Spartanburg City News

Smith's Drugs, a fixture in Downtown Spartanburg for nearly a century, is set to see a major upgrade as plans were recently revealed to demolish the business's current one-story storefront at 142 E Main St and replace it with a new multi-story mixed-use building featuring a much larger footprint that will occupy much of the current parking lot next door and will include much more ground-floor retail (with perhaps another tenant) with residential units occupying the upper floors. Details are still being finalized on the project, which could ultimately feature an under-building drive-thru for pharmacy customers and could be between three and five stories.  Today on the podcast, we're talking with City Associate Planner, Apoorva Kumar and William Gray, Associate Principal at McMillan Pazdan Smith, the developer's architecture firm, about this new development and how it fits in with recent improvements and openings along E Main Street.

It's the culmination of a process that started back in 2012 when discussions about water quality and neighborhood redevelopment on our city's Northside led to an idea: why not resurrect an old waterway underneath the Northside neighborhood and create a park that could serve as a focal point for a reinvigorated Northside?   Fast-forward through a few years of collaborative neighborhood planning, design, and enough navigating the tricky waters of federal and state government agencies to earn some of our city staff members expert-level bureaucrat merit badges and finally, the day is near. Butterfly Creek is here, ready to be enjoyed and celebrated by our residents at a grand opening ceremony to be held Saturday, May 5 at 11:30 a.m (498 Howard St.). The eight-acre park features 2,000 feet of newly daylit creek and green space, a 120-foot pedestrian bridge, as well as a quarter-mile walking path and picnic shelters.    Beyond just the basics of a new parks project, the story of how this new signature amenity for S

  Walking through Downtown Spartanburg these days is a feast for the eyes. New buildings and renovated historic icons, new original upscale dining and nightlife options, and a corresponding level of activity that hasn't been seen in decades are the story of our city's core in 2018, and that level of growth and energy shows no signs of waning. The downtown boom isn't just something local bureaucrats push anymore. It's now a very evident reality celebrated daily by organizations and ordinary residents throughout Spartanburg County.   But drive just a short distance from that new energy and excitement, and it becomes clear that the larger story of Spartanburg is much more complicated. The legacies of racial and class disparities, flawed public housing strategies from previous generations, persistent educational attainment gaps, and the localized effects of global economic shifts are all around us in Spartanburg. And while all of us applaud the tremendous economic development progress made in our city in recent y

When the City Podcast began more than five years ago, the thinking behind it was relatively simple. First, humanize local governemnt. The podcast created an opportunity for listeners to literally hear the voices and get to know the personalities of the people who spend their days serving the residents of our city, with the hope being that folks would recognize that all these "government bureaucrats" are, in fact, human beings, and that the reasons behind the policies enacted in the City of Spartanburg are human reasons. Second, we wanted to tell the story of Spartanburg at a time when its transformation was just beginning. We wanted to get to know the people behind that transformation and hear why Spartanburg mattered to them.  Those initial episodes show then City Communications Manager Will Rothschild and then local resident Christopher George finding their footing, figuring out how exactly this podcast thing should be done. Over the years that followed, the rapport strengthened, the questions got better, t

Spartanburg's west side is about to get its own premier play space as a new park at the Downtown Memorial Airport () is set to hold a grand opening celebration on Saturday, April 14 at 10 a.m. The nearly 4-acre park features aviation-themed elements throughout and includes two playgrounds, one for children 5-12 and another for children aged 2-5, as well as a splash pad, multipurpose athletic field, picnic shelters, a paved walking path, and restroom facilities. Total cost for the new park is around $975,000, with $800,000 coming from leftover funds from the City's , and the remainder coming from state grants and private funding. The Airport Park's grand opening event will showcase both the new park and the airport itself, with the City's "Let's Play" mobile recreation vehicle providing activities and games, as well as arts and crafts activities, and food trucks to satiate the hunger those little ones are sure to work up exploring this fantastic new community park. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Down

After five years on the scene, it's managed to become one of the most anticipated annual events in downtown Spartanburg with the move to Morgan Square in 2015 further raising the bar, folks throughout Spartanburg are gearing up for the return of Hub City Hog Fest, April 6–7. With dozens of teams competing in three categories, opportunities to sample some of the smokey goodness will abound, and the event will feature plenty of delicious food vendors.   The festival also features great live music on both Friday and Saturday, with Big Daddy Love featuring Shane Pruitt and The Trongone Band headlining respectively. For more on this year's Hub City Hog Fest, check out the  and .

