APRIL 25, 2014
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In Greenville, the downtown convention center conversation continues F O C U S
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UBJ MANUFACTURING
Greer-Built X3, X5 Push BMW to Record March JOE TOPPE | STAFF
jtoppe@communityjournals.com For the first time in a single month, the BMW Group is reporting global sales in excess of 200,000 vehicles with the Greer-built X3 and X5 models playing a large role. By selling 212,908 BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles in March, the company experienced an 11.3 percent increase on the previous all-time monthly high of 191,269 sold. In addition to the new highs set in March, the month’s sales contributed to the automaker’s record-breaking start to the first quarter of 2014 with over 480,000 vehicles delivered during the first three months of the year. March has rounded off a strong first quarter in 2014, said Ian Robertson, member of the board of management of BMW. Despite continuing economic uncertainties, the BMW Group is experiencing steady improvement, he said. “I’m sure the brand-new BMW X4, which celebrated start-of-production in the Spartanburg plant at the end of March, will contribute to boosting growth still further when it comes onto the market in July.” Sales of the X3 increased by 10.8 percent during the first quarter of the year with 3,926 more vehicles sold than during the first three months of 2013. The X5 model experienced an even larger boost of 13.8 percent the first three months of 2014 with 31,025 vehicles sold compared to 27,274 sold during the same time last year. “We are thrilled with the worldwide success of BMW Group sales,” said Sky Foster, department manager of corporate communications at BMW Manufacturing in Spartanburg County. “Of interest to South Carolina is the continued demand of the X3, X5 and X6 models around the globe, and we hope this trend continues as we integrate the X4 into
the plant’s model strategy.” During the first quarter of 2014, the BMW Group saw market gains in three of its chief sales regions. Sales of BMW and MINI vehicles rose 21.8 percent in Asia, 3.3 percent in Europe, and 3.4 percent in the Americas with the United States seeing a 2.6 percent increase. Sales of BMW brand vehicles also rose worldwide in March with more than 25,000 additional vehicles sold than in the same month last year, making it the brand’s most successful month ever. At an increase of 12.3 percent, BMW brand sales for the first three months of 2014 reached 428,259 compared to 381,406 in 2013. ➤ GO
FIGURE
212,908
BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles sold in March
191,269
previous all-time monthly high sales for BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce vehicles
11.3 percent
increase on the previous all-time monthly high sales
480,000
vehicles delivered during the first three months of the year, BMW Group’s record-breaking start to the first quarter of 2014
April 25, 2014
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 3
Volume 3, Issue 17
April 25, 2014
MONEY SHOT: HArriet, GE’s 866,000-pound 9HA gas turbine (H for high efficiency, A for air-cooled), has completed her epic 6,000-mile journey. The task of transporting it was three years in the making, involving travel on specially equipped truck transport units, sea, river and rail from GE’s manufacturing facility in Belfort, France to Greenville. At GE’s facility, HArriet will undergo operational testing and evaluation at GE’s full-speed, full-load, non-grid connected test center.
TBA
WORTH REPEATING “Our goal over the next several years is to find a way to relocate our conference center to downtown. We are very fortunate that we have several locations that are possible downtown.” Greenville Mayor Knox White
“Greenville County is at a crossroads – we have for far too long ignored our infrastructure needs and are at the point where something must be done.”
“I felt guilty about spending time on [Android]. That was stupid. That was the future. That was a good thing to be working on.”
Bob Knight, chairman of the Greenville Chamber’s Transportation and Infrastructure committee, on the Chamber’s vote to support a road referendum.
Google CEO Larry Page, on the company’s 2005 purchase of the Android operating system for smartphones.
4 UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL
April 25, 2014
Word is an Upstate pet products manufacturer will be expanding into a new facility in Greenville County, adding 35 new jobs and more than doubling its physical space. The intent is to grow domestic markets as well as exports to Europe… Look for Augusta Walk, a new 25-home subdivision, to break ground soon on the former YWCA property at 700 Augusta St…
VERBATIM
On Educational Landmarks… “Furman University features a campus filled with Georgian-style architecture and the most iconic university Bell Tower in the world.” Insignia Lifestyle Boutique, naming Furman one of its “Top 10 University College Campuses.” Other honorees included the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge in England, the University of Notre Dame, Princeton University and Stanford University. Find the list online at bit.ly/insignia-colleges.
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UBJ EMPLOYMENT
Unemployment Rate Drops to 5.5% DEW report shows eighth consecutive monthly increase in employed JOE TOPPE | STAFF
jtoppe@communityjournals.com The South Carolina Department of Employment and Workforce is reporting a seasonally adjusted unemployment rate of 5.5 percent for March, an improvement on February’s 5.7 percent and the lowest recorded for the month since 2008. While the national unemployment rate remained at 6.7 percent in March, the Palmetto State saw the estimated number of employed persons rise to 2,046,002 from February to March, marking the eighth consecutive monthly increase and a historic high in statewide employment. More than 32,000 South Carolin➤ GO
FIGURE
2,046,002
the estimated number of employed persons in S.C.
8,700
job increase for Greenville MSA from March 2013 to March 2014
“Purveyors of Classic American Style” 23 West North St. | Downtown Greenville 864.232.2761 | rushwilson.com
3,300
job increase for Anderson MSA from March 2013 to March 2014
3,000
job increase for Spartanburg MSA from March 2013 to March 2014
23,982
the number of people no longer with the labor force over the last year
57.9 percent current labor force participation rate in S.C.
6 UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL
April 25, 2014
ians have become employed since March 2013, according to the report. Gov. Nikki Haley said the fivepoint drop in unemployment since January shows a consistent move in the right direction and can be attributed to the work ethic of South Carolinians. Total nonfarm employment rose by more than 10,000 seasonally adjusted jobs from February to March and more than 37,000 from the same time last year. The professional business and services sector experienced an increase of 3,900 seasonally adjusted jobs since February and 8,700 since March 2013. Seasonally adjusted jobs in construction rose by 2,500 from February to March and 4,500 since the same time last year, while education and health services gained 1,900 seasonally adjusted jobs since February and 5,500 since March 2013. Both the Greenville MSA and Anderson MSA saw growth in their seasonally adjusted jobs from February to March through a combined increase of 3,300, while Spartanburg MSA experienced a slight drop with 200 fewer seasonally adjusted jobs. All three Upstate metropolitan statistical areas witnessed improvement in seasonally adjusted jobs from March 2013 to March 2014 with the Greenville MSA seeing an increase of 8,700 jobs, Anderson MSA seeing an increase of 3,300 jobs, and Spartanburg MSA seeing an increase of 3,000 jobs. While the state has seen continued growth in employment, the labor force has lost 23,982 people over the last year. Since March 2013, jobs in >>
UBJ EMPLOYMENT >>
government have decreased by 1,000, jobs in financial activities by 500, and jobs in information by 200. Seasonally adjusted jobs in government also showed an annual decrease in February with a loss of 900 positions when compared to the same month last year. Using data from the U.S. Department of Labor, economist Robert Martin said the dip in South Carolina’s unemployment rate could be partially attributed to the state’s decreasing labor force participation. When people drop out of the labor force, the unemployment rate will go down, he said. Currently, South Carolina has a labor force participation rate of 57.9 percent, nearly a full percentage point lower than the same time last year. Of the state’s 46 counties, 21 saw their unemployment rates go up with data not seasonally adjusted includ-
NONFARM EMPLOYMENT BY INDUSTRY, SEASONALLY ADJUSTED STATEWIDE – MARCH 2014
FEBRUARY MARCH 2014 2013
FEB. 2014 TO MAR. 2014
MAR. 2013 TO MAR. 2014
INDUSTRY
MARCH 2014
# % # % CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE CHANGE
Total Nonfarm Employment
1,922,600 1,912,400 1,885,000
10,200 0.53% 37,600 1.96%
Construction
83,500
81,000
79,000
2,500 2.99% 4,500 5.39%
Manufacturing
228,700
228,200
223,300
500 0.22% 5,400 2.36%
Trade, Transportation, and Utilities
364,400
364,300
358,500
100
Information
26,200
26,200
26,400
Financial Activities
94,700
0
0.03%
5,900
1.62%
0.00%
-200 -0.76%
94,800
95,200
-100
-0.11%
-500
-0.53%
Professional and Business Services 247,100
243,200
238,400
3,900
1.58%
8,700
3.52%
Education and Health Services
222,600
220,700
217,100
1,900
0.85%
5,500
2.47%
Leisure and Hospitality
228,600
227,800
219,400
800
0.35%
9,200
4.02%
Other Services
70,700
70,300
70,500
400
0.57%
200
0.28%
Government
352,400
352,200
353,400
200
0.06%
ing such Upstate counties as Greenville, Spartanburg, Anderson, Pickens, Laurens, Cherokee and
Abbeville counties. The Greenville, Charleston, Columbia and Florence MSAs also experi-
April 25, 2014
-1,000 -0.28%
enced an increase in their unemployment rates through data not seasonally adjusted.
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 7
The Greenville Chamber Congratulates our April 2014 Small Business of the Month!
UBJ INNOVATE
Lessons From Larry and Sergey As Google’s founders learned, the best way to predict the future is to create it
“The Greenville Chamber’s networking and business building has provided a wealth of resources that have proven to be a value added benefit to our company.” -David C. Mitchell, Talent Management Solutions
Small Business of the Month Award Presentation to Talent Management Solutions: Chamber President/CEO Ben Haskew, Chamber Board Chair Tim Reed, Award Committee Representative Debbie Nelson/DNA Creative Communications, Talent Management Solutions founder David C. Mitchell, and Ken Pelanda, Charter Business/Award Sponsor.
April 2014 Small Business of the Month Award Presentation, left to right: Chamber President/CEO Ben Haskew, Chamber Board Chair Tim Reed, Award Committee Representative Debbie Nelson/DNA Creative Communications, Talent Management Solutions founder David Mitchell, and Ken Pelanda, Charter Business/Award Sponsor.
Talent Management Solutions serves clients with a comprehensive array of staffing, recruiting and consulting solutions in the areas of management, engineering, sales and marketing, finance, accounting, and information technology services. Their diverse approach beyond providing human capital allows them to enjoy a leading role in the consulting, permanent and temporary placement industry. Talent Management Solutions is committed to providing each client with the services they need catered to the specific needs of their organization. Learn more at tmsco.net. Impressed by a local small business lately? Nominate them for the Greenville Chamber’s Small Business of the Month Award at www.GreenvilleChamber.org.
