Gather GVL Archives - GSP UPDATES

Real Estate

Where did “Sparkle City” originate? (Kidding Around Spartanburg, H/T GVL Today)

A Spartanburg developer has plans for 196-unit manufactured home park on a 48.5-acre site at Carolina and Wimberly drives, south of the city. (GoUpstate)

Economy

BMW had a record production year. “This confirms the South Carolina plant will remain the largest plant by volume in the BMW Group’s global production network.” – (BMW Group)

GVL lands at #34 in Inc’s article titled “The 50 Best U.S. Cities for Starting a Business in 2020” (Inc.com)

GVL County had a good year too with “$401.8 million in capital investment announced, with 2,178 new jobs with average salaries of just above $48,000.” – (Upstate Business Journal)

Logistics

Charleston set an all-time cargo record in 2019, helped by bigger cranes, a refurbished container terminal and ships passing through the Panama Canal. (Post & Courier)

However, the Panama Canal traffic may be impacted by drought conditions in the country…

“The Panama Canal, and Central America more broadly, is experiencing one of the worst droughts in its recorded history. With less water, the canal is forced to place restrictions on the amount of cargo ships can carry, meaning carriers have to limit the shippers they can serve on routes that rely on this waterway.” – (Supply Chain Dive)

What are the alternatives? Quoting Supply Chain Dive again, “The canal has had reduced operations in the past, Slangerup said. This led to shippers looking for other routes from Asia to the U.S. East Coast, like through the Suez Canal or through West Coast ports and across rail and truck networks.”

Entertainment

Greenville’s first open-air food hall is just weeks away from opening. The space will house 13 restaurants. (Greenville Journal)

See photos on the official website.

Education

See pictures of the dedication of the new Spartanburg High School (GoUpstate)

Parks & Rec

The city of Greer is buying a Country Club with plans to make it a public course. (Greenville Journal)

Art

The Heirloom Companies is the family-owned company behind the award-winning Brown Street sign. See pictures (Greenville Journal) Watch a video of them making the vines (Greenville Journal). Every part of the sign has meaning.

“The ivy curling around the stanchions represents both the tragic decline of Greenville’s industry and the opportunity for new life to sprout and grow.” – Greenville Journal

Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

Opportunity Zones (or O-zones) are a hot topic lately. Forbes has a good write up featuring Senator Scott (Charleston) who was a co-sponsor of the Investing in Opportunity Act. The act provides tax incentives for investors and corporations to invest in these defined zones. We have a few in the Upstate. An historic mill in Greer could be one of the first beneficiaries of the new program. (UBJ)

Mauldin is booming. Since 2016, construction spending has increased 150 percent to more than $46 million with no end in sight. (Greenville Journal)

Spartanburg’s minority business accelerator is set to begin its first program in October. The program offers business training, mentoring, networking and potential access to capital. (GoUpstate)

The city of Greenville buries its power lines. (Greenville Journal)

Automotive

Mercedes-Benz opens $500 million Sprinter plant in North Charleston and lands a deal to build 20,000 vans for Amazon. (Autoblog)

Volvo Cars, which has a plant near Ridgeville, SC, is asking for an exemption to tariffs on a mid-size SUV it imports to the U.S. from China. (Post and Courier)

Logistics

Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport breaks ground on a $30 million warehouse and expanded apron. It can currently accommodate only one 747-800 at a time on its cargo apron. The expansion will increase the capacity to three. The airport has moved from No. 84 to 72 on the Federal Aviation Administration’s list ranking airport cargo data. (GSA Business)

The Port of Charleston set an all time container cargo record. This can mainly be attributed to larger ships traveling from Asia to East Coast ports via the expanded Panama Canal. (Post and Courier)

Tech

SeeDaten relocates to the Spark Center.
“SeeDaten partnered with Germany-based IOXP (Input Output of Experience) to deliver reality, augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) learning and process analysis software and techniques to automotive OEM/Tier 1 manufacturing, healthcare/nursing — clinical/academia, equipment manufacturing and technical services, and manufacturing industries.” (Union Daily Times)

Boeing is testing exoskeleton vests to assist workers. (Post and Courier)

Food and Entertainment

Gather GVL (a food hall constructed of shipping containers) announces four more tenants and breaks ground at 126 Augusta Road. (UBJ)

Owners of the Streatery food truck (Spartanburg) will open a brick-and-mortar restaurant at 401 E. Kennedy St. in the site formerly occupied by The Farmer’s Table. (GoUpstate)

Rick Erwin Dining Group is opening a new seafood restaurant at Haywood Mall. (UBJ)

Greenville has a new professional soccer team. (Greenville Journal)

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