South Carolina Ports Propel Growth with Record Inland Port Volumes and Expanded Capabilities

Photo: SC Ports/Matt Peacock

South Carolina’s growth continues onward as more companies are finding it’s a great place to do business and it offers their employees a good quality of life with generally lower costs of living. But a big driver here in South Carolina is that it’s in an awesome location for supply chain and distribution.

Greenville of couse is in the Upstate which is about 3.5 hours from Charleston. South Carolina is very fortunate to have the Port of Charleston but also a network of inland ports where trainloads of boxcars are sent across the state to these various inland ports. Inland Port Greer plays a critical role in supporting the manufacturing base so prevalent here in the Upstate expecially with the likes of BMW and Michelin.

Inland port growth continues and they keep adding capacity. If you are looking for a new home to operate your business, you really should consider South Carolina. It’s a great place to live, work and recreate!

Looking to Invest in Real Estate in Upstate of South Carolina?

Downtown Greenville SC on the Reedy River

Greenville, SC and the rest of the Upstate is getting lots of attention from all kinds of people. Businesses are moving here along with their employees. People are moving here on their own. We’re seeing a big increase in investment from outside of SC pouring money into SC. Greenville is getting more than it’s fair share of that.

If you’re looking to make some investments here in the Upstate of South Carolina, there are many ways in which you can do that. I know many firms and will make note of them from time to time. I’ve worked closely with Nathan Long and Travis Lacey at Point Place Holdings. They offer a tremendous amount of services in the commercial real estate space. They also have opportunities from time to time where you can invest in their projects.

Pickleball Park Coming to Unity Park Area of Greenville Soon – PKL Park GVL Construction Starts

Rendering by Johnston Design Group – as seen in Upstate Business Journal

Reason number 1050 why Greenville is such an amazing place to live. The creativity here amongst the business owners, developers and city planners really is outstanding. Check out this pickleball complex that has started construction in Greenville near Unity Park. The actual address is 78 Mayberry St., Greenville. The owners already have a website up for PKL Park GVL.

The developers and owners are Nick Gilley of BASE 360 General Contractors and John Sharkey of Greenville Sports Leagues. BTW, they are calling for local artists to make submissions to be able to paint murals on the walls of one of the buildings.

According to the article in Upstate Business Journal, the cost for the project will be about $3,000,000. This is going to be a fabulous attraction for the city and add tremendous value to community life. Congrats to Nick Gilley and John Sharkey on what looks to be an outstanding asset!

Greenville Experiments with Koi Pond

The City of Greenville has created a small pond with koi and goldfish. It says it’s a 6 month collaboration so I’m thinking they remove the fish before winter because it does get a little cold here in the Upstate.

Greenville, SC – Top 50 Vacation Spots – Men’s Journal

Greenville mst have a phenomenal public relations team and/or word just keeps getting out there about the area. Men’s Journal published the Top 50 places to vacation in the U.S. I’m always a little suspect of these lists but this was fun to look through.

Popular Simpsonville Food Hall – Warehouse at Vaughns Sold to Innovative Hospitality and Development

The Warehouse at Vaughns in downtown Simpsonville is a fabulous place to go. It was a very welcomed addition when it first came on the scene a couple of years ago. One of the things I really like is their music venue out back where there might be a few hundred people gathered on any particularly warmish evening listening to a local band.

There is now new ownership in place at the Warehouse at Vaughns. Bryan Beal and his team at Innovative Hospitality and Development are taking over as new owners. They have some changes planned to continue to improve the venue and the overall experience. I look forward to seeing what Bryan and his partners do with this.

Thomas Wirthlin, the founder of the Warehouse at Vaughn’s, will continue to be busy with all the businesses and venues he runs. He took this same concept and opened a food hall midtown called the Warehouse at Midtown as well as opened a new food hall at BridgeWay Station called City Market in Mauldin amongst other restaurants.

Bryan Beal and is team are working on several other projects in the Upstate from Fountain Inn to Greer. The brewery and multiple restaurants as well as an event venue will soon be opening in Fountain Inn.

Revitalizing History – Judson Mill’s Redevelopment and Thriving Mixed-Use Community

Photo: Triangle Construction Company, Inc.

Greenville, South Carolina was the “textile capital of the world” back in the day before everything closed down and moved to China. In its wake has been left abandoned mills scattered throughout the Upstate. Many of these have been converted and renovated back to life and Judson Mill is no exception. But this redevelopment or reuse of the mill has delivered a spectacular adaptation of mixed-use.

If you want to read more about this amazing project, be sure to read the in-depth article published about Judson Mill by the Commercial Real Estate Development Association.

Be sure to check out the Judson Mill District website.

Rosewood Communities is Sold to United Homes Group $UHG

Photo Credit: Rosewood Communities – Now United Homes Group

The consolidation in everything continues and we see it in the home building arena. A local favorite, Rosewood Communities, was just acquired by United Homes Group which is a publicly traded company headquatered just out of Columbia, SC. Rosewood Communities builds a gorgeous cottage home in several communities throughout the Upstate of South Carolina. They are a high quality builder that will help $UHG continue to grow in the high growth market of the Upstate.

Here’s the press release announcing the purchase. Congratulations to Rosewood’s owner, Mark Nyblom on the exit. He developed Rosewood Communities into a top notch home building company that delivered a product people really enjoyed. Hopefully United Homes Group will continue with this excellent in quality, design and style. According to the press release, Mark Nyblom will stay on as division manager which should be a good thing.