8 UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL
April 25, 2014
In 1995, Sergey Brin was assigned to show a new student, Larry Page, around Stanford. They soon started developing BackRub, a new way to search for content on the rapidly growing Internet. Two years later, they received their first angel investment of $100,000 for a company that didn’t yet exist. In 1998 PC Magazine named the newly christened Google the search engine of choice. Feeling like the company was distracting from their academic pursuits, in early 1999 Sergey and Larry tried to sell Google for $1 million to an established Web company. Rebuffed, they plugged along and later that year received a $25 million investment valuing Google at $100 million from two blue-chip Silicon Valley venture capital firms. If Google was only a search engine, you might never have heard of them. Sergey and Larry were opposed to selling advertising on their site like most other Web companies did. Bleeding cash, their investors were growing restless. Then Sergey and Larry found GoTo.com, which had an inferior search engine but a superior way of generating revenue. GoTo. com’s key insight was that when you enter a keyword into a search bar, you are disclosing what you are interested in at that point in time that allows the search engine to serve up a highly relevant ad. Google launched AdWords in 2000 and refined it in a couple of years into AdSense. GoTo. com was bought by Yahoo, which sued Google, which settled by giving Yahoo a chunk of stock. Google’s value exploded through the combination of a superior technology and a powerful business model. Google went public in 2004
with a valuation of $27 billion and today is valued at $365 billion, making Sergey and Larry two of the world’s richest people. The past always seems obvious. Observing the distinctive role startups play in our economy, Stanford professor Steve Blank defines a startup as “a temporary organization to discover an unmet customer need and then to develop a highly scalable business model around it.” Harvard professor Clayton Christensen notes that because early insights are personal, informal and not fully formed, “it is simply impossible to predict with any useful degree of precision how disruptive products will be used or how large their markets will be. Guessing the right strategy at the onset isn’t nearly as important to success as conserving enough resources to get a second or third stab at getting it right.” Every large successful company has matured through a highly evolving startup phase to become a mature, operationally excellent organization. While the entrepreneur excelled at dealing with ambiguity and iterating to a successful business, later management excels at data-driven disciplines that reduce variability and produce predictable results. Except Larry didn’t settle in. Though Google owned Internet search on most desktops, Larry kept fritzing around with new, out-of-thebox ideas. In 2005 Google bought a mobile phone software startup, Android. Larry said, “I felt guilty about working on Android when it was a little startup we bought. It wasn’t really what we were working on. I felt guilty about spending time on that. That was stupid. That >>
UBJ INNOVATE >> was the future. That was a good thing to be working on.” If the Google CEO was tense that working on the future feels like robbing from the present, people throughout large organizations feel the tension even more acutely. Roger Milliken’s admonition is that all successful organizations must excel at both execution and innovation. “Operational excellence secures the present,” he said. “Innovation excellence secures the future.” In 2007 Steve Jobs launched the iPhone and ignited the smartphone market. Had Google not been working on Android they would have missed the massive shift from the desktop to mobile devices. But Larry was prepared, and today over half the world’s smartphones run the Android operating system. The past always seems obvious.
By JOHN WARNER
“If history is any guide, the successful innovations will emerge from companies who carve disruptive footholds by targeting non-consumers and moving upmarket with better products only after they have started simple and small.” Clayton Christensen
“I look at lots of companies and why they don’t succeed over time,” Larry said. “What do they fundamentally do wrong? Usually they miss the future.” For Google to avoid that fate, Larry focuses on what the future is going to be and how to drive that at a really high rate. What harebrained idea is Larry working on now? Drones. What do drones have to do with Google? Google attracts massive audiences as
the master of search and advertising on the desktop and the leader in software running on mobile devices. So what’s the problem? In February 2014, with 84 percent of all 222 million unique Web visitors, Google is running out of Internet. Drones can provide Internet access to the two-thirds of the world’s population, roughly 4.6 billion people, who haven’t been on the Internet. Drones are a strategic bet that likely will take
years to pay off, if at all. Christensen notes, “If history is any guide, the successful innovations will emerge from companies who carve disruptive footholds by targeting non-consumers and moving up-market with better products only after they have started simple and small.” Startups are the juggernauts that discover new markets that drive growth and wealth creation in our economy. It’s in our interest to nurture the ecosystem that allows startups to thrive. While the past always seems obvious, the best way to predict the future is to create it. John Warner is CEO of InnoVenture.com, a global Web platform creating an ecosystem of major companies, universities, investors and service providers that allows startups to thrive.
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naiearlefurman.com April 25, 2014
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 9
UBJ DIGITAL MAVEN
By LAURA HAIGHT
After Heartbleed: Can This Relationship Be Saved? All relationships are built on trust. Just as in our personal lives, trust is a major element in our digital lives. Networks – from Internet backbones to your home entertainment system – are built on “trust.” Based on input from us, they identify devices and other networks as “trusted” and allow them access. Applications and systems are always asking us to trust them and most often, without giving it too much thought, we say “sure!” Now we are several weeks past the general public becoming aware of the Heartbleed bug, and it might be time to ask ourselves what is next. Can this relationship we have with technology be saved? As is the case with any damaged partnership, the answer is yes, but
don’t kid yourself: It will never be the same. Heartbleed is a vulnerability in the very security code Web developers and system designers used to protect us. Some 66 percent of all websites use the targeted Open SSL, making a staggering number of potential exploits. The problems go beyond websites into the nerves and bones that make up our digital lives. Some of the biggest network hardware companies in the world – Cisco, Juniper, Citrix and VMware, to name a few – have vulnerable hardware and software. If you are a business with an internal network, local servers, cloud servers, virtual private networks, mobile users or employees, you should be looking at an evaluation
Our relationship with technology is battered and bruised. Our trust, if not broken, is being severely tested.
(goo.gl/1nQgjK). Every business or nonprofit regardless of size needs know its hardware and software assets, what version you are on, what your support or maintenance agreement covers, and how each element interacts with other elements. Your IT department should have this. Armed with that report you can complete these next steps:
and remediation plan. For example, VMware, the server virtualization company, released its very first patch for vulnerable systems on April 14. The company notes that some servers will have to be upgraded to install the patch on both the server and client side, but the clients (for everything from Windows to mobile devices) are not ready yet.
• Ask your IT staff or outsourced service for a report on the status of all your hardware and software components and services. • Working together, develop a remediation plan – this will be a work in progress as some services (like VMware) don’t have all their patches together yet. Don’t wait for
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10 UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL
April 25, 2014
Reporting | Analysis | Forecasting
>>
UBJ DIGITAL MAVEN >>
everything to be in place before you get started, but also don’t just power through and make changes. If the target server or service hasn’t been patched, you will only have to do it again. • If your IT staff or service cannot provide a status report because elements of your network, software or cloud assets are not all identified, then start with updating that analysis. That should also be a work in progress and should be repeated every time new software, services or hardware are added to the system. I know, that sounds like a lot of work on your part. And it is. In most good operational models there are checks and balances. But technology seems so complicated that we often cede control completely to someone else because we don’t even know the right questions to ask. When we get a response like “Don’t worry, it’s all taken care of,” we breathe a big sigh of relief and cross it off the to-do list. Don’t. What’s next after Heartbleed? Our relationship with technology is battered and bruised. Our trust, if not broken, is being severely tested. It is past time that we accepted responsibility for the engine that drives so much of our business and personal lives. Hope is not a strategy, and trust is not a control. Laura Haight is the president of Portfolio (portfoliosc.com), which works with small businesses to incorporate emerging media and technology into business communications, operations and training.
THE PERSONAL SIDE OF HEARTBLEED Here’s a list of some things everyone should be doing to ensure personal digital security. • You need to know all your websites where you have logins. Believe me, it’s more than you think. I learned that when I changed the passwords on 133 of them. • Use a checker like the one at lastpass. com/heartbleed where you can enter a URL and find out if the site is OK, vulnerable and updated, or still vulnerable. You can change passwords on the updated sites and keep checking back for the still-vulnerable sites. • When you change these passwords, you need to make each one unique. I KNOW, I did this with 133 sites and, in all honesty, it is a giant pain. That doesn’t mean it’s not necessary. Here’s a cautionary tale of one reason why this matters: goo.gl/mHarNC
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• It’s time to get a password manager. A lot of people will disagree with this, but it is impossible to make scores of strong unique passwords that you will definitely remember. Last Pass, 1 Password and RoboForm are all strong contenders. I use Last Pass, which I think has been the most proactive during the current outbreak. It provides a security tool that checks all your websites at once and provides a status for Heartbleed. • Make sure you make your password TO the password manager really strong and that you don’t use it for anything else. Do not store it in your computer or mobile device so you don’t have to remember it. Even if you have to write it down and stick it in your wallet – what are the odds someone will have your wallet, your computer and your smartphone?
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• Don’t think that you aren’t vulnerable because you do everything in apps on your phone or tablet. Those apps are accessing Internet services and it is those services that may be vulnerable. Here’s a list of some: goo.gl/nFhNSC. Good news for Apple users: iOS and OSX never “incorporated the vulnerable components” and the in-app payment system keeps you on Apple’s secure servers, rather than sending you to an external system to make purchases.
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April 25, 2014
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 11
UBJ MANUFACTURING
Scio Diamond Doubles Production Amid Shareholder Troubles JENNIFER OLADIPO SENIOR BUSINESS WRITER
joladipo@communityjournals.com Scio Diamond Technology Corp. says new technology will allow the Greenville-based company to double its production of synthetic diamonds, a major advancement for a young company yet to make a profit. Yet the news comes in the midst of an ongoing battle between the company’s board and a group of investors calling for its replacement. Led by a former board member, the group claims the board has manipulated policies for its own gain. The company announced last week that its new 4-inch Diamond Growth Technology will increase production across product lines. It is used to produce Type IIa, Single Crystal CVD Diamonds, the rarest kind of diamond that occurs in nature. Scio Diamond is now running six months ahead of schedule. CEO Michael McMahon would not provide projections on how much revenue could be expected as a result of increased production, but said the development was an obvious move toward profitability. “Management is taking every opportunity to increase
capacity to adapt to our growing customer demand.” He had said in a previous statement that since the company started operations in July 2012 using its 3-inch technology, “we have known that we would have to continue to improve our production capability and yield to be competitive.” However, by the end of the week, a small group of investors calling themselves Save Scio filed a letter with the SEC accusing the company’s board of “trying to rob stockholders of their ability to elect the management of their corporation by written consent – all the while knowing Scio has not held an annual meeting to elect directors in the last several years.” The group had filed a lawsuit seeking damages from the directors, but a judge dismissed that in December. The letter was penned by Bernard McPheely, who had himself resigned from the board in May 2013. It represents the group’s efforts to publicize through SEC filings a dispute that has been ongoing at since at least early 2012. Addressed to the company’s three board members, the letter reiterated arguments in a scuffle that became public last month as the group filed suit against the company. In it,
McPheely alleges that the board has failed to call a stockholder meeting for the past several years and amended its bylaws to avoid elections. McMahon said he would not comment on any ongoing litigation or disputes, but on Tuesday Scio Diamond issued a press release saying Save Scio’s requests to oust the board were not permitted under the company’s bylaws and would have no effect. “As a result, the Company requests that stockholders not participate in the solicitation efforts by the group. This small group is principally made up of people who have sued the Company and its Board of Directors earlier and those matters were dismissed,” the statement said. “Please note, these activities have had no impact on the day-to-day operations or business,” McMahon told UBJ. “We are advancing our technology for the mass production of diamonds, while we convince investors of the huge potential of our awesome technology.” Yet Tuesday’s press release closed with a statement from McMahon that “the proposals and maneuvers like this one by anyone cause the Company to incur additional unnecessary costs that we just cannot afford, and are detrimental to all of our shareholders.”
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The statement contained only a brief response by Chairman Edward Adams, whom McPheely had directly accused of using the company as a “personal piggy bank” and funneling money to his own law firm. On behalf of the board, he said, Save Scio’s “attack on the Company’s performance ignores the strong progress that we have made in the face of challenges inherent in this emerging industry.”
