Spartanburg City News

After just four years on the scene, it's managed to become one of the most anticipated annual events in downtown Spartanburg with last year's move to Morgan Square further raising the bar, folks throughout Spartanburg are gearing up for the return of Hub City Hog Fest, April 7 & 8.. With 45 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 Acoustic Syndicate and Big Daddy Love headlining respectively. For more on this year's Hub City Hog Fest, listen to our podcast below and check out the  and .

It's been a long, complicated, and sometimes tedious road to walk to get the project underway, but one of downtown Spartanburg's most beloved historic buildings, the , is now on its way back to being what it was for much of the 20th century, one of the most important activity centers in our urban core. Greenville-based developer James Bakker, lead developer with BF Spartanburg, has plans to create 10,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor, 9,000 square feet of office space on the second floor, and 72 residential units on floors three through 10. In the process, the building's exterior will be restored to its original appearance, a splendor almost no one alive today in Spartanburg would remember seeing.  Today on a special episode of the City Podcast, we're talking with James Bakker about his plans for the building and where he sees this crucially important project fitting into downtown Spartanburg's future.

Do you know that show where musicians perform in front of a relatively intimate live audience and tell stories about their music, writing experiences and memories? Wouldn't it be cool to see a version of that in Spartanburg, something that gives songwriters a chance to illuminate a little of their genius for the music nerds who love that sort of thing? Come out to the , Saturday, March 18 from 4–6 p.m. and you'll see exactly that.  The culmination of a Songwriters in the Round series that recently wrapped up at , Songwriter Showcase is a partnership between the coffee bar and , featuring three musicians from the previous series, , , and . Today on the podcast, we're talking with Janeen Scott, organizer of the event about what we can expect to hear and a bit about the local music scene here in Spartanburg. 

When the news broke Saturday night that a fire had broken out in the Montgomery Building, all of Spartanburg held its breath. A renovation had just gotten underway, the largest historic renovation in our city's history, and the future held for a long-vacant icon seemed secure.  If not for the actions of the , it's a future that could've very easily went up in flames. The fire started in old ductwork after workers removed a fan, inadvertently sparking the blaze in the process. Though smoke damaged parts of the former Carolina Theater, the fire was contained quickly enough to ensure that the tower's renovation will proceed as planned. Today on the podcast, we're getting all the details on the fire and our City's fantastic response to it from Chief Marion Blackwell. Listen below for more.

It's easy to forget sometimes, with our city's accelerating downtown development boom and the associated exponential increase in activity and buzz, but the Spartanburg that birthed back in 1995 was a very different place from the one we see today. Decades of decline had turned what once had been a dynamic upstate urban core into a hollowed-out shell, its vibrant post-war bustle replaced by a turn-of-the-century malaise, with shuttered storefronts and crumbling facades serving as the only reminders of what once was. With that as their backdrop, a group of local writers intent on giving Spartanburg a new sense of itself (and reviving a long-dead nickname in the process) met in a coffee shop and created what is now one of the South's premier publishing houses, along the way selling over 150,000 books, winning 14 Independent Publisher Awards, and adding some downtown brick and mortar to their ink and paper in the form the fantastic Hub City Bookshop. Steering the ship through that remarkable run has been Betsy T

We've talked a lot about the Montgomery Building on this podcast. We've and how it . However, even considering the very frequent mentions we've given the historic icon, it would be near-impossible to overstate how often it has been discussed inside the corridors of City Hall in recent years. Once the City's most heavily targeted strategic redevelopment property, the future for this beloved piece of 1920s Spartanburg was highly uncertain, with folks throughout the community whispering about a wrecking ball being the only solution... Oh, how times have changed. Yesterday, after a long and complicated process typical of historic highrise redevelopments, BF Spartanburg LLC. closed on the building, clearing the way for work to begin. Greenville-based developer James Bakker, lead developer with BF Spartanburg, has plans to create 9,500 square feet of retail and restaurant space on the ground floor, 9,000 square feet of office space on the second floor, and 72 residential units on floors three through 10. It's a mo

