Greenville SC New Construction, Greenville Neighborhood Recognized, Greenville's West End, GSP Airport Expansion

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Greenville SC Homes
For information specializing in Greer check out our Greer SC Real Estate website.

New Home Inventory Going Up in 2010
The number of Upstate residential building permits in 2009 reversed the downward trend of the past couple of years and may indicate that the momentum has changed. According to The Market Edge, more permits were issued in the second half of 2009 than the first, a rarity since in a typical market, 60% of the permits are in the first two quarters. Builders have recognized that the current tax incentives for first time buyers and some owners will spur sales in the first half of 2010, and they are getting ready. You can expect the new home inventory to increase over the next few months. Also, lots that had been held off the market due to bankrupt builders have finally become available as legal issues have been resolved and investors have jumped on the bargains. The Upstate region is categorized as Abbeville, Anderson, Greenville, Greenwood, Laurens, Oconee, Pickens, and Spartanburg Counties; of the 2623 permits issued in the Upstate region in 2009, 1006 were in Greenville County.

Viola Street Recognized
The Southern Living Magazine has recognized downtown Greenville's Viola Street neighborhood as one of 10 comeback neighborhoods in the South. The area is nestled against the popular North Main area just outside the downtown business district, and has undergone a remarkable transformation from small unheated shacks to modern homes. It all started in 2000 when a phalanx of volunteers pulled together to make it all possible. The developer managed the construction for free, a businessman funded scholarships and tutoring programs increased the skills of the current residents that enabled job growth. The end result is 86% owner occupancy, a community center, and a close knit neighborhood. This is one of the revitalization projects in the Greenville area which has proven successful. The other areas noted by Southern Living include North Chattanooga, TN, the Wilmore/South End in Charlotte, NC, Baltimore's Patterson Park, and Holy Cross in New Orleans.

West End's Changing Face

There are a couple of holes in the downtown Greenville storefront lineup as a result of two demolition projects. In the upper end of Main St. next to Piazza Bergamo, the old building is gone with plans to expand the green community area behind the archway leading to the Bank of America building. Locals will also notice the absence of the Army Surplus store farther down Main St. at River Street in the West End. That store has been a mainstay in the West End for almost 40 years, surviving while other businesses failed during the early days of revitalization. The building goes back to about 1870, but was too deteriorated to repair, so has been torn down. In its place, a similar style 4-story building will appear, maintaining the west end architecture.

GSP Expansion Project
The Greenville Spartanburg International Airport has just opened a new general aviation terminal that is LEED registered project. The building was designed to be energy and water efficient with large windows for more light and a water collection system on the roof. It should use 30% less energy and 70% less water than a traditional building, with about a 2% increase in construction cost. Stevens Aviation maintains aircraft at GSP and operates as the fixed base operator, supplying fuel, food and services for general aviation aircraft.


Current Weather
Boy, it really poured rain this last weekend, but it looks like we'll see some clear skies this week with highs in the 50s. Still fairly cool though, with lows in the 30s, and more precipitation later in the week. It's been an abnormally cold winter, but spring flowers are only a few weeks away!

Greenville SC Main Street Adding Business, Clemson Teams Up, Michelin Helps Education, Spartanburg Top Real Estate Market

Main Street Adding Businesses
Despite the economic downturn, Greenville's central business district has several projects that are making respectable progress. One of these is the Carolina Ale House, a family restaurant and sports bar near McBee and Main, and the former site of Kimbrell's furniture store. They plan to install a retractable glass roof to take advantage of that famous Carolina Blue Sky we're famous for while protecting customers during inclement weather. That project is still waiting approval from the city's Design and Preservation Commission, but the owners would like to open in the spring of 2010.

Clemson Teams Up With SCRA
The South Carolina Research Authority intends to strengthen the alternative energy presence in the state and has created a collaboration with the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), Greenville City and County, and Hyperion Partners LLC. Their goal is for South Carolina to lead the nation toward the integration of renewable energy sources into the automotive and other industries. They are considering a location at the CU-ICAR campus in Greenville where the initial SC site would provide a research facility and also dispense Hydrogen, compressed natural gas and propane as a demonstration project.

