20 Apr Upstate Headlines: ‘Little by little’ a vision develops for a Mauldin downtown
A collection of the top Upstate headlines for the week of April 18, 2016
‘Little by little’ a vision develops for a Mauldin downtown
After playing a major role in the revitalization of Fountain Inn’s downtown, Van Broad is in the early stages of trying to help develop a downtown in Mauldin. Broad became Mauldin’s first community development director in November after serving as Fountain Inn’s economic development director for nine years. When he started in Fountain Inn, more than half of the downtown buildings were empty. When he left, nearly every downtown space was filled with a restaurant, shop or other business.
Tucanos brings Brazilian tastes to Woodruff Road
The imported Brazilian rotisserie grills are getting fired up, the bar is stocked and the huge, three-sided salad bar is getting the final touches as Tucanos Brazilian Grill, a churrasco-style eatery, gets ready to open its first South Carolina location. Tucanos is located at Magnolia Park on Woodruff Road in Greenville, in front of the Regal Cinemas, and is currently training staff for its official opening day on April 28. This is the restaurant chain’s 10th location.
Proposed GSP pod car system would be a first
Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport is soliciting bids for a pod car transit system that would be the first of its kind at a U.S. airport and the sixth such system in the world, according to experts. The proposed Personal Rapid Transit (PRT) system – if it gets built – would carry passengers between GSP’s economy parking lot and the airport terminal building. Passengers would ride in driverless, computer-controlled pod cars along a dedicated guideway that would be nearly 14-feet high in places.
Pizza place to take over former Park Avenue Pub
The longtime location of the Park Avenue Pub has been closed for months, but this summer it will transform into an entirely new food establishment and hangout — Stone Pizza Company. The restaurant will focus on a wood-fired approach to pizza that will “win over casual diners and foodies alike,” said owner Rob Young, who in March bought the pub property and has invested in the restaurant with partners Carlos Tuazon, Dave Julius, and Wayne Gathings.
Council exploring development options at County Square
Sitting on more than 28 acres of some of downtown Greenville’s most in-demand real estate is a drab government office building. Greenville County Council could change that. A newly-assembled committee is examining the future of County Square, the county government’s headquarters on University Ridge that’s less than a mile from Fluor FIeld and Falls Park, and less than two miles from the heart of Greenville’s downtown. One of the county’s options would be to “go vertical” — redevelop the stout, labyrinthine County Square into a tower, said Councilman Jim Burns, chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee on County Square Development. Going vertical would use less of the property’s 28.72 acres, freeing them up for sale by the county.