We've been doing this podcast for over four years now and through it all, good episodes and less-good episodes, we've never had a real honest-to-goodness theme song. In a city that features the overabundance of musical talent Spartanburg has, this is a tragic oversight, one that we now plan to rectify. How? By doing what any community-focused, eminently entertaining, deeply nerdy local podcast would do: crowdsourcing our theme music. That's why we're kicking off a contest today to write our theme song. The rules are simple: the song must be original, must be at least one minute in length, can be any genre, can be instrumental or vocal, and must not contain profanity...because we're a family-friendly podcast. The contest starts today, and the eventual winner (who will likely be selected by a distinguished panel of local government bureaucrats) will receive $300 and a link in the text of every podcast we post as a way of saying thanks for the wonderful music. Interested? Great! Entries must be submitted by Marc

You never know what sorts of unique events Hub-Bub has planned in downtown Spartanburg so periodically we like to check in with our friends Eric Kocher and Tim Giles to get the latest on what the downtown-focused local arts organization has going on. The answer this time? and another edition of the . Intrigued? You should be.

It's recognized around the country as an experience that can help business ideas can get the jumpstart they need to get off the ground, and February 24–26, the George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics is opening its doors to local budding entrepreneurs for . In 54 hours, participants will learn how to create a real company, meeting mentors, investors, cofounders, and sponsors who are ready to help them get started. Today on the podcast, we're talking to Brian Brady, Director of the GreenHouse Business Incubator at the Johnson School of Business and Economics, and Parker Baxter, co-organizer of the event.

Last Tuesday at the Chapman Cultural Center, after more than a year of work and data gathering, including input for thousands of local residents, the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce unveiled its new strategic action plan. The ambitious plan seeks to move Spartanburg forward in eight key areas, affecting areas as wide-ranging as downtown economic development, improving educational attainment, poverty alleviation, and building a more cohesive sense of community. Announced at the event was the addition of Meagan Rethmeier as the new executive vice president of One Spartanburg and news that the Chamber has already raised $3.3 million of the $5.1 million goal set to pay for seven positions to implement the plan over the next five years. Today on the podcast, we're diving deep to get the details on One Spartanburg and what it means for you with Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Allen Smith.

We like being first here in Spartanburg, especially when it comes to downtown development, and this week the City's Design Review Board gave their stamp of approval to a concept that's the first of its kind in South Carolina. FR8 Yard, an outdoor craft beer and restaurant space, is set to transform an empty downtown lot into a hub of activity. Located beside , FR8 Yard will also include games like bocce ball and ping pong, and will feature a stage for live music and a large projector screen for live sporting events.  

Daniel Morgan Avenue is set to become the next street in downtown Spartanburg to get a makeover after . In a unanimous vote, Council members approved a $207,971 contract with Capital Construction to improve the street for pedestrians with widened sidewalks on the eastern side that will create additional outdoor public space for dining and improve pedestrian mobility in the area around the new AC Hotel.   The changes are also meant to encourage redevelopment of nearby buildings. Work also includes adding street trees, pedestrian lighting, and 15 new on-street parking spaces. Also at Monday’s meeting, Council heard an overview on the feasibility of adding an indoor eight-lane competition lap pool to the planned T.K. Gregg Community Center, slated to begin construction later this year on the current site Oakview Apartments. Initial plans have called for a $10 million facility which includes a gymnasium, workout area, an outdoor pool and other multi-purpose space. Council had previously signaled interest in inclu

With a new hotel recently topped out and massive historical redevelopments announced for the Montgomery Building and former Aug W. Smith building, 2016 was one of the most exciting years in Spartanburg's history on the downtown development front, and with new restaurants like Pokéritto, Mezcal, and the new Miyako's space all well underway, 2017 is already a year full of promise for Downtown Spartanburg. Combine that with important progress expected on the Northside as well as our city's parks and outdoor recreation options, and it sounds like we've got the makings of a pretty interesting podcast, previewing what we know and speculating about what might be around the corner for Spartanburg. So kick back and get ready to send 2016 off in style with the dulcet tones of two local government dorks musing about the coming year.

Another winter is upon us, and as the year ends and the cold turns us all into reflective hermits, it's time for what has become something of a tradition on the City Podcast, our look back on the year that was. So what has 2016 been like for the City of Spartanburg? If we had to pick a word, we'd go with groundbreaking.  For years, the bureaucrats roaming the corridors of City Hall had identified two historic buildings as the most important potential downtown historic redevelopment sites, the and the (former home to Bishop Furniture). If 2016 had brought an agreement to renovate either of those buildings, it would've been a huge win for us in city government, a huge win for downtown, and a huge win for the entire city. We got both.  Add that to the future AC Hotel rising in our skyline and the other development projects and business openings that commanded so much of our attention this year, and it's tough to conclude that the "Downtown Jump" isn't well underway.

