on urban villages and their developers struggles to find and hold on to tenants.

[clemsonfn]

Well, the front page of today's SHJ confirmed that the Hillcrest Starbucks is one of the 616 US stores that it will close by January 2009 due to underperformance. It will be the only store closed in South Carolina.

Kind of a shame. I know they put a ton of money into it, and I believe it serves as some type of network hub for stores in this region.

[Sparkleman]

Hmm... Well, that sucks. Maybe they just haven't gotten around to painting it yet? I thought this business has a reputation already?

I passed by it today and they never have painted it. They just put the sign over the old sign and it looks brutal!

[Spartan]

Ok, I consolidated the posts on the Starbucks closure here. Sorry for moving that stuff around so much.

[clemsonfn]

I passed by it today and they never have painted it. They just put the sign over the old sign and it looks brutal!

Maybe someone there is reading this forum......

It's being painted today. Looks much better.

[Spartan]

Good. Thanks for the update. You never know who reads this forum...

[Spartan]

This is an interesting article about what I see as an example of the failure of sprawl. The article does not discuss it that way, but I'm thinking about the big picture here.

The article is about Timm Creek, a new subdivision in Roebuck. For those unfamiliar with it, there are two sections: one is a large-lot "luxury" homes section, and the other is the less luxurious "Gardens" section. This suburban paradise has been developing since 2003, and for many years it was moving along just fine. I forgot that the neighborhood was supposed to be "mixed use" with retail and office space along 221. Anyway, you can get the more specific failures of these developers from the article if you're interested- and there are many.

I also didn't realize that the original owners of this development were tied into the Wild Wing Cafe too. There seems to be some shoddy deal making and bad money management going on. If you've been following the articles about their inability to pay their staff.

My interest in this piece is that I view this subdivision as a perfect case study on sprawl, and why it does not and will not work.

The subdivision- which looks like crap anyway because all of the houses look the basically same- is not selling its lots, and thus not being developed. The Herald-Journal paints the developer in a very bad light, which is fine. They chose, however, to ignore the economy. I view that issue as the main culprit here. The demand for uniform subdivided land and street after street of identical houses is falling off nationwide. There is absolutely nothing appealing about this subdivision that sets it apart from any other in Roebuck.

Except for the proximity to Dorman High School...

This neighborhood is "across the street" from the county's largest high school- but don't you dare try to walk to school kids, because its the most pedestrian unfriendly school in the history of school design. So much so that the National Safe Routes to School organization uses it as an example "worst in the nation" for school design. From the entrance of Timm Creek to the "senior campus" is about 1/2 mile walk with no pedestrian accommodations. To get to the "freshman academy" is 3/4 of a mile.

Even if the "mixed use" part of the development had been built, can any one guess what it would been? My money is a strip mall.

The worst part about it though, is that Spartanburg County's land development standards allow-- require-- things like this to happen. We have a large subdivision being built far, far away from any employment centers. We have a school that is so large you have to bus kids between its two campuses and the athletic fields. We can't walk or bike to anything, including nature (there are no public parks nearby, and incidentally the developer did not built the walking trails that they were supposed to). The one appealing feature of this development could be its proximity to the high school, except that you can probably drive to the nearest grocery store faster than you could drive to the main building on campus.

We need to require our county to develop more walkable neighborhoods, shopping centers, and mixed-use developments to avoid this horrible juxtaposition of land uses. There is no reason not to have a better organized development pattern. As a community we have to demand better things from OUR government. I hate to fall back on the Atlanta "scare tactic," but we're doing absolutely nothing to stop that from happening here in Spartanburg County.

So in summary, what we have here is the failure of a crappy subdivision, a crappy developer, and crappy land development standards in Spartanburg County. Hooray sprawl.

Herald Journal Article

[Spartan]

Does anyone know what's going up on East Main around Hillcrest... almost directly across from Hibbett Sports. Its in the row of houses that were converted to businesses... the house was knocked down and it looks more like a generic business of some sort.

