Proterra in Greenville, City of Greenville, Mauldin Beautifying Roadways, Peace Center Expansion

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Proterra in Greenville
The making of Greenville SC into a world-class automotive cluster has taken another step forward with the announcement that Proterra, a manufacturer of hybrid electric buses, will set up shop here. They plan on building a $68 million manufacturing plant and research facility at the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research, starting in the spring of 2010. That should lead to about 1300 jobs over the next seven years with an average wage of about $60,000 per year. The move not only adds to the growing local automotive expertise, but also marks a trend into alternative energy R&D, something that South Carolina has already begun with hydrogen fuel technology at the Savanna River site. Much of the research will focus on developing a long range battery capable of running a large vehicle all day. Proterra's current battery range is about 30 miles with a recharge complete in six to 10 minutes.

City of Greenville - Things to Come
In a related move, the City of Greenville has entered into an agreement to purchase the former Hitachi building at 575 Mauldin Road, which could fulfill their agreement to provide Proterra with temporary space. The Hitachi building is located near the CU-ICAR campus and houses 40,000 square feet of office space and 509,000 square feet of shop or warehouse space. The site could also provide the city with a relocation site for the downtown Public Works Operations Center that is in a flood plain adjacent to the new A.J. Whittenberg Academy. Moving the Public Works away from the Reedy River opens up more possibilities for downtown revitalization, which as already been started with the Whittenberg Academy, the Salvation Army Kroc Center and the pedestrian-cycling Swamp Rabbit Trail that runs by them. The City's due diligence on the purchase or the Hitachi building has been extended into March, so we’ll hear more then.

Mauldin Beautifying its Roadways

Just down from the entrance to CU-ICAR on Laurens Road, the City of Mauldin is planning an upgrade to the five-lane arterial with landscape and roadway plans that will make the entrance into the city more pleasing to the eye. They have received $678,000 in federal transportation enhancement funds but are still figuring out how spend it. The four primary target areas are Forrester Drive at the northern end, Murray Drive at the C.F. Sauer plant, between Owens Lane and Sunset Drive near the city center, and at the Highway 276 / State 417 split at the southern end of town. In addition to plants and trees along the road, they plan to bury overhead power lines, create new sidewalks, and install lighting.

Peace Center Expansion
The Peace Center for the Performing Arts in downtown Greenville SC has been packed lately with great acts such as the Broadway production "Wicked", bringing in an audience from miles around. The venue has plans to expand the building and create more of a community gathering spot by enlarging the lobby into the front driveway area. A glass façade will give it a modern, inviting look and provide patrons a little more shoulder room between acts. They also plan to add new space to the back of the building for private parties, and create a landscape similar to Falls Park.


Current Weather
It was nice weather this weekend, but it looks like the cold weather that has settled onto most of the country will stick around for another week. Expect some cold rain on Tuesday with clearing and cold later in the week. Highs in the 40s and lows in the 20s.



Greenville had an unusual taste of winter weather at the end of January. The Peace Center is featured below...

Magnolia Place Activity, and Greenville Leads SC Population Growth

AARP Ranks Greenville, SC Top Place to Live
The AARP recently ranked Greenville as their second best place to live, coming in behind only Tuscon, Arizona. They noted that after 30 years of redevelopment, you will enjoy the pedestrian-oriented downtown atmosphere described as "family-friendly from penny candy to goat cheese pizza". The Swamp Rabbit Trail, a multi-use trail converted from an old rail line, drew accolades as a progressive way to link parks and neighborhoods. Plus, an average commute of 19 minutes from a median home value of $151,080 with 220 days of sunshine makes the city very attractive for easy living. One of the little known facts about Greenville is that due to local employers BMW, Michelin, and Fluor, Greenville claims one of the highest international-investment-per-capita levels in the U.S.

Activity at Magnolia Place
If you are driving along Woodruff Road near the Costco where the recession-idled Magnolia Park Town Center sits, you will see there is finally some activity taking place. Rooms To Go has started the site preparation for its new 35,000 square foot store that will replace the current one on Haywood Road. That is the first sign of new development since Costco built their new store back in 2007, although developer Menin is working on a sizeable tenant to take some of the 150,000 square feet of old mall space still available. Future development at Magnolia Park will include an additional 400,000 square feet of retail, 375,000 square feet of office, and one or two hotels.

Foreign Films at Cherrydale
For movie fanatics who enjoy independent and foreign-release films, the Regal Cherrydale cinemas will dedicate one screen for these types of films. The Upstate Film Society has worked with Cherrydale for several years on their spring and fall film festivals, but this is the first attempt to consistently bring this genre to the Greenville audience. The opening film was "The Hurt Locker", a grand prize winner at 2009 Venice Film Festival about a bomb squad working on roadside explosives in Iraq. This film was held over for a week due to overwhelming response and Food Inc started last Friday, a documentary about the food industry. Check out the Upstate Film Society's site for upcoming shows.

Census Shows Upstate Leading in Growth
According to the US Census Bureau, Greenville County led the state in population growth between the Julys of 2007-2008 with 10,000 new residents added. Most of these came as relocation which accounted for 74% of the growth. In geographic terms, most of the growth was in the southern and eastern portion of the county; south of US highway 29 (Wade Hampton Blvd) and east of US highway 276 & I-385. This takes in the areas known as the Eastside of Greenville, Greer, Mauldin, the Woodruff Road corridor, and the eastern Simpsonville region. Greenville County is the most densely populated in the state with about 438,000 residents; neighboring counties Spartanburg and Anderson have 280,000 and 182,000 residents respectively.

Mauldin was the fastest growing city in the Upstate and fourth in South Carolina over the same time period. Mauldin's population increased 7.7% over that time due to annexation of the Pineforest and Oakforest subdivisions, as well as several other key expansions. Mauldin is centrally located near the intersection of I-85 and I-385 and has focused on city services, particularly capital projects to improve the city and its schools. The city recently landed a new Samsung service center and announced the expansion of local business Innegrity LLC. Greer has been a perennial growth winner due to extensive annexations, but came in second with 5.2% in population growth and ranked number 12 in the state.


Current Weather
It will be hot early in the week with highs in the 90s but should cool off on Wednesday with highs dropping into the 80s. A chance of thundershowers will prevail throughout 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.
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Summer has been full of lots of swimming and Galen learning to fish. Enjoy the rest of it!