Several months ago, I heard a rumor that the Virginia College of Osteopathic Medicine was looking at the old Spartan Mills site as a possible location for their proposed Spartanburg Campus. At the time, I didn’t realize exactly what that meant, at least beyond a simple understanding that a new college campus was likely to be a boon to the city. Sure, I knew that the properties around the then-proposed VCOM site were in an undesirable area with a lot of those homes selling for a fraction of what they’ll be worth the moment the college opens, but that was almost entirely based on information I found online. It was an informed guess.
What would you do with an entire street that needed a reboot?
Then, a few weeks ago, VCOM broke ground on the new campus, something I heard about immediately after the ceremony was over. Initially, I was upset that I’d missed the groundbreaking — a great opportunity for a video — but I decided that it was probably worth driving over to the site to see if I could at least find someone to talk to. I got there so late, that the only people there were the folks taking down the tent that had been rented for the event, clearly missing the opportunity for any kind of meaningful coverage. But, since I was already in the area, I decided to take a look around.
And … Wow.
Driving around the Spartan Mills area, two things were evident. First, it’s pretty much the definition of blighted. Dozens of homes are condemned, many more appear abandoned, and several were clearly being used as squats. I don’t know the crime statistics for the area, but I’d suspect it’s pretty high. It’s easy to see why this area has gotten a reputation as being the gateway into one of the “bad” parts of town, which — depending on who you talk to — can either mean a few blocks here and there, or the whole of the north side.
But the second thing that became evident — to me at least — was the immense potential of the area. Those same condemned houses appear to be in relatively good shape, at least by comparison to the photos I’ve seen of homes in Hampton Heights from a few years ago. And given that the neighborhood is actually pretty close to the increasingly fashionable Grain District area of downtown, not to mention things like the Farmers Market, USC Upstate’s business school and the Chapman Cultural Center, it really doesn’t take all that much imagination to see what the neighborhood could be.
Clearly, this part of downtown Spartanburg hasn’t been a priority for the city until very recently. It has the feel of a place that has been abandoned, even by the people who own buildings there. And while VCOM’s presence will certainly impact the neighborhood, this could easily be as much of a bad thing as a good one. Dozens of historic homes — mill homes, which could be part of the city’s charm if preserved — could be leveled and replaced with cheap housing or commercial storefronts hoping to cater to VCOM students. Poor families, many of them black, could be effectively forced out of a neighborhood by real estate speculation. And without some basic plan for how to deal with the coming changes to the neighborhood, many of the basic issues in this barrier area between the north side and downtown will never be addressed, meaning that what lasting redevelopments do happen will be limited to a very small area immediately around the college, rather than improving the whole area.
If all of this sounds like a set of sweeping proclamations by someone who doesn’t understand the scope of the problems facing the north side, that’s because it is. Even the Spartan Mills area is too big for me to really wrap my head around. Maybe planning for the whole of Spartan Mills is too much. Maybe trying to save all of the historic homes in the area is also too much. Maybe, just maybe, it would be better to focus on one street.
Hence, today’s big idea: Bring back Brawley Street.
Brawley Street is one manageable bite of downtown Spartanburg that's ripe for restoration, renovation and investment.
In case you’re not familiar with Brawley Street, allow me to help place it for you. It runs more-or-less parallel to Howard Street, and is the first major intersection with College Street once you’ve made it past the future VCOM campus. It runs from equally blighted Aden Street to a dead-end mere feet from where Wofford Street joins with Reidville Road to become St. John Street. Google Maps claims that the whole length of the street is 0.7 miles, with College St. and the future VCOM campus almost bisecting it. That means the furthest distance from VCOM to any point on Brawley St. is roughly a third of a mile — spitting distance.
Driving around on Brawley St., you’ll notice that most of the houses on the south end are either condemned, abandoned or for sale. Many of them are actually in relatively good shape, at least from a home-renovation viewpoint. It’s just an informed guess, but I’d think many of these properties could be picked up for $10k to $20k, and passably restored for about the same level of investment. For the price of a single home in Converse or Hampton Heights, one could probably buy and restore a whole block of homes on Brawley St.
Of course, why would anyone want to?