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Tear Down Those Walls
Modern office design emphasizes communication and efficiency JOE TOPPE | STAFF
jtoppe@communityjournals.com The traditional use of office space could be coming to an end as progressive companies open up their layouts to meet business communication demands and the needs of their employees. At one time, companies would construct their offices to suit their hierarchy, said Alita Webster, director of sales at Young Office. The presidents and CEOs would hold the larger offices while middle management occupied the smaller workplaces, she said. During the 1960s, an open office format began to appear to maximize office communication and real estate utilization. Webster said the use of office space is based on the communication needs of a company. “We now look at how companies share information and how people work,” she said. “At one time, it was very cookie-cutter and people did the same things in the same places.” Trends in modern office design are intended
“We now look at how companies share information and how people work. At one time, it was very cookie-cutter and people did the same things in the same places.” Alita Websster, director of sales, Young Office
SVP & Russillo 1-4 P
to improve efficiency while maximizing the combined efforts of a company’s staff. With people being closer together and easier to access, the new office provides a more productive method of sharing information, Webster said. Listening to others can open the door to additional conversation and allow the collective whole to become the solution to a problem. “We have multiple generations in the office now, so being able to share knowledge in a variety of settings is possible in an opened office space,” she said. In addition to improving staff-wide communication, the modern office includes aspects of well-being. At the end of the day, companies want their employees to leave healthier than when they came in that morning, Webster said. Desks are adjustable so people have the option to sit or stand, she said. Adjustable stools that force the body to sit straight with adequate core support are also available. Webster said the modern office reduces the number of walls by utilizing storage utilities such as filing cabinets and bookshelves to divide space. Conference rooms can be informal with lowered desks and relaxed chairs, she said. Break rooms, once cut off from the rest of the office, are now integrated into the new layout to encourage interaction. The modern workplace also incorporates embedded technology to improve the pace of communication. The rigid cookie-cutter layouts are being replaced with a new design created to improve the efficiency of a company’s workforce, and the open formats and embedded technology are aspects of this change, Webster said. In order to maximize the efficiency throughout an organization, it is important to identify
In the last half of the 20th century, an open office format began to appear to maximize office communication and real estate utilization.
The 21st-century office provides a more productive way of sharing information.
the business goals and objectives of a company, she said. By offering a larger palette of settings for people to meet and opening the format, a company can achieve high results. Webster said the trends in office space have become evident in the Upstate over the last decade. “People are now beginning to look at how they organize their space to better suit their business demands,” she said. “There are still companies and industries leaning on the traditional format, but we are seeing more companies evaluate their environment to improve their productivity.”
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Imagining Best Use for Washington and Laurens Clemson MRED students make proposals for revitalizing the area around Spinx Plaza SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com On the edge of Greenville’s central business district – at the crossroads of Laurens Road and Washington Street – lie about 26 acres that are ripe for redevelopment. Vacant land and distressed buildings dot the corners alongside the Spinx Plaza, which serves as the corporation’s current headquarters. At the request of the Spinx Corporation and Central Realty, this year’s second-year graduate students of Clemson’s Master of Real Estate Development (MRED) program this year tackled the assignment of determining the highest and best use for this area. The fact that the properties have several owners made the effort a little more challenging than past assignments. Current property owners of the mishmash of acreage include Enigma Corporation, Spinx Corporations’ real estate division; Lullwater Syndicate Company, a subsidiary of Central Realty; and the Reeves Partnership, which owns about five of the acres. Students consulted with all property owners. The 10-year-old MRED program is a two-year, full-time graduate program that offers a joint degree between an architectural and business college with a project-based curriculum that graduates can apply in the working world. The program accepts 15-20 new students each year and required classes include finance, law, construction science and management, architecture, city and regional planning and real estate development. Each second-year class is broken up THE JURY MEMBERS FOR THE PRACTICUM WERE ALL MRED ALUMNI: Ronn Stewart Richard Cox Ben Liebetrau Jessica Martin Derek Lisle Carleton Nelson Justin Hirsch
into four teams and is given a practicum project that focuses on the “highest and best use” of a property or area, showing how to arrive at a property’s highest value. The student teams chose company names and were then required to do market and financial analysis, a site plan, history, site analysis and proposal, case studies of like projects, a project timeline, master development plan, housing profiles and land use plans. The students were given the assignment in September and they were due in April when presentations were made in front of a jury comprised of local leaders, developers and architects. All four MRED teams this year came back with mixed-use scenarios blending residential, retail and office space at the Laurens and Washington properties. Recommendations included making the current Spinx convenience store located on the corner of Laurens and Washington a “flagship store” for the company. Residential options included townhomes, apartments and sin-
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April 25, 2014
CLEMSON MRED TEAMS: CROSSROADS BY STONE DEVELOPMENT: Jeremy Bunner, Lance Byars, Gus Postal, Rhett Spencer THE CROSSROADS (LAURENS): Seth Peterson, Steve Caprio, Robbie Shortt, JR Caldwell EAST JUNCTION (PETTIGRU): Matt Alexander, Andrew Bristow, Anthony Rowland, Tori Wallace TEAM WASHINGTON: Joshua Legarretta, Semmes Gilmore, Shiree Reynolds, Daniel Spivey
gle-family homes. Fun features such as a new Starbucks and a boutique bowling alley were included in the master plans. New streetscaping, urban parks and connections to the Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail were also built in to the presentations.
The winning presentation, Crossroads by the Stone Development team, included 72,000 square feet of office space, 53,300 square feet of retail, 166,600 square feet of restaurant space and 12,600 square feet of entertainment. The Crossroads plan called for a new 20,000-square-foot Spinx headquarters space and a YMCA and keeping the current Spinx convenience store located on the northwest corner of Laurens and Washington, with room to expand. An entertainment venue called The Feed would repurpose the former feed store across Laurens Road into a 1,200-person-capacity music venue with restaurant space. A connector to the Swamp Rabbit Trail would allow residents from proposed apartments easy access to Cleveland Park and downtown. “There are elements in each presentation that we have found to be extremely valuable,” said Stewart Spinks, founder of Spinx Corporation and chairman of the board. “Now we are tasked to go out and do something with it.”
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UBJ CONNECTIONS
CREW Is Not for Women Only
Networking group is open to female and male commercial real estate pros JENNIFER OLADIPO SENIOR BUSINESS WRITER
crowd at the monthly luncheon. The group now has 110 members, 20 of whom have joined since January. Harjehausen said it’s the intentionality that draws people. “The main thing is it’s about business. It’s about getting deals done.”
joladipo@communityjournals.com CREW is all about commercial real estate and everything in its orbit. The name stands for Commercial Real Estate Women, but it’s open to men, lawyers, bankers, janitorial professionals and a host of other fields. The group’s makeup is due in part to the reality that there are very few women directly involved in commerCREW March lunch
THE GROUP: Women in commercial real estate and related businesses. Open to men. THE GOAL: Business leads first and foremost THE SCHEDULE: Multiple meetings from luncheons to small groups THE FORMAT: Formal luncheon, coffee conversation, laid-back happy hour THE VENUE: varies THE VIBE: Friendly and supportive but all about business THE LOOK: Business casual or come as you are THE NEXT MEETING: CREW Luncheon, 11:30 a.m. Thursday, May 1 THE CONNECTION: Crewupstate.org
cial real estate development. “It’s the most overtly networking group I’ve been to,” said Jackie Baxley, environmental engineer and project manager with HRP Associates. They gather at monthly luncheons, and also smaller coffee and happy hour meetups. Last week the group chose a slightly different format of happy hour: a book discussion on local author Deb Sofield’s book, “Speak Without Fear.” A small group gathered at the home of Courtney Warren, property and casualty insurance consultant with Rosenfeld Einstein. In finding practical applications for the book’s lessons, corporate art consultant Rhonda Douglas said sales calls presented some of their biggest challenges, launching a discussion about how others in the group – which includes many entrepreneurs – handled them. That conversation led to entrepreneurs’ unique needs, and got specific when commercial real estate appraiser Christina Harjehausen said she needed to hire somebody soon. Then the group spent a few minutes discussing her ideal candidate and where she might find that person. Members of the fast-growing group say these smaller meetings are a
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chance to connect with people they might not normally pick out of the
Connections is a chance to get an inside look at how the business community comes together after hours. Want UBJ to connect with your group? Email joladipo@ communityjournals.com.
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UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 15
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CRE Market ‘Picking Up Good Vibrations’ Q1 reports show strong retail, industrial and office numbers SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com Commercial real estate in 2014 has gotten off to a good start, according to first quarter market reports. Lee and Associates said the market overall is “picking up good vibrations.” Reports from NAI Earle Furman tout the retail market as “a very exciting one for the Upstate,” and the Colliers report points to rising rental rates and limited availability in Class A office space. Cushman and Wakefield Thalhimer said that several large announcements in the first quarter 2014 will have a “long-lasting positive effect on employment and the industrial sector.”
Earle Furman, said “there have been numerous new restaurants added, and we are seeing a lot of buzz as Magnolia Park continues to take shape. The most anticipated store opening the Upstate has probably ever seen occurred with the brandnew Cabela’s, which is the main anchor to the park. Such a prominent retailer will have a very positive impact on the Upstate retail market moving forward.” Van Gieson also said that there has been “some major growth” in the downtown retail market and that the “vacancy rates for Main Street space are at an all-time low.” There is a lot of enthusiasm surrounding all of the new residential projects coming to the downtown area which will surely continue to drive the demand for more retail, he said.
RETAIL In the retail market, vacancies and net absorption decreased while construction and asking rents increased – all good signs, according to NAI Earle Furman’s report. Overall vacancy is at 6.8 percent and the average asking rental rate is $9.24 per square foot per year. Lee and Associates reported a positive net absorption rate of 118,250 square feet for the first quarter. This marks the fourth consecutive quarter that the retail market has had substantial positive absorption rates, said the report. Jake Van Gieson, retail division broker at NAI
GREENVILLE OFFICE MARKET Q1-2014 SUMMARY OF STATISTICS Total Market Vacancy Rate: 18.90% CBD: 17.87% Suburban: 19.60% Average Asking Rate Per Square Foot: Class A: $19.86 Class B: $16.13 Class C: $14.51 Overall Rental Rate: $17.81 CBD Class A: $20.88 Suburban Class A: $19.09 Absorption: (45,123) SF From the Collier’s Q1 2014 Office Market Report
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INDUSTRIAL The Greenville/Spartanburg industrial market was stable through the first quarter of 2014 with low leasing velocity and a vacancy rate of 8.85 percent, slightly higher than yearend 2013 when the vacancy rate was 8.6 percent, according to Colliers. Overall asking rental rates averaged a low $2.85 net-net-net (NNN) at the end of the fourth quarter, illustrating the class of product currently vacant in the market, the report stated. The most significant announcement was BMW Manufacturing’s plan to invest $1 billion and create 800 additional jobs to build a new X7 model at the company’s plant in Greer. The expansion is likely to have a positive spillover effect on the market, according to Colliers, as the production of 50 percent more vehicles will increase the company’s demand for supplies and labor. Automotive suppliers may choose to expand or relocate to the upstate allowing for lower delivery and transportation costs. There is more than 1 million square feet of speculative space currently under construction or that has been announced, according to a report from Cushman and Wakefield Thalhimer. The industrial market will continue to see significant construction over the next two years. Land sites with access to utilities and the interstate, that offer good topography and have minimal encumbrances, are becoming harder to find, according to the report. “Users will continue to flock to quality and prox-
April 25, 2014
Q1 2014 INDUSTRIAL SECTOR 4,019
Number of Buildings Market Size (SF)
179,106,770
Overall Vacant Space (SF)
14,707,812
Overall Vacancy (%)
8.2%
Direct Vacancy (SF)
14,061,812
Sublease Vacancy (SF) Net Absorption
646,000 (464,686)
Average Asking Rental Price ($/SF/Yr)
$2.89
From NAI Earle Furman’s Q1 2014 Industrial Market Report
imity to the interstate system, and the Inland Port will dictate where many of the users locate,” said the Cushman and Wakefield Thalhimer report. “We look for a significant number of deals to transact during Q2 and Q3 based on the volume of users in the market.” According to John Staunton, industrial division head and broker at NAI Earle Furman, the additional new product plus more future speculative buildings are critical to support the emerging demand in the Upstate industrial market. Some of the new construction projects already announced are 3288 N. Laurens Road at 300,000 square feet, Kimura at the Matrix at 264,000 square feet, FedEx Ground at 254,000 square feet, 280 Parkway East at 108,719 square feet, 25 Logue Court at 90,000 square feet and 130 Corporate Drive at 48,000 square feet.