[Jael]

Does anyone know what's going up on East Main around Hillcrest... almost directly across from Hibbett Sports. Its in the row of houses that were converted to businesses... the house was knocked down and it looks more like a generic business of some sort.

Taco Bell

[Spartan]

Thats... something, I guess. I used to always want a Taco Bell on the Eastside.

[Sparkleman]

Taco Bell? This is a step back IMHO.

[Jael]

Taco Bell? This is a step back IMHO.

Why? There wasn't one on the east side. I never can understand the uproar in here every time a new fast food restaurant opens. As long as there's a variety of restaurants, why does it matter? In the immediate vicinity of that new Taco Bell, I can think of several non-fast food places right off the top of my head: Garner's, the Four Seasons, Ruby Tuesday's, Monterey's, New China, the place next to Monterey's (can't remember the name right now - Hickory Tavern, maybe?), Vern's. I like variety of all kinds, and sometimes that includes a drive-thru.

[spartanburgh]

Subway will occupy the old Blimpie's across form The Fresh Market and Jimmy John's will go near Gardner's. I do agree with Sparkleman that we do need more quality than all these fast foods.

[Spartan]

Why? There wasn't one on the east side. I never can understand the uproar in here every time a new fast food restaurant opens.

The "uproar" is because its more of the same generic sprawl. We're not doing anything to improve the larger situation. I'm not opposed to the business so much as I am opposed to how the building is going to contribute to its surrounding built environment. Its bad because we are setting up that part of East Main to have ZERO connectivity, so in order to get from one business to the other on that side you will have to drive back on to East Main, thus creating more traffic.

Now in this case, the houses that are along that stretch are kind of crappy anyway and there used to be a business in there so this isn't a major loss to me. The traffic situation will only get slightly worse because of this, so in my mind its just another Waffle House.

Also, thanks for the update on Subway and Jimmy Johns. I had no idea those were moving in too! Maybe Hillcrest won't die off completely afterall.

[Spartan]

Does anyone know what is going on at Reidville rd @ 295? They are moving that house somewhere... what's going to replace it? I'm assuming an office building/medical office of some sort, but I wouldn't be surprised if its a gas station.

[clemsonfn]

Does anyone know what is going on at Reidville rd @ 295? They are moving that house somewhere... what's going to replace it? I'm assuming an office building/medical office of some sort, but I wouldn't be surprised if its a gas station.

I don't know, but my neighborhood association (Woodland Heights) is up in arms against the rezoning of that property for commercial use.

[Spartan]

Why? Seems like a good use for that property to me.

[Sparkleman]

The stretch of east main where Pizza Hut is to WalMart is starting to resemble Asheville Hwy. Thats not what I would have preferred, but I guess thats just the way it is with the sprawl.

[clemsonfn]

Why? Seems like a good use for that property to me.

Probably due to some of the issues with the Sphinx station over by Converse Heights. Don't know if you read the article in the SHJ, but it's made life miserable for at least one family (not just the noise and the light, but the strong smell of Benzine and other fumes).

[Spartan]

Oh, so they are putting in a gas station? That would make sense.

I understand the opposition to that. I haven't seen the article about the problems with the Spinx at Converse Heights, but I think that would be true for any gas station. I know I wouldn't want to live next to one.

[GvilleSC]

According to the Journal, Upstate Forever is considering closing its office located in downtown Spartanburg. Something was cited about Mary Black not awarding any more grants, which is a major funding source for the organization.

[Spartan]

Wow I hate to hear that. Upstate Forever and SPACE share an office. I hope that they are able to work something out.

They are talking about the Mary Black Foundation, which is one of two major charities in Spartanburg that sponsor grants for health, wellness, and social welfare type issues (its not the hospital). The other one is the Spartanburg County Foundation. Often you'll see one or both of these organizations associated with some sort of development around town.

http://www.maryblackfoundation.org/default.asp

https://www.spcf.org/

The Spartanburg County Foundation is usually associated with projects that I'm interested in- for example, they are participating in the restoration of the DuPre House that will become the Spartanburg CVB offices.