What I’d like to do is show you a few of the buildings and properties I found in driving around Brawley Street, treating each with just a little imagination to see what they could become. I should also note that I know almost nothing about the status of these properties — who owns them, what’s currently planned for them and so forth — so this is really just a game of “what if” in a lot of ways. This whole premise should be viewed as a reason to start talking about this area’s potential rather than as a concrete plan to take a specific action.
446 Mill Street has tons of potential.
Let’s start off with this home, one of several small bungalows overlooking the VCOM campus on Mill Street. Yes, I’m aware that the title of this post isn’t “Bring Back Mill Street,” but Mill Street is very short, and I fear its time is limited. Why? Well, between the first time I visited Spartan Mills and when I showed up a few days later to snag some photos, one of the five houses on Mill Street had already been demolished. It’s not too much to assume that the rest of the houses may face a similar fate. Which would be a shame, because these are actually neat little houses. They all appear to be identical except for cosmetic differences, and they also appear to be quite sturdy, which is strange considering that they’re all also condemned. Restored, they would make for great short-term housing for people who weren’t planning on living in Spartanburg for more than a year or so. Interns for various local non-profits, grad students, visiting instructors and the like could really make this tiny street into a nice area. When I look at these buildings, I also see short-term housing for local artists, perhaps as an extension of the
HUB-BUB’s Artists-in-Residence program.
414 Brawley has uses galore.
Of course, if you were going to find artist housing, you probably want to get the biggest bang for your buck. Which brings me to 414 Brawley Street, one of the nicest-looking homes on the block, and in reasonably good shape considering that the place is condemned. According to the foreclosure listing, it has 5 bedrooms and three baths. It would make for quite a feather in the city’s cap to have two or three working artists using the house as live/work studio space, with open studio tours once a month or so, rather than to have a crumbling historic home that’s currently awaiting a date with a bulldozer. Given the age of the building, I’d assume that there are also significant dining and living room areas. It would also make for a nice residence for a family if kept as a single-family home, but it could also make for decent student housing if broken up into apartments. It’s actually quite a lot larger than the picture implies, and it’s not too much to say that it could also be used for something non-residential, if the zoning allows. Imagine it being turned into offices for neighborhood and community activism groups, for instance.
It’s currently foreclosure for $10,000.
Big, empty and capable of holding small-to-moderate sized dream businesses.
Towards the downtown end of Brawley St., there road is crossed by railroad tracks. Two large buildings — both surely used as storehouses at some point — stand here. This building is currently available for lease, and it has the great advantage of being a large, brick shell with tons of loading bays and no clear identity. I could be made into almost anything. Need a space to start your pottery business? Look here, because there’s plenty of room for a studio and a warehouse. Looking for a space a bunch of bands could use as rehearsal space? It’s right next to the railroad tracks, so those pesky noise complaints should be limited. It could even be a venue, I’d think, although the low roof might be problematic. It could also serve as a small factory floor for a local start-up business (or an existing one that was looking to move downtown), particularly if there were some incentives in place to sweeten the deal. It’s a blank slate with a huge amount of floor space, right downtown. Right now, however, it’s not being used for much of anything.
This humble building could be amazing.
Right across the street is this building, which appears to have been a loading/unloading station for trains, probably with each section of the long building being rented out to different companies. It doesn’t appear to have been used for anything like that in quite some time, and the outer walls are currently covered in gang graffiti. Which is a shame, because — with the right kind of eyes — it could actually be something a lot more interesting. Each of those existing sections could easily be made into small retail areas with large, south-facing windows. Properly restored and supported, it could be a perfect location for a downtown business incubator, an affordable place for businesses to start out while they’re building a customer base. It could be something like the
Wedge Building in nearby Asheville, which was utterly blighted and in one of the worst parts of town until a man named John Payne came along and recognized the potential. Now, that building is considered to be the heart of the so-called River Arts District, and it’s home to several galleries and studios, a cafe and a brew pub. Something very similar could happen here.
A little investment, and this Brawley Street shop could thrive.