OFFICE Only one delivery has been made in the office market so far this year, said Lee and Associates. 1005 Meehan Way, a 6,624-square-foot facility, was delivered in first quarter 2014 and is now 100 percent occupied. Projects such as 1558 E. Main St., a 7,925-square-foot project, and 200 Wakefield Street, a 1,929-square-foot project, are still underway, according to the company’s report. Despite decreased vacancy rates in recent quarters, the Greenville office market experienced a small setback resulting from an increase of 55 basis points from year-end 2013 to a >>
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total vacancy rate SIGNIFICANT MARKET HIGHLIGHTS From Cushman and Wakefield Thalhimer Q1 2014 Office Market Report of 18.9 percent at the CLASS end of the first Q1 2014 LEASE TRANSACTIONS SUBMARKET TENANT BUILDING SIZE quarter of 2014, according to Colliers. 1200 Brookfiled Parkway Woodruff/I-385 Esurance A 70,000 SF The increase is mostly 300 E McBee Greenville CBD Greenville Health System A 43,000 SF attributed to the sub15 South Main Street Greenville CBD Jackson Lewis A 12,000 SF urban submarkets, 55 E Camperdown Way Greenville CBD McAngus Goudelock A 12,000 SF but the Central Busi15 South Main Street Greenville CBD McCallum Sweeney A 5,000 SF ness District also had 15 South Main Street Greenville CBD Argent Trust A 5,000 SF a slight increase in 15 South Main Street Greenville CBD Thalhimer A 3,000 SF vacancy over the quarter. Average PURCHASE asking rental rates Q1 2014 SALE TRANSACTIONS SUBMARKET BUYER PRICE/$PSF SIZE were up to $17.81 per Highwoods Portfolio Pelham/I-385 Garrison $58 Million 690,000 SF square foot per year at the end of the first COMPLETION BUILDING quarter from $16.97 Q1 2014 CONSTRUCTION COMPLETIONS SUBMARKET MAJOR TENANT DATE SIZE per square foot per 2 West Washington Greenville CBD Leatherwood Q1 2014 40,000 SF year at the end of 2013, according to COMPLETION BUILDING Colliers. PROJECTS UNDER CONSTRUCTION SUBMARKET MAJOR TENANT DATE SIZE The Greenville/ South Ridge West End TBD Q3 2015 16,500SF Spartanburg office CU-ICAR Mauldin/Fountain Inn Clemson University 2016 75,000SF market continues to Aloft Development Greenville CBD TBD 2016 45,000SF see rising rent rates and limited availability in Class A space, said Cushman and Wakefield Thal- Parkway. The insurance company is himer. Both downtown and in the a new tenant in the GSP market, said suburbs, new owners are rehabbing the Cushman and Wakefield Thalolder office spaces, which are driving himer report. rent rates up. Large blocks of space becoming While absorption was negative for available at Patewood Office Park the quarter, there were a number of contributed to the negative absorplarge lease signings announced in tion, and the vacancy rate is anticiboth the Greenville CBD and the pated to further increase during the suburbs. Greenville Health System fourth quarter of 2014 when Fluor announced they will be expanding in moves out of Patewood 3, said the the CBD, taking over 43,000 square Colliers report. Although increased foot of space vacated by Smith Moore vacancy seems like a setback, given Leatherwood Law Firm at 2 W. the limited supply of high quality Washington St. office space through the market, the In the suburbs, Esurance an- additional class A space will likely nounced they will be taking 65,000 lease quickly and bring new business square feet at 1200 Brookfield to the region.
Q1 2014 SUMMARY REPORT VACANCY NET RENTAL MARKET RATE ABSORPTION RATES Industrial Flex Office Retail
È 8.4% È16.9% Ç 7.9% È 6.8%
Ç 153,242 SF Ç 43,556 SF È (245,992) SF Ç 118,250 SF
Ç $3.28/SF Ç $7.19/SF È$14.10/SF Ç $9.24/SF
From Lee and Associates Q1 2014 summary report
April 25, 2014
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 17
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UBJ INSIDE Inside Site Certification Companies like McCallum Sweeney and GADC help businesses decide where to build in the Upstate
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By Sherry Jackson | staff | sjackson@communityjournals.com
Time. Cost. Risk. Those three basics are crucial assessments in any business transaction, but for companies looking to relocate their headquarters or open a new manufacturing location, knowing those basics before buying a piece of property can be the difference between making money or losing everything. Enter the world of certified sites and certified site consultants. Even though there is no national standard, a certified site means, “the land is ready for industrial development,” says Lindsey Myers, a senior consultant with McCallum Sweeney Consulting, one of the largest firms that offers site certification in the country. Meyers says while her firm doesn’t use the familiar term “shovel-ready” because “you still have to get permits,” the designation does mean
that all of the due diligence has already been done. And the due diligence means a complete and thorough assessment of each piece of property so certified. The designation usually includes a “fiveinch thick binder” or CD-ROM offering utilities assessments, topographical surveys, environmental assessments, wetlands assessment, protected species assessments, deed and ownership verification, geotechnical investigations and much more, says Kevin Landmesser, interim president and CEO of the Greenville Area Development Corp., which offers site selection (helping firms seeking locations for new facilities or relocating operations) for companies looking at Greenville. GADC also solicits and obtains grants on behalf of The Matrix, a 1,100-acre master-planned business and technology park at U.S. Highway 25 and
I-185 in southern Greenville County. Myers previously worked for the South Carolina Department of Commerce, which she said used “more of a checklist” before McCallum Sweeney became involved. In 2010, McCallum Sweeney took over that work, “revamped the whole program, and now runs the program and certifies all sites for the state of South Carolina,” says Myers. Site certification is really for industrial properties, says Landmesser, although it could be applied to any large tract of land. Timber companies, rail and utility companies and economic development departments in cities and states throughout the country are large customers, Myers said. The cost ranges from $60,000 to $80,000, depending on the property, Landmesser said. Usually the developer or landowner pays for >>
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Site certification begins with a complete and thorough assessment of each piece of property.
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April 25, 2014
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1 – Contiguous and developable acreage must be at least 80% of total acreage (e.g., a 250-acre site must have at least 200 contiguous, developable acres); 2 – Interstate or 4-lane highway; 3 – Interstate or 4-lane limited access divided highway; 4 – Rail: when not required these time frames must be met in order to be certified as rail served; 5 – Transmission level electric service that can meet a minimum of 30 MW demand and minimum redundancy of service from 2 substations; & 6 – Site mitigation requirements must be complete by these time frames.
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the studies and the state pays for the actual certification. Certification programs vary from state to state, says Landmesser, but still tend to be very similar. “If Volkswagen is looking to build a new plant somewhere, they’re going to want the same information across the country,” he said. “It’s a great marketing tool. Now, not only are we ready for whoever, but we’ve got a product on the forefront of a leading marketing group’s mind.” Site certification grew organically and originated out of Fluor Corporation. Ed McCallum and Mark Sweeney, who began McCallum Sweeney Consulting in 2000, both previously worked in Fluor’s Global Location Strategies group, where they developed and managed some of the first site evaluation programs in the county, Build Now New York and Pennsylvania SelectSites Round I. The certification program took off when the Tennessee Valley Authority contacted McCallum Sweeney in 2004 to find out why the state was continually losing sites for large automotive projects. The team met and scoped out a comprehensive certification program and out of that, certified nine sites. Since then, five sites have sold with an average $1 billion investment and 1,000 jobs, says Myers. Once people saw the success of that program, they really saw the benefit, she says.
Recently purchased land is marked by surveyor’s tape.
While primary site selection consulting accounts for about 70 percent of McCallum Sweeney’s revenue, Myers says the certification business continues to grow. To date, the company has certified 68 sites with another 50 in the hopper to be completed this year. “Our biggest competitor is not really other site location and certification companies; it’s really a company doing a search on their own,” says Myers.
Photo by Greg Beckner
In Greenville County, Landmesser says The Matrix has about 750 acres left that is certified, along with a 40-acre property in Mauldin. A southern Greenville park has about 800 acres that is currently going through the certification process. “Speed to market is more important now,” says Myers. “There’s pressure to get to market in a reduced timeframe and a need and demand for certified sites.”
April 25, 2014
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 19
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CONVENTIONAL COVER STORY
Several location and funding options have been floated for a convention center in downtown Greenville – can the city find some way to make it happen? By Sherry Jackson | staff sjackson@communityjournals.com
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Rumors are running rampant about a possible downtown convention center. Greenville Mayor Knox White has said repeatedly that Greenville would benefit from such a facility, and other city officials agree. But is it feasible, and what steps would pave the way? UBJ takes a look inside at what it might take to bring conventions downtown. The first point to make, however, is the TD Center just off North Pleasantburg Drive is working just fine, the mayor said. “It’s a well-managed conference center and when compared to comparable cities it comes out very high. It’s not an old broken facility,” White said. “The only issue is to attract higher-value events, and many of those groups don’t choose Greenville – not because the facility isn’t great; it’s because of the lack of a hotel adjacent to it.”
FINDING THE ROOMS The good news for the (current) facility is space and parking abound that is easy to deal with, said Chris Stone, president of VisitGreenvilleSC. “The downsides are the weak inventory of hotels, walkability and no headquarter hotel,” Stone said. Meeting planners want a large hotel facility that can accommodate a majority of participants, generally around 400 rooms, and the closest Greenville has to offer is the Hyatt on North Main Street at 330 rooms, he said. Meeting planners decide where to hold con-
April 25, 2014
ventions, and high on their checklists are first, the facility and second, the committable hotel rooms. Unfortunately, the volume of committable hotel rooms in downtown is actually very small, Stone said. “We really need to take a look at this headquarter hotel issue. More office buildings mean the ability to support more hotels, but right now, Greenville would be hard-pressed to attract a 400- or 500-room hotel.” And while other downtown hotels such as Homes2Suites, Aloft and Embassy Suites are in the works, those properties are smaller. The inventory in downtown will double with those additions, but it still won’t be enough, Stone said. “Meeting planners will spread people out among a few hotels – but not 12 or 15.” White said efforts to build hotels surrounding the current TD Center location have failed in the past. Convention centers sit “dark” on the days when they are not booked and it’s hard to sustain hotel, restaurant and hospitality businesses if there is no other draw to the location. “We’ve spent years trying to attract developers there,” he said. Areas such as the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR), the Verdae master-planned community and Pelham Road are predicted to have more growth, but “in order for a facility there to have long-term, sustained growth, would be for Pleasantburg to >>
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become a much greater hub for business activity and over the next few years, I don’t think we project that happening,” Stone said.