If you were wondering whether all that Downtown Spartanburg growth we keep talking about had stalled out in 2018...no. No, it hasn't. Not at all. With announcements coming with almost metronomic regularity these days, the problem lately is just keeping up with it all. Already this year has seen big openings like Level 10, The Silo at RJ Rockers, Blue Moon Specialty Foods, Bar 1884, and The Farmer's Table on top of announcements like Le Spice, The Peddler, Monster Subs, and an  that includes a boutique bowling alley, a new restaurant concept, and an event space. Is your head spinning yet? Good. Today on the podcast, we're sitting down with Assistant City Manager, Chris Story and Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce Downtown Development Partnership Executive Vice President, Jansen Tidmore to get the lowdown on where Downtown Spartanburg is in Spring 2018, and where we could possibly be heading from here. Listen below for more!

If we've said it once, we've said it...a lot more than once: Spartanburg does partnerships as well as any city in the country. Our community stitches together the interests and energies of the public, private, and various nonprofit sectors in innovative ways that create the fabric of this wonderful place we call home. Today on the podcast, we're talking about another of those partnerships, with  Pastor Tom Norrell and Lay Leader John Simmons about a new park slated to open behind the church. Featuring a beautiful brick inlaid labyrinth and an amphitheater, the park will be open to the public and will provide a hugely important link between the church and downtown standard bearers like the Marriott, Chapman Cultural Center, George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics, as well as exciting newcomers that are on the way like the redeveloped Montgomery Building, the Gibb's five-story mixed-use office development, and a planned 200-unit apartment development.

It was over 20 years ago when RJ Rockers first opened its doors in Downtown Spartanburg as a brewpub on Morgan Square, and while the journey for Spartanburg's signature craft brewer has taken them to heights far beyond those relatively modest beginnings, in the years since their return to downtown in 2009, folks have been wondering if the food would ever make a return. Thanks to  and a partnership with a local newcomer intent on bringing his unique culinary spin to some of the brewery's ingredients, nobody has to wonder if the food will come back to Rockers. It's here, it's in a space within the brewery called The Silo, and it opens today, Wednesday, Feb. 7. Today on the podcast, we're talking with the restaurant's Food Guy, Clay McDonough and its interior designer, Sandra Cannon about this fantastic new addition to Downtown Spartanburg's food scene.

Did you know that there are more than 1,200 arts & culture programs, studios, facilities and activities available across the Upstate? The Culture Counts Forum being held at Chapman Cultural Center on Wednesday, January 24, 3–5 p.m. promises to both unveil a new regional arts & culture assets map to highlight Upstate those cultural assets and to show how they impact area economic development.  Also highlighting the event will be a keynote address by Anthony Radich, Executive Director, Western States Arts Federation (WESTAF). He also previously served as the senior project manager for the Arts, Tourism, and Cultural Resources Committee of the National Conference of State legislatures (NCSL). Today on the Podcast, we're talking with Chapman Cultural Center President & CEO Jennifer Evins about the event and about the crucial role arts and cultural offerings play in the future of our city and our region.

At their meeting earlier this week, City Council approved the final reading of an ordinance allowing limited use of LED digital for city businesses and institutions. Under the new rules, only "monument" signs no taller than 6 ft. would be allowed to contain digital signage, and no more than 30 percent of a sign could feature lighted digital messaging. Other requirements include: • Messages must remain static for 15 seconds • Signs which incorporate electronic message boards must have an element of landscaping at the base of the sign included as part of the sign permit package and installation; • The sign may not display messages from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. • An electronic message board sign illumination shall not exceed 0.3 foot-candles over ambient lighting condition • In order to minimize light trespass on abutting and nearby residential property, illumination measured at the nearest residential structure or rear yard setback line shall not exceed the moon’s potential ambient illumination of 0.1 foot-candle;  •

This week on the City Podcast we've got part two of our conversation with two of the most knowledgeable local historians we know, Brad Steinecke, Assistant Director of Local History at the Spartanburg County Public Library and Phillip Stone, Archivist at Wofford College. We're taking this moment, at the end of one of the biggest years for development that Downtown Spartanburg has ever seen, to try to contextualize this current moment in our urban core's history by taking a look at how we got here, starting with the construction of Spartanburg's first county courthouse and ending with a discussion about the current state of downtown.   This being the second episode of our two-part journey, if you haven't already, be sure to . Listen below for more!

As we're heading towards the end of another spectacular year of the biggest boom Downtown Spartanburg has experienced in anyone's memory, we thought this might be a good moment to get together with two of the most knowledgeable local historians we know, Brad Steineke, Assistant Director of Local History at the Spartanburg County Public Library and Phillip Stone, Archivist at Wofford College, to try to contextualize this current moment in our urban core's history by taking a look at how we got here, starting with the construction of Spartanburg's first county courthouse and running through to our present day. Of course, there's no way we could ever get to all of that in one episode, so on today's podcast, we've got the first episode of our two-part journey, taking a look at downtown from its beginning to the textile boom times of the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

Local favorite Little River Roasting has announced plans for a second downtown location to be housed inside the historic Montgomery Building once renovations are completed in October 2018. The new storefront will join their original downtown location at 188 W Main Street, which opened its doors in 2010 and a drive-thru location on E Main Street. The move comes on the heels of a pair of other downtown coffee shop announcements in 2017, with Greenville-based Spill the Beans announcing a location inside the historic Aug W. Smith building, currently being restored, and Starbucks announcing a new storefront on W Main. Today on the Podcast, we're talking with Daniel Hagerman and Tyler Gibbs of Little River about the planned expansion, and we take stock of both the local coffee scene and the downtown culture that's grown up in Spartanburg since Little River's opening seven years ago.