“Acquiring Rosewood Communities is a great opportunity to expand our existing footprint in the Upstate area,” said UHG Chief Executive Officer Michael Nieri. “With a world-class university in Clemson and a booming industrial base in Greenville with employers like BMW, Upstate South Carolina is a fast growing, attractive new home market. Rosewood’s innovative home designs will also allow us to diversify our product offering in the Upstate, and we plan on using their designs in our other markets.”

There was no mention of the price paid. It sure seems to me to be a brilliant acquisition as I would think these types of plans and communities will be well received throughout the markets where UHG is established as well as those they will move into in the future. Congrats to all involved!

Greenville, SC – Top 10 Most Beautiful and Affordable Places to Live in America

Greenville, SC Historic West End
Photo: Greenville, SC Historic West End / John Murphy, Greenville Real Estate News

There isn’t a week that goes by it seems without Greenville, SC being named to some list of top places to live, work, vacation and invest. This past week, Greenville, SC was named a Top 10 Most Beautiful and Affordable Places to Live by Travel & Leisure Magazine. Those of us who live here have known this for quite some time but it’s still nice to see the recognition.

People all over the country are evaluating where there are living like never before. The Covid-19 Pandemic allowed people to work from home which means they could live anywhere. Why continue to live in an area that has winter for 4-6 months out of the year when you could live elsewhere? Why live in a over regulated blue state with the heavy hand of government when you could live in a state with better weather, access to beaches and mountains and where the government doesn’t try to control every aspect of your life? South Carolina is a great option and tens of thousands of people have discovered it.

If you’re thinking of moving from some cold, blue state in the north, Midwest or NE, feel free to give me a call and I’d be happy to tell you about Greenville and the Upstate. Call me at 864-276-1448. I’m a licensed real estate broker with eXp Realty in both SC and MN. SC License #113522.

The Public Debate Over Sexually Explicit LGBTQ+ Children’s and Youth Books Comes to Greenville County Public Libary System

Photo: Greenville County Library Board Meeting – John Murphy, Greenville Real Estate News

We’ve all seen the video clips of the ongoing debate across the country regarding what kinds of reading material should be accessible to America’s children and youth. We’d like to think that Greenville County would be immune to having to battle this but the fight is here. Yesterday both sides stood their ground at the month meeting of the Greenville County Library Board.

I had the opportunity to be there to hear some of the speakers but I was standing at the threshold to the room so it was hard for me to judge the size of the crowd. I’m guessing there was somewhere between 100-150 people in there and it seemed pretty balance to me but one of the women I spoke with thought the balance may have been slightly infavor of the LGBTQ+ crowd. However, that said, there had been a meeting just a couple of weeks ago and there were perhaps 3 people on the side of conservatism and tradition values and 30+ on the LGBTQ+ side.

The group fighting against the proliferation of LGBTQ+ materials in our public libraries is asking the library board to remove the sexually explicit books from the children’s and youth section and put them in the adult section is my understanding. We don’t want to see our children exposed to this material. In a normal world, which of couse we do not live in, but if we did, this kind of material would be grounds for some kind of charges…it’s sexual exploitation and is corrupting America’s children and youth. We’ve heard about this going on in our public schools across the U.S. buried in DEI and BLM materials. Of course it’s also in the public libraries. Many of us don’t want it here in Greenville County. I would submit that the vast majority trying to protect our children from this assault on their innocence are Christians. We all have heard the following Bible verse read from the pulpit many times over from Mark 9:42…Jesus tells his Disciples….“whoever causes one of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were put around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.” To most of us it’s just common sense that you would not expose and encourage sexual activity or exploration in children and youth. At a minimum these discussions should occur with the full knowledge and consent of the child’s parents and not something they might randomly discover in a public library.

What I don’t get is it would seem to me to be pro-LGBTQ+ one must believe in sexualizing children and youth as early in life as possible. Is this what they believe? It exposes children and youth to something they are not ready for and it may become very confusing for them. But of course the LGBTQ+ community and the medical establishment that support their efforts count on children being confused. And of course, they are the “experts”…the doctors, counselors and librarians…they are all certified and educated and have way more knowledge than the average parent…right? They may have more education than the average parent but this does not mean they know what’s best for the child. It’s the parent’s role to make these decisions.

Conservatives in South Carolina have been lulled asleep and it’s time to wake up. Because so much of the state is conservative and votes strongly in favor of traditional values, we figure that our elected Republican officials will have our backs. But you would be wrong. The Left is organized and the act as one big pressure group. That’s not the way conservatives operate but we must get more active and show up. Just have the body count at meetings and events will go a long ways. We don’t have to be nasty but we should be vocal and let our voices be heard making sure our elected representatives know where we stand.

It’s one thing for consenting adults to choose what they do, but it’s another when you start messing with the kids as they have been doing for some time given the explosion in gender dysphoria across the country. Many of us have had the attitude of “live and let live” but again, that’s when it’s consenting adults. It’s a different deal when our children are involved. Oh and for those saying we want to ban books…that’s not true. We just think some of this explicitly sexual material should not be readily accessible to our children is all. Can’t we all agree on that?

BTW, the next meeting for the Greenville County Library Board of Trustees is scheduled for noon on April 24th at the same place – Hughes Library downtown Greenville.

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