Spartanburg City News

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Using data to understand, shape Downtown Spartanburg growth Jul 31, 2019

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If you're a longtime City Podcast listener, you've heard us talk for years about the growing momentum in Downtown Spartanburg. Those of us who spend our working days and leisure-filled evenings walking Main Street have been noticing the increased company for a long time now, and even a cursory glance at the storefronts in our central business district would show you that this isn't the Downtown Spartanburg many of us remember from 20, 10, or even 5 years ago. The thing is, all that personal experience is just that, personal. Anecdotes from those of us who frequent downtown don't amount to much when trying to land the next developer to tackle a high profile project or when trying to convince current downtown business owners that some of their assumptions are outdated when it comes to who frequents down and when they are here. Luckily, now we've got a couple of useful tools to put some hard numbers to those perceptions. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Jansen Tidmore, Executive Vice President of Corporate and Urban Development with the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, about the data and tools that are changing the way a lot of people think about Downtown Spartanburg.

Explaining the plan for a new Spartanburg Fire Department central station Jul 24, 2019

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At their last meeting, Spartanburg City Council voted 6-1 to approve a $4.3 million purchase of the former Integral Solutions property at 450 Wofford Street with an eye towards converting the structure into a new central fire station. Initially included as part of the proposed fiscal year 2019-2020 city budget, Council voted to remove the fire station proposal along with a millage increase meant to partially fund the facility. City Manager Chris Story has previously said that either a millage increase or a reduction in city services would be needed in order to fund either the renovation or new construction for a fire station. Council members Sterling Anderson and Jamie Fulmer have both stated their opposition to any millage increase to fund the station, and Story said at Monday's meeting that several options for funding the new fire station will be presented to Council in the coming weeks. Today on the podcast, we lay out the process so far with the City Manager, discussing the newly approved facility and the City's plans for retrofitting the structure. We also delve into some possible funding solutions and a timeline for what comes next in determining the future for this crucial part of our City core services.

New colorful crosswalk murals to brighten Downtown Spartanburg, raise pedestrian visibility Jul 17, 2019

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Pedestrians in Downtown Spartanburg will soon have a safer, more visible walk across some key intersections thanks to some unique crosswalk mural installations planned for the intersections of Main St. and King St., Main St. and Spring St., and Main St. and Magnolia St. Each installation is being designed and painted by a different local artist or artist team with Michael Webster painting Main St. and King St., Matthew Donaldson painting Main St. and Spring St., and Frankie Page and Adrian Meadows painting Main St. and Magnolia St. The artists were chosen by a panel from the Spartanburg Downtown Cultural District Steering Committee made up of businesses, residents, arts leaders, city officials and Chamber of Commerce representatives. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Eric Kocher, Creative Placemaking and HUB-BUB Director at Chapman Cultural Center, about the murals. We also talk with outgoing HUB-BUB Artist-in-Residence Ambrin Ling about her time in Spartanburg and her collaborative art project, A Mosaic Portrait of Spartanburg. This project features small paintings that are part of a single series portraying the many, diverse visions of home as contributed by individual citizens in our area. Ambrin will be giving a talk about the paintings during a reception on July 18 at 6 p.m. Listen below for more.

An overview of the next fiscal year budget with City Manager Chris Story Jun 26, 2019

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Today on the podcast, we're talking with City Manager Chris Story about the most critical piece of policy produced by our City every year, the budget. Some of the highlights of the upcoming fiscal year budget include a projected four percent growth in overall revenue and a five percent growth in property taxes revenue. That property tax growth represents the biggest gains for the City in more than a decade, a strong indicator of the growth seen in recent years both in Downtown Spartanburg and throughout the city as a whole. New expenditures this year include a three percent cost-of-living increase for City employees, and a $264,000 mandatory increase to the employer contribution to the state retirement system. We'll also delve into the most contentious item deliberated this year during budget discussions, a proposal to purchase the former Integral Solutions location at 450 Wofford Street and retrofit the building to house a new fire department headquarters at an estimated cost of $9 million and a proposed small millage increase (around $12 on a $100,000 home) to cover some of the cost for the new facility. Council initially voted 4-3 to remove those items from the budget after Council member Sterling Anderson put forth the amendment, citing concerns over property tax increase as well as the planned renovation. Council will instead take up a plan for a replacement fire station later in the year.

The hottest Spartanburg summertime tips of 2019 Jun 19, 2019

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Another summer is upon us here in Spartanburg, and along with the usual complaints about the heat (a more longstanding Southern tradition you will not find) and the questions about where we're all going for vacation this year (somewhere cooler if you're a pragmatist, hotter if you're a masochist) conversations tend to come down to how best to the long days and humid nights we've got coming these next few months. Today on the podcast, we're helping all y'all out with that question with a rundown of the best ways to spend your summer in Spartanburg. From trails and splash pads to entertainment and events you'd be crazy to miss, we've got all you need to make the absolute most out of the next few months in our city.