SUBSIDIES AND LEGALITIES Convention centers are not usually a moneymaking venture for cities, either. Greenville subsidizes the TD Center with about $800,000 from hospitality and tourism taxes each year, said White. “But we think it’s important. The community has to have a conference center.” Convention centers around the country are built by municipalities as economic stimulators, but most of them run a deficit except in places like Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Orlando, said Stone. “The rest are subsidized. They make money for the community, but not necessarily as buildings.” First things first, however. When the TD Convention Center was partially renovated in 2006, the city received a $7 million bond from the State of South Carolina. If the city sells the TD Center, under current law, that money – plus interest – would have to be
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reimbursed to taxpayers. “The city has been single-mindedly working to change that,” said White. As a first step, the city officials initiated a bill, S. 828, sponsored by Greenville Senators Mike Fair and Ross Turner, that passed the Senate last month. Though it does not mention Greenville or the TD Center specifically, the bill would exempt certain bond reimbursements if a convention and trade show center were sold and the proceeds used to build a new one on publicly owned land within a certain period of time. White hopes the bill will pass this session. “Without this first step, the possibility of a downtown convention center is a no-go,” he said. Once the legislative piece is worked out, the city could then focus on selling the current TD Center. Possible buyers include churches, education organizations or aviation-type businesses – all of which have expressed interest in the past, said White. Also, the “TD center is around 600,000 square feet. We’d be looking at about 300,000 square feet” for a downtown convention center, he said, meaning a potential buyer for the TD Center could possibly still host large events on a limited basis. White says there are models for this type of arrangement in other parts of the country and could be a means of potential revenue for the buyer.
“The Upstate and downtown Greenville is such an asset and it’s really tough not to show that off when you’re bringing THE DOWNTOWN DREAM The second challenge is finding the right alternate people in from around the location, White said. The ideal would be “to place country and around the a conference center where the hotel infrastructure world. You’ve just gotta get and restaurants are already in place, and we have that in spades – it’s called downtown Greenville,” people here, and then he said. “Our goal over the next several years is to they get it.” find a way to relocate our conference center to Jennifer Miller, vice president of marketing, Upstate SC Alliance
downtown. We are very fortunate that we have several locations that are possible downtown.”
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“The ideal would be to place a conference center where the hotel infrastructure and restaurants are already in place, and we have that in spades – and it’s called downtown Greenville.” Greenville Mayor Knox White
He foresees a new downtown facility being more geared to business conferences – “the groups that come to town, stay several days, maybe bring their spouses to town with them” – and then follow up with a decision to relocate or bring their businesses to Greenville. The mayor cited Synnex and ScanSource as good examples of local companies that host conferences in Greenville that are “the kind of events that the city might want to attract.” Those two companies currently shuttle conference participants from downtown hotels to the TD Center and have said they, too, would prefer to have everything located downtown. “We’ve heard that message and we just need to start exploring it,” White said. “We’re trying to be very methodical.” A new convention center would cost $30 million to $40 million, he estimated, and would be funded by “tourism dollars, not general tax dollars,” along with the land sale and the bond money transfer. Several downtown locations have been mentioned speculatively within the business community, though no one UBJ spoke with for this article would go on record with specifics.
April 25, 2014
CONVENTION continued on PAGE 22
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 21
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CONVENTION continued from PAGE 21
At the top of the “most repeated” list is The Greenville News building at the corner of Main and Broad, across from the Peace Center. The property was put on the market earlier this year, with subsequent predictions the building will be razed. County Square, the former Memorial Stadium site, and property along River Street owned by Hughes Investments have also made the rumor mill. Asked to give pros and cons about the rumored sites, the city responded with a prepared statement compiled by the city manager and economic development staff: “We currently have the TD Center and it is important that the facility continue to be productive in booking events/meetings, etc. While a convention center located in the downtown area ➤ GO
FIGURE
ACCORDING TO THE GREENVILLE CONVENTION & VISITORS BUREAU, THERE ARE:
918
hotel rooms currently in the downtown area
850
approximate number of additional hotel rooms coming to the downtown area
1,768
an approximate total of hotel rooms
The closest city in S.C. with a downtown convention center is Columbia, which, according to the Columbia Metropolitan Conventions & Visitor’s Bureau, has 1,500 hotel rooms serving the city’s convention center with 100-200 scheduled to be built.
374
events were held at the TD Convention Center in its last fiscal year (according to TDCC’s General Manager John Wilusz)
406,178
people attended events at the TD Convention Center during the last fiscal year.
$5,323,674
the TD Convention Center’s operating revenues
$5,836,550
the TD Convention Center’s operating expenses
Currently, it hosts consumer/public shows such as the Home and Garden Show, Auto Show, gun shows, etc., with 33 association/convention events representing only 14 percent of the Center’s total revenue.
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would be desirable, an independent feasibility study to determine the appropriate sizing, configuration, servicing and location would be needed, along with a financial model for construction and operation. These studies would identify the pros and cons of various locations. Additionally the deposition of the current TD Center and the satisfaction of existing debt would need to be addressed, along with a transition plan to ensure that future bookings are maintained and that Greenville remains on the radar.”
FURTHER STUDY NEEDED Of the other sites mentioned most often for a convention center, County Square “would be a stretch,” said Greenville County Administrator Joe Kernell, noting its current use for county office and the dearth of nearby hotels. “It’s like saying there should be a convention center where ONE is now. There’s already a building there.” County officials are studying how to best use the County Square site most efficiently in the future and have considered a multistory building to house county offices flanked by mixed-use development. “Obviously a county facility would be first,” Kernell said. A convention center would not likely be part of a model for the mixed-usage, as the county would want to co-locate with businesses that paid taxes and generated revenue, he said. Kernell cautioned that any downtown location would require much discussion and study by a consultant to determine the size of the facility and what kind of conventions it would host. “I haven’t heard what size it’s going to be or what it would look like,” he said. “It probably wouldn’t fit on
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some pieces of property downtown.” Roger Newton, president and general manager of Bon Secours Wellness Arena, agreed that a feasibility study should come first, but said that a downtown convention center is exactly what Greenville needs. “The weak link in Greenville’s ability to attract conventions is the lack of a central downtown convention center,” said Newton, who has served on multiple convention and visitors’ boards and run several convention centers. Over the last few years, Charlotte, Raleigh and Columbia have constructed downtown facilities, and Greenville competes with them for conventions, he added. Many cities have an arena and convention center in close proximity or adjacent, said Newton, and he would like to see a convention center on the Bon Secours Wellness Arena site where the parking lot is now. “We should be one of the locations under discussion,” he said. The arena is the largest meeting space in the city and breakout sessions could meet in the nearby convention center. Using the TD Center for consumer shows like car shows and boat shows and constructing a smaller facility for other conventions would be a “sound approach,” said Newton. As for whether building a combined space for both types of conventions would be cost-prohibitive, he said, “I don’t think the city could afford to build it at $300 to $400 million.” Nancy Whitworth, director of economic development for the City of Greenville, said there are “a lot of things that go into siting a convention center. I don’t think any of us at the city are experts in that. We would want a totally independent feasibility study done, looking at the pros and >>
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A Public/Private Project? JENNIFER OLADIPO | SENIOR BUSINESS WRITER
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cons of where it could actually work.”
“YOU’VE JUST GOTTA GET PEOPLE HERE” In the meantime, plans are in the works to keep attracting conventions to the TD Center. Greenville architectural firm Craig Gaulden Davis was recently awarded an interior design services and facility assessment study to “outline the possibilities, with costs associated” to renovate finishes, add more breakout rooms, and bring up to date the expo space left untouched by previous renovations, said Ed Zeigler, principal, president and CEO of CGD. Zeigler said
the facility has heard from meeting planners that while the space is large, it lacks enough individual rooms to break into smaller groups. The eight-10 week study will include interviews with all of the facility’s major clients, including NewSpring Church, to see how they use the facility now and investigate possible future uses, he said. “What’s great is that the conversation is taking place now,” said VisitGreenvilleSC’s Chris Stone. “We need to look at this as a thoughtful strategy and play close attention to where we are today, where we are in the future and where our industry is going. We’re well positioned in the Southeast, have good access to transportation corridors, close to the coast. We’re on very solid footing.” Jennifer Miller, vice president of marketing for the Upstate SC Alliance, agreed. The lack of a convention center downtown “does kinda hurt,” she said. “The Upstate and downtown Greenville is such an asset and it’s really tough not to show that off when you’re bringing people in from around the country and around the world. You’ve just gotta get people here, and then they get it.” “As meeting planners look at the options, nobody’s perfect,” Stone said. “The ones that have maybe more ideal characteristics might be more expensive. We want to be in the consideration set.” Finding the ideal downtown site to make a convention center happen is “kind of the next step for our growth,” said Miller. “It would really put us a little bit more on the map for tourism.” Jennifer Oladipo, April A. Morris and Jeanne Putnam contributed to this story.
According to the city of Greenville’s 2013-2014 operating budget, the TD Convention Center receives $936,998 from the hospitality tax and $450,000 from the accommodation tax. The facility represents an ongoing public/private partnership (PPP) that essentially uses taxpayer dollars to spur private investment. It’s a decades-long model upon which Greenville has relied for projects, including the Greenville Commons/Hyatt Regency project (now NoMa Square) which created the city’s first luxury convention hotel on Main Street in the 1980s. Other developments, such as BI-LO Center (now the Bon Secours Wellness Arena), the Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research (CU-ICAR) and the “Southern Connector” toll portion of I-385, have followed. Although Greenville’s most visible economic development successes in the past decade have often been attributed to PPPs, the arrangements can have a negative connotation. They are sometimes referred to as “corporate welfare,” or seen as a euphemism for privatization when public services or large construction projects are at issue. National consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers said public-private partnerships are increasingly used to fund the building of headquarter hotels that would accommodate convention center users. A bill recently passed in the S.C. Senate could provide an incentive for the city to invest in a new convention center. Greenville received a $7 million bond to renovate the TD Convention Center, then known as the Palmetto Expo Center, in 2006. Under current law, that money would have to be reimbursed to taxpayers with interest were the city to sell the center. However, S. 828, which the Senate passed last month, would exempt certain bond reimbursements if a convention and trade show center were sold and the proceeds used to build a new one on publicly owned land within a certain period of time. Senators Mike Fair and Ross Turner of Greenville sponsor the bill, which does not mention Greenville or the TD Center specifically. Few available state or local tax incentives are designed for convention centers. However, the central business districts of most adjacent areas qualify for federal New Market Tax Credits that give individual and corporate investors a federal income tax credit in exchange for making equity investments in low-income communities. The credits reduce project costs by between 20 and 25 percent.