At Monday's City Council meeting, that places it among the nation's leaders, as the Insurance Services Office (ISO) has recognized the city's fire protection services as Class 1, up from its previous Class 2 rating. The classification, known as the Public Protection Classification (PPC) program, assesses the fire-protection efforts in a particular community. ISO collects information on municipal fire-protection efforts in communities throughout the United States. In each of those communities, ISO analyzes the relevant data using its Fire Suppression Rating Schedule (FSRS). The company then assigns a Public Protection Classification from 1 to 10. Class 1 generally represents superior property fire protection, and Class 10 indicates that the area’s fire-suppression program doesn’t meet ISO’s minimum criteria. The ISO 1 rating is validation of the superior services City residents receive. Only 204 of nearly 47,700 — 0.4 percent — fire protection service agencies in the nation have earned the ISO 1 rating. Tod

It's been a property near the top of City Staff's potential historic redevelopment list for a long time, and after , a building that was once one of Spartanburg's anchor department stores is on its way to a new life, bringing new residential options and ground floor retail space to downtown on the move. Located at 174 East Main Street, across from Denny's Plaza, the former home of Bishop Furniture and the Aug W Smith Department Store is slated to become 46 upscale apartment units and ground level storefront space after an extensive interior and exterior renovation project undertaken by Blue Wall REII, LLLC, a Greenville-based developer set to purchase the building. Today on the podcast, we're taking a deeper dive on this historic renovation and how it fits into the larger downtown redevelopment story.

it's become something of a tradition on the podcast for us to take on broader topics and themes during the holidays. Partly it's the slow news time, partly it's that we tend to get a little philosophical around this time of year, but mostly it's that we like imagining all of you, gathered with family and friends around the old bluetooth speaker, listening to the dulcet tones of a deeply nerdy local government podcast. It's a fun fantasy for us. On this week's podcast, served up just before you stuff your face with delicious Thanksgiving food, we're talking about the importance of your involvement in local government. With it not only being a holiday week, but also one following after a contentious national election, we thought it might be important to remind all of you why your voices matter here, and why, if we're being totally honest, Spartanburg's future depends on it. So sit back, try not to think too much about that overstuffed belly of yours, and listen to why you matter to us.

Thanksgiving is nearly upon us, a time for food, family, togetherness, and awkwardly looking down into your plate to avoid making eye contact with that uncle who wants to talk politics. Wouldn't it be great if to have a different sort of gathering leading up to the annual food coma that kicks off the hectic holiday season? Well, make plans to be in downtown Spartanburg on Saturday, November 19 for Hub-Bub's Community Table. From 11:30 a.m. until 2 p.m. Spring Street will be closed-off (between Broad and Main streets) 150-foot table, a proper mass-communal artifact if ever there was one, will be set up. The meal will be chili, provided by Café Around the Corner (with vegan option available), and the event will also feature live music and games. Tickets are $10 in advance, and you can buy them by . And after you've got the holiday season started the right way, be sure to mark your calendars for December 10 and 11, as Hub-Bub brings an outdoor holiday market with art, crafts, and gifts from local makers as well

Some of the most revered Southern works of art hang near those created by a deep well of talented local artists. Live music from one or more of two dozen outdoor and indoor stages can be heard nearly every night of the week. A ballet company, a philharmonic, and a theatre company provide big-city productions year-round. Another organization's artist-in-residence program brings artists live and make art for months at a time.Murals and sculptures dot the streets and make postcard-ready backdrops. Downtown Spartanburg is a vibrant, dynamic home for the arts, boasting the $45 million Chapman Cultural Center, some of the best art galleries in the South, and an independent press and bookshop respected throughout the literary community. Indeed, surprises are seemingly around every corner, including every step of the 2-mile Hub City Music Trail that chronicles Spartanburg’s significant musical heritage. That’s why basically all of Downtown Spartanburg —every street and every block — has been designated a cultural dis

We spend a lot of time (a whole lot) of time thinking and talking about downtown revitalization and redevelopment on the Northside. That's probably not the most shocking revelation ever to come from this podcast, but one thing we maybe don't talk enough about is connection between the two, as well as another redevelopment effort in its infancy in Highland.  Why is that where our efforts are focused, and why is the effort to improve these targeted areas something that will ensure the future health of our city and benefit all of our citizens, now and in the years to come? Today on the podcast, we're tackling that very question.