Upstate Headlines: Website places Greenville’s downtown in top 10 list

Upstate Headlines: Website places Greenville’s downtown in top 10 list

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A collection of the top Upstate headlines for the week of March 7, 2016

Website places Greenville’s downtown in top 10 list
Downtown Greenville ranks third in the 2016 top 10 best downtowns list by Livability.com. The online community research firm said, “It’s downtown Greenville’s unique appeal and projected growth that put it once again on our list of the top 10 downtowns.” Livability.com cites the focus of city leaders on “not just renewing Greenville’s downtown, but making it a destination that appeals to the best and brightest.”

635930392278031753-Sidewall-opening1Greenville Sidewall Pizza location should open within the month
If all things continue as planned, the second location of Sidewall Pizza Co. is set to open at the end of March, according to the restaurant’s owners. What is being referred to as the “downtown” location of Sidewall, in the former Savory Corner spot at 99 Cleveland St., should be open by the end of this month.

JoeErwin_1-635x325Ad guru Joe Erwin makes a space for creatives with Endeavor
The vacated CertusBank space has once again led to new business opportunities, freeing up 20,000 square feet downtown for what will be the largest co-working space in Greenville, Endeavor. Three months after ending his 29-year career at Erwin Penland, Joe Erwin plans to cut through the already-crowded co-working market by focusing on the creative services industry.

Northside_hero-635x325Radical revitalization
Five years ago, in the depths of the recession, Spartanburg leaders began raising funds for a radical revitalization plan. So began the Northside Initiative, an ambitious vision to transform a 400-acre crime-ridden food desert into a vibrant, sustainable, opportunity-rich swath of Spartanburg.

635780119896923139-GSP-CON-MM-002GSP construction project nears finish
The first phases of the Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport’s four-year, $125 million construction project will be complete in the coming week, spokesperson Rosylin Weston said. New ticket counters for Delta, Southwest and Allegiant airlines will be operational on March 9, and those for American and United will follow in April. A consolidated TSA checkpoint will open in the late spring, and the airport’s new “great hall” will be the last to open to the public, in the late summer or early fall, Weston said.

635926293025562363-IMG-2388NEXT Manufacturing Center opens in West Greenville
The 32,000 square foot industrial building on Birnie Street Extension could have been anything from a self-storage facility to a beer garden. Instead, NEXT and Braasch Building Group turned it into a collaborative co-working space for companies with manufacturing needs, the first of its kind in Greenville. “We figured if we all had to work together on a project, it might as well be something helpful to the community,” said Russ Braasch, of the Braasch Building Group. The NEXT Manufacturing Center is the economic development group’s third location, following the NEXT Innovation Center on University Ridge and NEXT on Main in the Bank of America building. All three offer office and workspace rentals for startups and small businesses that need space to operate and grow.