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UBJ TOOLBOX
What Is a CPM? SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF
sjackson@communityjournals.com In our January commercial real estate issue, UBJ took a look at some of the different CRE designations – what they mean, what it takes to get them and if they’re worth it. Here’s a look into another: the Institute of Real Estate Management’s (IREM) CPM (Certified Property Manager) designation.
Designation: CPM – Certified Property Manager What does it mean? According to Sharon Peters, public relations manager with IREM, those who hold the CPM designation typically are property and asset managers who manage or oversee a team who manages large portfolios of multifamily, office, retail and/or industrial properties. “Designees are recognized as experts in real estate management and they are at the top of their profession,” she said. Currently, there are approximately 8,500 CPM members, split almost evenly between men and women. Twelve percent of CPM designees are based outside the U.S. The typical CPM member supervises 44 employees and averages 23 years of experience, said Peters. According to the latest available figures, CPMs earned a median annual salary of $96,000 in 2012. By comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that the median annual wage for property, real estate and community association managers in 2012 was $52,610. Collectively, CPM professionals manage nearly $2 trillion in real estate property assets, including 11.4 million residential units and
10.4 billion square feet of commercial space, said Peters. A breakdown of the U.S. market on a percentage basis, by property sector, shows that they manage 42.8 percent of all conventional apartments, 35 percent of federally assisted housing, 27.7 percent of office buildings, 21.2 percent of condos/ co-ops/HOAs and 13.6 percent of medical buildings. To a lesser extent, CPMs also manage retail properties, public housing, senior housing and industrial properties. The aggregated annual purchasing power of CPM designees is approximately $9.3 billion.
What does it take to get it? Requirements to earn the designation are: • Education – through IREM courses, through other specific credentials, through academic achievement or through 20 years of qualifying real estate management experience. • Experience – minimum of 36 months of qualifying real estate management experience. • Ethics – promise to uphold the IREM Code of Professional Ethics and pass the IREM ethics course. • Examination – show competency in all aspects of real estate management by passing a certification exam. In addition, demonstrate the practical application of all that has been learned on the job and in the classroom through a written management plan.
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• Candidacy – be a CPM Candidate Member for a minimum of one year.
What is the cost? The cost can range between $7,095 and $8,655. Total cost depends primarily on how the education requirement is met; via self-paced or classroom, the designation or college degree option, having 20 years of qualifying real estate management experience, length of candidacy and travel expenses, if necessary. The minimum candidacy period is one year. The average CPM candidate completes the requirements in three years, depending on his available time and financial resources, said Peters. 2014 annual national dues are $555. Chapter dues vary – ranging from $75 to $370 annually. To be a CPM member of IREM, CPM designees must also be a member of the local IREM chapter and be affiliated, for an additional fee, with the National Association of Realtors.
Is it worth it? Property owners and investors value the CPM designation more than any other real estate management credential, according to independent research findings, said Peters. Those who hold the designation are more than twice as likely to hold higher management positions as those without a designation. Total compensation packages for CPM members can exceed the packages of managers without the designation of the same age, with the same amount of experience and education, and with similar portfolio sizes by as much as 57 percent.
➤ GO
FIGURE
COLLECTIVELY, CPM PROFESSIONALS MANAGE:
$2 trillion
approximately in real estate property assets, including…
11.4 million residential units
10.4 billion
square feet of commercial space
42.8%
of all conventional apartments
35%
of federally assisted housing
27.7%
of office buildings
21.2%
percent of condos/co-ops/HOAs
13.6%
of medical buildings
$96,000
average median salary (2012)
UBJ SQUARE FEET
Rhett Condos Move Ahead Plans have been filed for a new
322-Unit Apartment Complex Planned for Downtown Flournoy Development has submitted plans for a new four-story, 322-unit apartment complex at Westfield and West Broad streets in downtown Greenville. The new Reedyview Apartments will sit atop five acres near the Reedy River, just northeast of the Kroc Center off Academy Street. Flournoy has the current Blacks Electrical Supply, Greenville Heritage Federal Credit Union and OC Julian parcels under contract. If approved at the
May 1 Design Review Board meeting, plans call to remove the existing oneand two-story buildings that are currently on the property. The complex is slated to have an amenity terrace that overlooks the Reedy River along with a pathway that links to the Greenville Health System Swamp Rabbit Trail. Open spaces, courtyards and a social plaza are also planned, along with a fiveand-a-half-story parking deck with 489 spaces.
mixed-use project with 45 condos and about 1,500 square feet of retail/ office space at 121 Rhett St. on the corner of Camperdown Way and Rhett Street in downtown Greenville. Tom Croft, president of The Croft Co., said he had purchased the property in 2007 and had originally planned an eight-story high-end condo development before the economic downturn hit. He said he had also considered apartments at one point but is more comfortable with condos and held on to the property. Croft believes the condo market downtown is “coming back” with a “reasonable amount of pent-up demand” and said no real condo development of any size has happened downtown since he completed the Field House condos in the West End in 2007. The condo building will be eight stories, located between Rhett Street and Boggs Drive with another three-story building fronting Rhett Street that will be the mixed-use component. Croft says the mixed-use space will be flexible and could incorporate retail, office, a live/work space or even a three-story townhome, all depending on customer needs. Condos will be a mixture of two and three bedrooms and range in size from 1,200 to 3,000 square feet with 9- and 10-foot ceilings, said Croft. Units will be priced competi-
tively –around $280 a square foot. The exterior design of the property will blend in with nearby RiverPlace and other existing buildings on Rhett Street and will be an “Italianate, European design,” said Croft. Onsite amenities will include inset and Juliette balconies, an electric vehicle plug-in, onsite storage units, bike storage and green space areas along with private parking spaces underneath the building and in an interior courtyard area. Grading and razing of the existing buildings has already begun. The application will be reviewed at the May 1 Greenville Design Review Board meeting and if approved, Croft will start pre-selling in about 30 days. Construction is anticipated to begin in September and will take approximately 12-14 months to complete.
PROJECT PARTNERS: DEVELOPER: The Croft Co. ARCHITECTS: Summerour Architects and Croft Architecture
PROJECT PARTNERS: DEVELOPER: Flournoy Development Co., Columbus, Ga. ARCHITECT: Niles Bolton Associates, Atlanta, Ga.
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The Big Deals The first quarter of 2014 saw plenty of notable CRE transactions SHERRY JACKSON | STAFF | sjackson@communityjournals.com
In the world of commercial real estate, the Upstate is always wheeling and dealing. Here’s a look at a few of the big deals that took place in the first quarter of 2014.
Four properties at MARKET SQUARE at 1450 W.O. Ezell Boulevard in Spartanburg sold Feb. 24 for $3.1 million. Listing and procuring broker was Pegasus Investments.
In January, GREENVILLE HERITAGE FEDERAL CREDIT UNION purchased 1.37 acres of land at 23 Butler Avenue, Greenville, from Luthi’s Pawn Shop for $1.8 million. Laurens Nicholson from Lee and Associates represented the seller. The BI-LO SHOPPING CENTER at 699 Fairview Road in Simpsonville sold on March 5 for $7.4 million. Listing broker was Berkeley Capital Advisors.
DHP REAL ESTATE purchased apartment complexes – Newport Commons, a 32-unit complex at 700 Simpson Road in Anderson; Colony North, a 48-unit complex at 300 N. Highway 25 Bypass in Greenville; and Colony Place, a 36-unit complex at 51 Montague Road in Greenville – for $3.6 million in January. Tony Bonitati and Kay Hill with NAI Earle Furman’s Multifamily Division represented the seller, Upstate Property Rentals LLC. DHP is based in Greenville, and they represented themselves as buyer of the Colonies property. SNOOZER PET PRODUCTS purchased a 50,000-square-foot RBA (rentable building area) at 561 Bessie Road in Piedmont. The sale date was Feb. 27 for $1.2 million. Listing broker was CBRE; procuring broker was Langston-Black.
Bird’s Eye Maps Courtesy of Bing.com.
$226 MILLION
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD | THALHIMER’S Greenville office, in just fifteen short months, has completed over $210,000,000 in sales volume with over 3,628,000 square feet sold, as well as over $16,500,000 in leasing volume with over 1,173,000 square feet leased.
(864) 370 8155
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Wells Fargo Center 15 South Main Street, Suite 925 | Greenville, SC 29601 thalhimer.com
April 25, 2014
No matter what the requirement, we’ve got the solution.
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UBJ SQUARE FEET – DEALMAKERS NAI EARLE FURMAN ANNOUNCED: Keith Jones and Dan Dunn represented the landlord of Greengate in leasing two suites at 25 Woods Lake Road in Building 4, Greenville, to ARC Therapy Services for a total of 2,380 SF. Peter Couchell and Rob Schmidt represented the landlord of Woodruff Point Shopping Center in leasing a 4,758 SF retail space at 1616 Woodruff Road, Greenville, to Señor Salsa. Jake Van Gieson, Bill Sims, and Gaston Albergotti represented the landlord of the Plaza on Pelham in leasing a 1,702 SF retail space at 3935 Pelham Road, Greenville. Ted Lyerly and Jimmy Wright represented the tenant, Black Belt Attitude School. Rob Schmidt represented the landlord of Howell Ridge in leasing a 1,200 SF retail space at 3601 E. North St., Greenville to Stanley’s Ice Cream. Glenn Batson represented the landlord of 775 Woodruff Road, Greenville, in leasing a 3,900 SF office and industrial space to Complete Automation. Grice Hunt and Ford Borders represented the landlord of The Matrix Business Park in renewing the lease of
a 7,752 SF industrial space at 500 Matrix Parkway, Piedmont, with WFS USA Ltd. Keith Jones and Dan Dunn represented the landlord of Greengate in leasing a 1,323 SF office space at 25 Woods Lake Road in Building 5, Greenville, to Hon & Associates. Keith Jones represented The Dunn Insurance & Financial Agency in leasing a 1,531 SF office space at 245 E. Broad St., Greenville. Jake Van Gieson and Bill Sims represented MHG Properties in purchasing a 5-acre land parcel with two buildings located at 721-729 Mauldin Road, Greenville. Hunter Garrett and John Staunton represented First Citizens Bank in selling a 4,500 SF office building located at 110 Williams St., Greenville. Dan Dunn represented the seller in selling a 1.5-acre land parcel at 3681 Boiling Springs, Spartanburg. Jake Van Gieson and Bill Sims represented the purchaser. Glenn Batson represented the seller of Pettigru Place in selling a 2,000 SF office condominium located at 414 Pettigru St., Greenville. Ted Lyerly and Jimmy Wright represented the
seller in selling a 1,543 SF retail space located at 1803-G Augusta St., Greenville, in Capers Place. Ted Lyerly and Jimmy Wright represented the purchaser in buying a 6,535 SF shopping center located in Cherrydale Corners at 3220 N. Pleasantburg Drive, Greenville. Towers Rice represented the purchaser in buying 1.69 acres on Pete Hollis Blvd., Greenville. John Powell represented the seller of Crossroads Plaza in selling a 9,975 SF retail property located at 933 Highway 29 S., Anderson. Drew Stamm and John Gray represented the purchaser in buying Augusta Point, a +\25,000 SF, two-building retail shopping center located at 104 Mauldin Road, Greenville.