Spartanburg Named A Top Housing Market
Spartanburg was listed as the second strongest housing market in the U.S. by Business Week Magazine, basing it's conclusion on the share of single family homes that rose in value during the second quarter of 2008. Spartanburg was behind only Boulder, CO and Greenville was 24th on the list. The magazine noted that both Spartanburg and Boulder are “college towns that have been somewhat buffered from the downturn because schools provide solid jobs and a steady flow of apartment and home renters.� With Converse College, Wofford College, Spartanburg Community College, Spartanburg Methodist College and USC Upstate in town, Spartanburg has the highest student per capita ratio in South Carolina.

Michelin Challenge Education Program Launched
Major local employer Michelin has launched its Michelin Challenge Education program and thousands of company employees have volunteered to help elementary students with their education. The tire maker has adopted eight elementary schools and will provide mentors to help these young people get excited about education, particularly math and science. By bringing these employees who work with science every day into the classroom, students will be able to better understand the role that math and science plays in our lives.

New Golf School In Taylors
There's new golf school and driving range being planned off Wade Hampton Blvd and across from the Taylors Post Office where the Enoree River winds through a flood plain region. The project still needs approval for rezoning to commercial by the County since it is currently zoned residential and backs up to nearby homes. The land would be a difficult site for homes because of flood plain requirements, and the developers of River's Edge argue that putting three buildings, 46 tee boxes, putting greens, and a tree buffer around the perimeter would be a better use for the land. They don't plan to install fairway lights or permit nighttime golf.


Current Weather
School is back in session and the weather will be fairly mild this week. Expect highs in the upper 80s and lows around 70, with a chance of thunderstorms later in the week.

Please visit our websites at Greenville SC Real Estate and our second site at Greenville SC Homes
For information specializing in Greer check out our Greer SC Real Estate website.

Summer is almost gone... back to school for Greenville County

Downtown Greenville SC is a One-tank Trip from Atlanta

Downtown Greenville SC was transformed from a derelict deserted area to a destination with Nationally recognized revitalization efforts in just 25 years. The efforts are not going unnoticed by our neighbors in Atlanta, GA looking for a weekend getaway. Recently there was an article in the Atlanta Journal on Greenville entitled "Visitors rave about new vibe of downtown." (one-tank trip Greenville, S.C. - tips to help you plan a day trip or overnight getaway). The article was very complimentary on Greenville's makeover, her unique shopping with locally owned shops and merchandise, the pedestrian friendliness and most of all the world class dining experiences available.

Several key features of downtown that were considered big pluses were Falls Park's renovation where the Liberty Bridge was called "a stunning curved pedestrian bridge" and the amphitheaters provided "pretty downtown Greenville event spaces". The downtown baseball stadium was of course mentioned with details about the green monster and the Greenville Drive's name choice. Shopping was an assest mostly because many of the stores are locally owned non-franchise stores and have locally designed clothing, goods and accessories. The Saturday Market was also mentioned as a draw where people can sample local foods and buy tasty souvenirs to take home.

The big draw of downtown Greenville, SC though by far (other then parking your car and never having to use it until you go home) was the dining experiences. The article called Greenville's dining scene a diversity of restaurants and chefs to rival anything found in Atlanta. The paper noted Soby's, Devereaux's, Restaurant O, The Lazy Goat, High Cotton, Larkin's on the River, Pomegranate on Main and the American Grocery in the West End.

We hope that more Atlantians decide to come visit and decide to stay. If you would like to look for downtown Greenville SC home within walking distance please contact us.

Cantinflas restaurant Moving in Downtown Greenville

Cantinflas, a popular restaurant on Main Street that has been an icon in downtown Greenville SC for 13 years, is moving to a new location on Main closer to Falls Park and the Reedy River. The new location is at the current site of Senior Wraps, also run by Cantinflas owner Ruben Montalvo. The new site at 10 N. Main was attractive to Montalvo because it offers an option to purchase downtown Greenville real estate as well as being in a newer building. You can expect to see the transformation in early 2009.

Searching for downtown Greenville SC real estate can be quite challenging, but we have put tools in place on our new site to help you search. Details on the tools were written about in our previous article on downtown Greenville quick searches.