Upstate Headlines: 5,500 houses were put on the market this month in Greenville

Upstate Headlines: 5,500 houses were put on the market this month in Greenville

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A collection of the top Upstate headlines for the week of May 23, 2016

635993448565607628-900-Ikes--0025,500 houses were put on the market this month in Greenville
As more companies add jobs in the Upstate, more workers are moving into the area. Greenville’s downtown, school district and proximity to cities like Charlotte and Atlanta also make it a popular destination for young professionals looking to settle down and start a family, said Virginia Hayes, a Realtor with Coldwell Banker Caine who has been in the real estate industry for five years. South Carolina saw enough population growth to add a seventh congressional district in 2012, and a 2015 United Van Lines study said the Palmetto State was one of the top destinations for people moving to a new state. The market has reflected these trends, realtors say. “I don’t see it slowing down a lot at all,” Hayes said. “It has continually trended up, but at a good pace.”

635997044236026238-TheUpperRoom-0New downtown event space merges city’s past and present
 Jane Kelley had to see what was on the other side of the brick wall in a crossover room in her apartment building on North Laurens Avenue. What Kelley found on the other side of the aforementioned wall was a beautiful space that had been practically untouched for decades. Now, that 2,000-square-foot space has been reborn as The Upper Room, a premier downtown event venue. The venue, located at 7 College St., combines elegance and charm in the heart of downtown.

SHCS_52016-hero-635x325Spartanburg Regional breaks ground on $65M Gibbs Cancer Center
Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System (SRHS) broke ground on Tuesday morning at a planned $65 million, seven-story cancer center facility on Highway 14 in Greer. The new Gibbs Cancer Center and Research Institute will expand its small existing site, which opened in 2013, at the Greer location. Gibbs Cancer Center originally was opened in Spartanburg in 1999 and now also has facilities in Gaffney and Union, as well the Greer address. The new facility will have 198,000 square feet. It is located on the 150-acre campus of the 48-bed Pelham Medical Center.

wingspan.5.23.16_hero-635x325GSP prepares for landing of Project WINGSPAN, unveils centralized TSA checkpoint
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport will soon touch down on its four-year, $125 million main terminal renovation, Project WINGSPAN. On Monday, the airport unveiled a new centralized Transportation Security Administration checkpoint set to open Tuesday night. GSP spokeswoman Rosylin Weston said the checkpoint’s completion leaves one final addition to the terminal’s core—a grand hall that will include new dining and retail options. “We are circling for a landing,” she said. “We’re really excited about this milestone.”

BMW_52016-635x325BMW’s new body shop will be twice as large as expected
A new body shop at BMW Manufacturing Co. in Spartanburg County will add a second phase to the 675,000-square-foot facility under construction on the western end of its 1,150-acre campus. The 608,000-square-foot addition will bring the body shop, post-expansion, to more than 1.2 million square feet, the size of the original production plant the company opened on the site in 1994.

Spartanburg moving forward in plans for Michelin distribution center
Michelin North America could soon tread new territory in Spartanburg County. The Greenville-based tire manufacturer and its development partner Panattoni Development Co. of California plan to build a $332 million multiunit distribution center. Spartanburg County Council approved the second of three readings of an incentives agreement for the project previously codenamed “Project Magellan.” County documents showed the project will create at least 350 jobs and will be located on a 460-acre site on the eastern side of Highway 101 between Brockman Road and Highway 417.