LEE & ASSOCIATESGREENVILLE ANNOUNCED: Lauren Nicholson and Bryon Culbertson represented Best Distributing in leasing a +/-40,020 SF industrial space at 2220 Pine St., Spartanburg. Randall Bentley represented the landlord in leasing a +/-1,920 SF retail space at 1214
Laurens Road, Greenville, to Credit Central LLC. Randall Bentley represented the landlord in leasing a +/15,005 SF expansion at 1224 Old Stage Road, Simpsonville, to Container Design and Solutions.
AVISON YOUNG ANNOUNCED: John Odom represented Rainbow Lake Business Park in the leasing of a 1,200 SF retail space located at 110-D Rainbow Lake Road., Spartanburg, to Pool & Spa Needs LLC. John Odom represented HR Properties LLC in the leasing of a 2,400 SF office space located at 1629 E. North St., Greenville, to Robert E. Inauario PC. Reggie Bell represented Minerva Properties LLC in the sale of 0.4 acres located at 91 Sonia Drive, Greer, to Edward Flanary. The buyer was represented by Josh Tew of Flagship Properties. Reggie Bell represented MTS Leasing, LLC in the purchase of 9 acres located along Alliance Blvd., Anderson.
CBRE ANNOUNCED: Todd Weintraub, David Donnellan and Brett
April 25, 2014
Floyd represented the seller, Piedmont Marketplace LLC, in selling a freestanding single-tenant building occupied by RiteAid Pharmacy. The property is located at 915 Anderson St. (Highway 86). The buyer was Menlo Net Lease Holdings II LLC, for $2 million. The building is a 10,908 SF freestanding building, with a drivethru, on a 1.67-acre site.
CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD | THALHIMER ANNOUNCED: Brian J. Young and Elliott Fayssoux represented the seller Frank Gannon in selling approximately 8.16 acres situated along W. Phillips Road and Councourse Way, Greenville, to GreenvilleSpartanburg Airport District.
SPECTRUM COMMERCIAL PROPERTIES ANNOUNCED: Brent L. Freeman represented the landlord, B&D Development, in leasing approximately 1,277 SF office space at 121 Manley St., Greenville, to Manley Street LLC, who was represented by Convergent Property Group.
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 27
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UBJ LAYOUT
Clemson Finds Room to Learn and Grow ONE building in downtown Greenville is “perfectly situated” for graduate business students Since January 2014, Clemson’s graduate business students have been enjoying their new facilities in the ONE building at the corner of Main and Washington streets in Greenville. “The move to the ONE Building provided the needed space to accommodate our student body of over 500 students and allow us to continue to grow,” said Greg Pickett, associate dean of the College of Business and Behavioral Science and director of the MBA program. “The location is perfectly situated 1 for engaging Greenville’s business community by offering innovative educational programs and services.” The ONE space is also home to the master’s degree programs in accounting, marketing, management and real estate development. Clemson’s Center for Corporate Learning, the Arthur M. Spiro Institute for Entrepreneurial Leadership and the Greenville branch of the Small Business Development Center also are located there. Clemson occupies floors five-eight in the North Tower of ONE, a space that includes nine classrooms with cutting-edge technolo-
gy, a 200-seat flat-floor auditorium, flexible meeting spaces for executive and continuing education, incubator space for Clemson entrepreneurs, a fifth-floor roof terrace overlooking Main Street and the “B” Hive (business hive) – a first for Greenville – an oval, flexible classroom/lab space designed to facilitate interactive group learning that was developed at Harvard Business School.
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1. The lobby area and commons area on the fifth floor, with the receptionist’s desk and stairway to sixth floor behind it. 2. View from sixth floor looking down the stairway to the fifth floor. 3. The fifth-floor common area. 4. The sixth-floor common area. 5. A photo taken by a drone of the fifth-floor patio area and the building. 6. Teaching area in the sixth-floor common area. 7. A Clemson classroom in the ONE building. 8. Outside patio area on the fifth floor. 9. An executive board room in Clemson’s space in the ONE building. Clemson makes many of these rooms available for public rental. April 25, 2014
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 29
UBJ THE FINE PRINT
Habitat Wins SC Housing Achievement Award Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County received the 2014 S.C. Housing Achievement Award from the S.C. State Housing Finance and Development Authority during the Affordable Housing Forum on Wednesday in Columbia. The annual award recognizes contributions in the state’s affordable housing arena. Habitat Greenville and its funding partners invested a total of $1.2 million in Greenville County, and Habitat homeowners paid county property tax revenue of $142,974. The organization is the only one in Greenville County to provide 0 percent home mortgages. It was
also recognized for working with 1,541 volunteers who contributed more than 19,000 hours of service. “We are deeply honored to be receiving
Voterheads Expands Government Tracking Site to Upstate Columbia-based Voterheads will now allow residents of Greenville and Spartanburg counties to track local government and receive alerts through its social media platform. The company provides users with information and the ability to vote and comment on local public meeting agenda items, and aims to allow people to hold representatives accountable at election time, said cofounder Mike Switzer. The local government service is free for the general public, but the company also provides paid services to commercial clients across the Southeast that are interested in the data. Those professional subscribers include companies such as hotel chains that might want to keep abreast of zoning or hospitality tax changes, and utility
companies that want to know about changes that could affect their infrastructure. Upstate voters will be able to track activity in the following offices: Greenville City, Greer City, Mauldin City, Spartanburg City, Greenville County, Greenville School District 1, Spartanburg County, and Spartanburg School District 1. For more information, visit voterheads.com.
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this award,” said Monroe Free, president and CEO of Habitat Greenville, in a news release. “But the real honor goes to the families Habitat Greenville has helped over the past 29 years who committed themselves to becoming successful homeowners – and to the volunteers and donors who help us make homeownership possible for working families with low income.” Habitat for Humanity of Greenville County was nominated by Martin Livingston, executive director of the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority.
Martex Fiber Expands Its ‘No Fiber Left Behind’ Program Martex Fiber Southern Corp. recently completed installation of a fiber reclamation line to produce additional value-added fibers for use in the automotive, upholstery and yarn sectors as part of its “No Fiber Left Behind” program, which aims to recycle all of the company’s textile waste instead of sending it to a landfill. “The expansion increased Spartanburg’s plant capacity by over 20 percent, further expanding our ability to create valuable outlets for the over 160 million pounds per year of
pre- and post-consumer cotton and cotton-polyester textile waste that Martex Fiber keeps out of landfills,” said Jamie Jarrett, general manager of the Fiber Division, in a news release. The program also includes expansion to the company’s Brownville, Texas, facility, which will be completed within the next quarter and should increase capacity by 11 million pounds annually. “At Martex we are in the double green business,” said Rick Otero, CEO of Martex Fiber, in a news
release. “Our focus is on expanding a business that is sustainable economically and for the environment. Every pound of cotton textile scrap that we recycle at Spartanburg helps America avoid the environmental impact of a new pound of conventional cotton. Our recycling process uses essentially no water – compared with over 1,400 gallons per pound for conventional cotton – no harmful pesticides, and no harmful chemical dyes, with significantly less energy consumption versus new cotton. We are committed to our No Fiber Left Behind vision.”
UBJ THE FINE PRINT
SBA Names Several Upstate Winners Greenville Chamber Votes in Favor of Roads Referendum The Greenville Chamber’s board of directors voted last week to encourage Greenville County Council to place a referendum on the ballot in November and in support of a means of funding for road and infrastructure improvements. “The condition of our roads is an issue that affects all businesses of every size, and everyone in Greenville County,” said Ben Haskew, president and CEO of the Greenville Chamber, in a statement. “We want the voters to be able to have a say on such an important issue, and we plan to help educate the entire community on this critical need.” The Chamber statement cites the “extraordinary research” completed by the Greenville County Citizens Roads Advisory Commission (an 18-member committee appointed by Greenville County Council and city councils within the county), who reported its findings to County Council earlier this month. According to the executive summary of these findings, “At this level it will take anywhere from 21 to 45 years for some of the smaller municipalities to resurface all of their roads to 83 years for SCDOT to do the same.” “The Chamber recognizes the importance of transportation and infrastructure, and the direct impact it has on business growth and the recruitment of new jobs to
The U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) has named several Upstate businesses and entrepreneurs among the agency’s 2014 award winners. The Upstate honorees are: Owens Insurance Agency with the the Year. South Carolina SOHO (Small The SBA will recognize all award Office/Home Office) Award; winners during its 11th annual Boggero Services as South Caroli- Salute to Small Business event on na Family Business of the Year; S. May 7, at the Columbia MetropolRichard Hagins, president and itan Convention Center. The event CEO of US&S Inc., as South Car- is a collaboration between the SBA, olina Veteran Entrepreneur of the the South Carolina Chamber of Year; Tammy Johnson, owner of Commerce and the South Carolina Liquid Catering, as South Carolina Coalition for Small Business and Young Entrepreneur of the Year; Entrepreneurship. Stay in the know with UBJ’s free weekly email. and Melinda Davis Lux, member For more information and to see of Wyche P.A., as South Carolina the complete list of S.C. winners, Women in Business Advocate of visit scsalutetosmallbiz.com.
THE INBOX
our area,” said Tim Reed, chairman of the Chamber board of directors. “We believe that a sound and strong transportation and infrastructure system is essential to economic growth and the high quality of life in our community. The Chamber strives to be the voice of business and to build a premier business community that is globally recognized, and we feel that community starts with the shape of the roads in Greenville County.” “Right now, the only option for improving our roads is the idea before Greenville County Council to create a November ballot referendum that will allow citizens to vote on a 1 percent local sales tax to fund road improvements,” said Bob Knight, chairman of the Chamber’s Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “Greenville County is at a crossroads – we have for far too long ignored our infrastructure needs and are at the point where something must be done.” The Greenville County Citizens Roads Advisory Commission report can be accessed online at greenvillecounty.org/roadscommission.
THE THE INBOX INBOX Stay free weekly weekly email. email. Stay in in the the know know with with UBJ’s UBJ’s free
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UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 31
UBJ ON THE MOVE HIRED
New hires, promotions & award winners can be featured in On The Move. Send information & photos to onthemove@upstatebusinessjournal.com.
HIRED
HIRED
HONORED
PROMOTED
Gary Cohen
Dr. Tim Smith
Darlene Rutledge
Tammy Johnson
Sally Willis
Named as branch leader and broker-in-charge of Allen Tate Company’s Easley/ Powdersville office. Cohen most recently served as general manager of a regional real estate company in the Upstate with six offices, 125 agents, a real estate school and foreclosure and corporate relocation divisions.
Accepted the newly created vice president for strategic initiatives and special associate to the provost position at Anderson University. Smith was previously the dean of Union University’s School of Nursing. He founded the Center for Excellence in Healthcare Practice, which provides services to healthcare organizations in Middle Tennessee.
Joins Hospice of the Upstate as director of business development and special projects. Rutledge will additionally oversee the Admissions and Intake Department for Hospice of the Upstate. She brings 24 years of hospice experience from across the Southeast.
Named the 2014 South Carolina Young Entrepreneur by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Johnson is the owner of Liquid Catering and The Old Cigar Warehouse. She is a past chairwoman of PULSE, and served on the Chamber’s LEAD committee for two years.
Named the executive director of LiveWell Greenville. Wills has been with LiveWell since 2012 and previously served as the director of operations. She brings more than 12 years of public health, community development and education experience to this new position.
