11 Jan Snapshots of the Past: Shaping the Upstate since 1933
A lot happens in 80 years–ups, downs, ins, outs, and through it all The Caine Companies have grown and served here in Greenville, South Carolina. Take a look at some highlights from each decade:
1930s:
1933: Robert M. “Bubber” Caine starts Caine Realty and Mortgage Co. with an office on the corner of Main and Washington streets right here in downtown Greenville.
1937: Bubber develops the Tuten Mart, located across from Sirrine Stadium in Greenville and one of the first strip centers in the Upstate.
1940s:
1942: Bubber leaves the company in the capable hands of Ms. Mary Lou Shaw, Mr. Albert Quigley and Mr. W.M. Rast to enlist in the Navy where he served as intelligence officer. Before embarking on the U.S.S. Yorktown as a lieutenant commander, he lived on the West Coast and spent valuable time observing various development projects, resulting in ideas he’d bring back to Greenville after the war was over in 1945.
1949: Using ideas from his time spent on the West Coast, he develops Lewis Plaza along with two apartment complexes, Plaza Apartments and Lewis Village Apartments. The large shopping center combined with the two adjacent apartment complexes proved to be an inventive project and well ahead of any similar developments in the Upstate.
1949: The development of Calhoun Towers begins downtown. Opening in 1950, the Towers’ bottom floor would serve as The Caine Companies’ new office.
Late 1940s: Bubber answers the call for housing by the baby boomers and sets in motion the development of a community called Woodfields, off of Augusta Road. At the time, the five- and six-bedroom houses were priced from $8,500 to $10,000.
1950s
1953: Frank Halter, son-in-law of Bubber, joins the company to become part of the residential department.
1960s
Throughout much of the 60s, the company develops McAlister Square, the first enclosed mall in the state and, at the time, the largest shopping center in the state and one of the largest in the Southeast.
1968: Frank Halter is elected President of the company.
1970s
1973: Ground is broken on Williams Street for the company’s new office, where they are currently located.
1980s
For much of the 80s, the company oversaw the development of multiple condominium complexes throughout Greenville and continues to be one of the largest developers in the Upstate.
1983: Robert M. “Bubber” Caine passes away from emphysema at the age of 79.
In the late 80s and early 90s, Frank and Caine Halter served on the Greenville Redevelopment Committee, created to revitalize downtown and bring back small businesses.
1990s
1994: The Caine Companies establish a presence in Spartanburg by purchasing an already existing real estate office; the move allows the company to serve the Upstate as opposed to just Greenville.
1997: The Caine Companies join with Coldwell Banker, one of the largest real estate franchises in the country, providing a national partnership and greater realm of service for both residential and commercial consumers. The company partners with several major corporations to provide employees with relocation services to the Greenville area.
2000s
2004: The Caine Companies expand to Seneca and Easley and to Greer in 2007.
2007: The Halter family loses Caine, grandson of the founder and son of the Chairman, to lung cancer. Caine managed the commercial brokerage division. The Halter family founded Lungs4Life www.lungs4life5k.com to raise money for cancer research. Caine was a non-smoker.
2010s
2010: The first Coldwell Banker Caine Real Estate Gallery opens in downtown Greenville. The Gallery serves as a hot spot for agents and consumers who are interested in the area and want to learn more about real estate and the services Caine provides. Local artists are invited to display their work; exhibits rotate on a quarterly basis. A gallery in Mauldin and one in Greer have since opened, and more are in the works.
2013: The Caine Companies celebrates its 80th anniversary while Frank and Brad Halter mark 60 and 35 years with the company respectively.
After 80 years in the Upstate and three generations of confident leadership and ingenuity, the people of The Caine Companies are prepared to continue in these tremendous themes of hard work, carrying forward the lessons and values of history paired with the bright ideas of the future.