Taking a look at the Spartanburg of 1919 Jun 06, 2019

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It started with a simple question posed in the Spartanburg Herald back in 1919: "Do you suppose it is possible for the world to be different a hundred years from now as our world of today is different from that of a hundred years ago?" A new library exhibit puts context around that question, with panels covering such diverse topics as race relations, downtown and neighborhood development, and how the closing of a World War I training camp on the the city's current westside led to a bear calling Morgan Square home for a time. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Brad Steinecke, Assistant Director of Local History with Spartanburg County Public Libraries about the new exhibit and about how the Spartanburg of 1919 informs the Spartanburg of today.

Day center pilot program to provide new tool in addressing homelessness May 15, 2019

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Earlier this month, the City and its parters in the United Way of the Piedmont, Spartanburg Interfaith Hospitality Network, and Catholic Charities of South Carolina announced the a pilot program for a new homeless day shelter, the Spartanburg Opportunity Center, to be housed in the Northwest Recreation Center. Beginning in July, homeless people in Spartanburg will be shower, wash clothes, store personal items, charge their phones, and receive mail in the facility, filling a crucial gap in service for some of the most vulnerable members of our community. The center will also offer a central location for service providers to connect and provide help for those in need. Opening this July, the pilot program will utilize a portion of the Northwest Center two afternoons per week, with an eye towards a potential expansion into the entire facility when the City decommissions the facility after the competition of the Dr. T.K. Gregg Community Center in spring of 2020. Today on the podcast, we're talking with Karl Rogozenski, Regional Coordinator with Catholic Charities of South Carolina and Beth Rutherford, Executive Director of Spartanburg Interfaith Hospitality Network about the new pilot program and the potential future of the Spartanburg Opportunity Center.

Barter Boat docked at Fr8yard in Downtown Spartanburg Apr 24, 2019

Show notes

One person's trash is another person's treasure, right? A traveling interactive art project with roots in Spartanburg is in Downtown Spartanburg through May 5 to test that theory. Barter Boat, a project of Radar Art, a group formed by former Hub-Bub Artists-in-Residence, Anna Abhau-Elliott, Robin Schwartzman, and Desiree Moore, is set up at Fr8yard and will be encouraging passers-by to trade whatever they have at hand for curated assemblages of objects previously bartered at the project's other stops throughout the country Today on the podcast, we're talking with Anna about Barter Boat, getting an idea of what potential participants can expect as well as delving into the thinking behind the project. Stop by to make a trade, and be sure to follow them on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with where your objects might end up!

Hello Family initiative seeks to improve outcomes for Spartanburg's most vulnerable Apr 17, 2019

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At a recent City Council meeting, City Manager, Chris Story gave an overview of Hello Family, a proposed collection of support systems that would seek to improve outcomes for young children and their families by providing a continuum of evidence-based services for all children born in the City of Spartanburg from prenatal care through age five. Designed to significantly improve child wellbeing, boost future prosperity, and provide quantifiable financial benefits to our community well in excess of its cost, Hello Family would bring a number of existing services in the city under one umbrella in order to link their efforts and produce verifiable results by focusing on early intervention strategies. Based on the work of James J. Heckman, a Nobel Prize-winning economist who found that investing in programs targeted at the earliest years of life yield the most lasting and cost-effective results, Hello Family seeks to improve birth outcomes, reduce child abuse and neglect, and improve kindergarten readiness throughout the City of Spartanburg. Today on the podcast, we sit down for a conversation with Story to get an overview of the challenges the program would seek to address and the strategy it would employ to do so. Listen below for more.

Seay House sheds light on lives of 19th century women in Spartanburg Apr 10, 2019

Show notes

It's the oldest home in the city limits of Spartanburg, and for for most in town, that's all they know about the Seay House—if they know anything at all. However, there's a lot more to this old farm house than meets the eye, and the Spartanburg County Historical Association is hoping that the home can shine a light on the stories of women and their lives in 19th century Spartanburg. Originally built by Kinsman Seay around 1831, the home was later owned his three unmarried daughters, Ruthy, Patsy and Sarah Seay. The sisters have a story that's unconventional for the period in Spartanburg, owning property on their own and making a living by selling produce and most unusually, lending small sums of money at interest. In fact, the sisters were successful enough in their endeavors to provide donations for the establishment of Central United Methodist Church, the oldest church in the city. Today on the podcast, we're learning more about the Seay sisters and their unique Spartanburg story with Colleen Twentyman, Collections and Educations Coordinator with the Spartanburg County Historical Association and Dr. Phillip Stone, Wofford College Archivist. Listen below for more information and be sure to call (864) 576-6546 to schedule a tour of this wonderful historic asset in our city.

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