Last month, a local theater project, curated by Anna Abhau Elliott and Crystal Tennille Irby, highlighted one of Spartanburg's least understood historical periods, Reconstruction.  is based on 1871 Congressional Joint Select Committee testimony of residents living in Spartanburg County who were terrorized by the Ku Klux Klan. For the project, interviews were adapted from the committee's report, part of a Federal investigation in which three Northern Congressmen interviewed freedmen, political organizers, white, black, rich, poor, town folks, and country folks throughout the South.  Reconstruction in the Upstate was a bloody time when the Ku Klux Klan and other paramilitary groups terrorized African Americans through beatings, lynchings, and intimidation, all with the intent of stripping away political power and ensuring that recently freed former slaves would remain second-class citizens. Ultimately, the tactics were successful, helping to initiate an era of Jim Crow segregation and disenfranchisement that wo

It won't merit mention in national stories about proposed federal tax reform legislation that recently passed the House, but for folks in Spartanburg excited for historic redevelopments like the  project and community enhancements like the Northside's , changes may be coming that would severely curtail similar projects in the future. A pair of tax credits that have been frequently used by to stimulate development in Spartanburg, the  and the , would be eliminated under the version of the federal tax reform bill currently being considered.  Underscoring the importance of using such credits to stimulate investment, Montgomery Building developer  that Historic Tax Credits "bring the deal to a level that's affordable," and that in their absence, Montgomery's redevelopment would not have been feasible. Today on the podcast, Assistant City Manager Chris Story helps break down the proposed changes and what they would likely mean for Spartanburg. Listen for info, and then contact  and Senators  and  to share your con

We've talked a lot about Spartanburg's emerging reputation as a foodie town on the podcast. Over the last few years, our local restaurant scene has taken off in ways few people would've imagined a decade ago, with new and exciting concepts opening with almost metronomic regularity.  Against that backdrop, a book celebrating Spartanburg's food culture seems perfectly timed, and it's no surprise that the folks at Hub City Writers Project were plugged in enough to make that happen.  is a celebration of Spartanburg's emerging foodie and farm culture, highlighting a mix of local food producers who uphold the upcountry small farming tradition and a talented and personable assortment of local chefs. The book also features recipes that speak to our South Carolina cultural heritage: peach biscuits, Carolina red barbecue, stew meat; as well the cuisine that reflects our international flair: apple strudel, spaghetti carbonara, Thai steak and more. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Betsy Teter, Editor & Direct

We've talked a lot about growth in downtown Spartanburg on our City Podcast. We've talked about restaurants, retail shops, historic redevelopment projects, and new construction galore. Whatever sector you care to look at, there's an example of unprecedented growth to be found.  Public art in our downtown has been no exception to that trend. Projects like Seeing Spartanburg in a New Light and Lighten Up Spartanburg have joined numerous murals and sculptures all over our downtown in recent years, adding to our vibrancy and enhancing the quality of place for everyone who visits. And today on the podcast, we're taking a look at a project that's using perhaps the most mundane of all possible canvasses to add some more color to our downtown, while promoting the seven colleges in our area. Eric Kocher with Hub-Bub and Naomi Sargent join us today to talk about this unique partnership and give us the lowdown on how these simple utility boxes are now being transformed into works of art. Listen below for more  

An innovative , starting with a k Daniel Zongrone was awarded the 2017 ArtsXcelerator Grant from the  to install the edible art garden, which will be located on the .   Dubbed a STEAM (science, technology, engineering, arts, and mathematics) garden, the project will feature educational components in partnership with Spartanburg School District 7 and a unique gazebo design that will collect rainwater via a slanted roof, diverting the water through a pipe inside a large metal spring into a reservoir that will be used to water the garden.  Today on the podcast, we're talking with Zongrone and Nancy Stewart, who will oversee the project's education component.

A challenging seven-acre lot behind the Chapman Cultural Center that had been vacant for years is slated to become home to the largest apartment development in downtown Spartanburg's history after  with Forge Capital Partners, LLC of Tampa, Florida to construct a $30 million complex. Preliminary site plans show a mix of three and four-story buildings in the seven-building luxury complex, with a 300-space parking area centered between. Today on the podcast, Assistant City Manager Chris Story sits down to give us details on the development agreement, the proposed project, and where this transformative project fits in with the accelerating growth we've been seeing in downtown Spartanburg over the past several years.