CONSTRUCTION/ ENGINEERING: Mashburn Construction recently welcomed Rick Schroder to its business development department. Schroder has an industrial and systems engineering background and brings a variety of experience in project management, design and development to Mashburn.
EDUCATION: Spartanburg Methodist College
awarded Dr. Brian Gloor with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry of the United Methodist Church Award for Exemplary Teaching. Gloor, professor of chemistry at SMC since 2012, holds a B.S. from Texas State University, and an M.S. and a Ph.D. from the University of Notre Dame. Lori Merck, professor of Spanish, was recognized with the Archie Vernon and Margaret Wannamaker Huff Faculty Award. Merck also heads up the SMC Hispanic Student
Association and is the director of the SMC Interdisciplinary Committee that is charged with bringing cultural events to the college.
HOSPITALITY: The Hyatt Regency Greenville recently named Larry Bell as general manager. Bell has over 25 years of experience and his career spans more than 30 years in the hotel business with Hyatt Hotels, Doubletree Hotels, Radisson Hotels, and Embassy Suites Hotels.
MEDICAL:
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The Lowder Group recently announced that Jonathan Kittel has joined as an intern and Julie Griffin has joined as a counselor. Kittel is currently pursuing a Master of Arts in Christian Counseling from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, anticipating graduation in January 2015. Griffin has experience in working with marital and relational issues, anxiety, grief and loss, depression, self-esteem, PTSD and ADHD, as well as personal, spiritual and behavioral concerns.
NONPROFIT: LiveWell Greenville has named Margaret Stephens as director of operations and hired Lori Burney as the director of development. Stephens brings nursing, public health and education experience to this position. Prior to accepting this position, she helped to build and support the LiveWell Out of School Time and LiveWell at Worship Workgroups. Burney brings more than 20 years of management, marketing and sales experience to the coalition. Prior to joining LiveWell Greenville, she was a marketing representative with Community Journals LLC. Ronald McDonald House Charities of the Carolinas recently added four new members to its board of directors: Terri Newsom, vice president financial services/CFO of Greenville Health System; Steven Merck, owner/operator of McDonald’s; Noel Rogers, community volunteer; and Brian Robinson, who was on the founding board of directors and served as the chair of the building committee.
UBJ SNAPSHOT
Historic photo available from the Greenville Historical Society. From “Remembering Greenville: Photographs from the Coxe Collection,” by Jeffrey R. Willis
PHOTO PROVIDED
CURRENT PHOTO BY GREG BECKNER / STAFF
In this photograph from the early 1930s, a view of the future site of Woolworth’s and a glimpse down West Washington Street can be seen. From the corner store, once occupied by the local clothing firm of Smith and Bristow, Stein’s Clothes (a national chain) offers all-wool suits for $15. Doing business in the second-floor offices are Caine Reality and Mortgage Company and Sam R. Zimmerman Real Estate and Insurance. At the northwest corner of Washington and Laurens streets (on the left in this view) is the Peoples National Bank. Today the corner of West Washington and Main streets is home to ONE, Greenville’s newest downtown development. The Peoples National Bank Building is gone, replaced by the Bank of America Tower parking lot. The parking lot is gone now as well, as the site will be developed into the Aloft Hotel, the largest part of a mixed-use development planned for the corner of West Washington and Richardson streets.
PERSONAL PHILANTHROPY FOR PRESERVING SPECIAL PLACES From Falls Park to Mountain Bridge, Judy Cromwell’s gifts from her Community Foundation fund make it possible to keep the green in Greenville. We make it easy to give back to the place we all love to call home.
April 25, 2014
www.cfgreenville.org
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 33
GOT A HOT DATE?
UBJ PLANNER FRIDAY APRIL 25 THE FRIDAY FORUM Embassy Suites, 670 Verdae Blvd., Greenville; 8-9:30 a.m. SPEAKER: Merl Code, first African-American to chair the Greenville County United Way board of directors, the first African-American Municipal Court judge and the first African-American to become chairman of the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce TOPIC: Leadership: The Currency of the Community and Business COST: $12 for Chamber members, $20 for non-Chamber members with full buffet breakfast REGISTER AT: greenvillechamber.org
NORTH GREENVILLE ROTARY CLUB The Poinsett Club, 807 E. Washington St., Greenville; 12:30-1:30 p.m. COST: Free to attend, lunch $16
Contribute to our Planner by submitting event information for consideration to events@upstatebusinessjournal.com
SIMPSONVILLE CHAMBER LEGISLATIVE LUNCH SERIES
CONTACT: Shanda Jeffries at 864-9682319 or sjeffries@ flynn-wealth.com
MONDAY APRIL 28 GCS ROUNDTABLE The Office Center at the Point, 33 Market Point Drive, Greenville; 8:30-9:30 a.m. SPEAKER: John Perkins TOPIC: How Networking Impacted My Career
TOPIC: Greenville Citizens Roads Advisory Commission COST: $15 per person
REGISTER AT: simpsonvillechamber.com
SBA SMALL BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE
ROTARY CLUB GREENVILLE EAST MEETING
Spartanburg Library, 151 S. Church St., Spartanburg; 9:15 a.m.-noon TOPIC: Finance for Non-financial Managers COST: Free to attend REGISTER AT: clemson.edu/sbdc CONTACT: Beth Smith at es2@clemson.edu or 864-592-6318
UBJ ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Ryan L. Johnston rjohnston@communityjournals.com
SPEAKERS: Greenville County Councilman Butch Kirven, and Simpsonville representative Hunter Howard Jr.
CONTACT: Jennifer Richardson at jrichardson@ simpsonvillechamber.com
Call Golden Career Strategies at 864-527-0425 to request an invitation
PRESIDENT/PUBLISHER Mark B. Johnston mjohnston@communityjournals.com
Simpsonville City Hall, 118 NE Main St., Simpsonville; 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m.
CityRange,615 Haywood Rd., Greenville; 12:30-1:30 p.m. CONTACT: president@ greenvilleeastrotary.org
TUESDAY APRIL 29 FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Through May 1. SPEAKERS: Scott MacEachern, founder, GM of Nike Livestrong; Dan Pallotta, president & chief humanity officer, Advertising for Humanity; Catherine Hoke, founder & CEO, Defy Ventures; Adam Garone, founder of Movember; Rachel Chong, founder & CEO, Catchafire; and Richard Boccato, owner, Dutch Kills Bar. COST: $1,575 per person REGISTER AT: epfft.com
BUSINESS PLAN CLINIC USC Upstate, 800 University Way, Media Building, Room 238, Spartanburg; 5-7:30 p.m. COST: $25 for public; $15 for USC Upstate Faculty and Students REGISTER AT: scwbc.net CONTACT: Janet Christy at janet@ scwbc.net or 864-244-4117
SOCIAL MEDIA
WORKSHOP SESSION 1A Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, Board Room, 105 N. Pine St., Spartanburg; 9-11 a.m. SPEAKER: Melissa Patton, small business owner and social media trainer TOPICS: 7 Steps to Social Media Success for Small Business COST: Free to Spartanburg Chamber members
SALES REPRESENTATIVES Lori Burney, Kristin Hill, Kristi Jennings, Donna Johnston, Annie Langston, Pam Putman
MANAGING EDITOR Jerry Salley jsalley@communityjournals.com
MARKETING & EVENTS Kate Banner DIGITAL STRATEGIST Emily Price
34 UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL
April 25, 2014
REGISTER AT: scwbc.net CONTACT: Janet Christy at janet@scwbc.net or 864-244-4117
TD Convention Center, 1 Exposition Drive, Greenville; noon-1 p.m.
PULSE BALLPARK BASH
CONTACT: Ann or Myles Golden at agolden@ goldencareerstrategies. com or myles@ goldencareerstrategies. com
Fluor Field at West End, 945 S. Main St., Greenville; 5:30-8 p.m. COST: Free and open to all Upstate young professionals over 21 CONTACT: 864-239-3743 REGISTER AT: greenvillechamber.org
ENTREPRENEURIAL
PRODUCTION MANAGER Holly Hardin
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Susan Clary Simmons ssimmons@communityjournals.com
Bring your lunch and dessert will be provided
REGISTER AT: spartanburgchamber.com
STAFF WRITERS Sherry Jackson, Cindy Landrum, April A. Morris, Joe Toppe
MARKETING & ADVERTISING
COST: $20 per person.
GCS TOASTMASTERS
ART & PRODUCTION
PHOTOGRAPHER Greg Beckner
CommunityWorks Carolina, 107 W. Antrim Drive, Greenville; 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m.
CONTACT: 864-594-5000
SENIOR BUSINESS WRITER Jennifer Oladipo
CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Jenny Munro, Jeanne Putnam, Leigh Savage
READINESS
ART DIRECTOR Kristy M. Adair
ADVERTISING DESIGN Michael Allen, Whitney Fincannon UBJ welcomes expert commentary from business leaders on timely news topics related to their specialties. Guest columns run 700-800 words. Contact Executive Editor Susan Clary Simmons at ssimmons@communityjournals. com to submit an article for consideration. Copyright @2014 BY COMMUNITY JOURNALS LLC. All rights reserved. Upstate Business Journal is published weekly by Community Journals LLC. P.O. Box 2266, Greenville, South Carolina, 29602. Upstate Business Journal is a free publication. Annual subscriptions (52 issues) can be purchased for $65. Postmaster: Send address changes to Upstate Business, P.O. Box 2266, Greenville, SC 29602. Printed in the USA.
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS Interstate Self Storage, 30 Interchange Blvd., Greenville; 5:30 p.m. CONTACT: info2@ mauldinchamber.org
HOW TO CONTRIBUTE STORY IDEAS: ideas@ upstatebusinessjournal.com
EVENTS: events@ upstatebusinessjournal.com
NEW HIRES, PROMOTIONS, AWARDS: onthemove@ upstatebusinessjournal.com
UBJ NEW TO THE STREET
Congratulations! To the following list of this year’s LiveWell Greenville Healthy Workplace Award winners:
GOLD Greenville Health System Michelin North America ScanSource Southern Weaving SILVER The Blood Connection, Inc. Bon Secours St. Francis Drive Automotive Elliott Davis GE Power & Water Rosenfeld-Einstein YMCA of Greenville BRONZE Hartness International
And Thank You! 1. United Community Bank recently opened a location at 1950 Augusta St. in Greenville. The building will serve as an interim location while a permanent branch is being constructed. For more information, call 864-241-8455 or visit ucbi.com.
2. Ameris Bank recently opened its new location at 301 N. Main St. in Greenville’s Landmark Building. For more information, call
To all the vendors and sponsors who made LiveWell’s 2014 Healthy Workplace Conference at the TD Center a success: ADP | Anytime Fitness | ArcPoint | Babazikis City of Greenville | Cromer Vending | Fit4Business Enhanced Living Chiropractic | Fleet Feet Sports Greenville Health System - Total Health Healthstat | Noisy Rabbit | Power Fitness Professional Catering | St Francis Workwell Sportsclub | SE Regional Sleep Disorders Center Table 301 | TargetCare | Upstate Business Journal The Wellness Champions | YMCA of Greenville
864-248-1740 or visit amerisbank.com.
AT WORK Our goal, to help Greenville organizations start and improve their Workplace Wellness initiatives.
www.livewellgreenville.org April 25, 2014
UPSTATE BUSINESS JOURNAL 35
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