At the very far end of Brawley St., right before it dead-ends mere yards from Wofford Street, there’s this building. At some point, it was a market of some kind. It has a nice-looking front facade, the neighboring lot could easily be made into a nice parking lot (one which could even have an entrance on Wofford St. if the city played ball), and it appears to have quite a storage area in the back. To me, this screams “
future home of the Hub City Co-op,” a project that has backed out of two proposed sites already, with cost being a factor in each case. Where better to start a community venture like a co-op than in a neighborhood that could stand a little investment? And even if the Co-op folks aren’t interested … just look at the place! It has potential galore.
I’ve only shown you a handful of the spaces available on Brawley St. — a fraction, really — and I haven’t even mentioned some of the neat things in the surrounding neighborhood. With the right kind of attention, this area could go from blighted to thriving. What I need are your ideas. Take a look at these buildings and tell me what you think could be done with them.
What are the missed opportunities? What are the cool local projects that need a home? What projects could go into this neighborhood that might actually help to un-blight the area?
I think one of these building would make a great multi use office space for small non-profits who can’t afford their own building. OR if one of them could become the Upstate South Carolina Gay and Lesbian Community Center. (which is a dream of many people in Upstate Pride).
Good ideas expressed by Spark and Joey. With this high unemployment rate and people perhaps contemplating self-employment, the multi-office concept could also be used for small business owners. I’ve seen friends, CPAs and consultants, in other cities share the phone and receptionist costs.
The spot you mentioned that would make a good possible venue (3rd from bottom pic) I remember going to as a young kid. If I remember correctly it was kind of like a mom and pop Sam’s club type deal where you bought stuff in bulk. As a kid what I specifically remember is when you walked in, to the left, there was a room where they sold nothing but cases of candy bars of every kind, back then it was like a dream come true. After eating a whole case of peanut butter cups once I got sick as a dog.
oooo love the yellow house! It is so pretty, I’ve always wanted a house like that…maybe…just maybe something like that will be possible in the future.
just wanted to say i lived at 414 brawlet st with my grandparents when i was a teen that was in the early 80s that at 1 time was a nice house i would like to help do something for that house and neighborhood ive rode thru there some and its just a den for crack heads and such now
3rd from bottom used to be thomas and howard dist.
I love 414 Brawlet St! I would love to buy that house and renovate it. It has so much potential.
totally agree. Just wish I had about 30 grand. 10 for the purchase and 20 to bring it to its full potential.
I talked to two co-op owners this morning and both (one especially) see the potential for co-op to be at that old store. I’d love to go check it out and see what condition the inside is. Steve, do you know who owns it?
No idea. I’m sure someone at the City level could find out for you easily enough.
http://www.spartanburgcounty.org/govt/depts/gis/index.htm
Click “GIS Mapping Program” and zoom on down to the site. Use the information tool and click on the actual parcel when you’ve found it. It’s a great resource to track ownership, previous sales, etc.
VERY COOL! Given how circa 1999 the County’s site looks, I had no idea they had something this advanced on it. Should be a great resource for the future.
Assuming I’ve done this right, here are the basic details …
OWNER: WAKEFIELD BUICK PONTIAC GMC*
ADDRESS: PO BOX 5250, Spartanburg, SC 29304
PROPERTY ADDRESS: 289 BRAWLEY ST SPARTANBURG
LEGAL DESCRIPTION: E SIDE BRAWLEY STN OF WOFFORD ST DB 77A-953 PB 49-193 *ETAL* JOHN-ELIZABETH-ROBERT WILLIAM IND & CUS
SALE AMOUNT: 10 (I’m assuming this means $10k in 2003 dollars, which is when it appears to have been sold)
BUILT: 1930
LOT: 3500 sq ft
BUILDING: 2700 sq ft
LAND USE: MEDICAL & HEALTH SERVICES
Wow. As best I can tell, that’s not 10K, that’s $10.
Yes, Steve-Brad’s right that IS $10. Whoa. Are you sure that’s the address?
I’m fairly certain it’s the right lot. Square footage looks right, it’s the last building on the street, it’s between a vacant lot and a residence, it looks like something that would have been built circa 1930 … I think it’s the same place.
Maybe there’s an error on the record? Or maybe it was sold for $10 as a way of transferring it from one company to another or something?
Holy shit, I own that.
Betsy, I was thinking you were connected when I saw Wakefield bought it…
Funny how things work out, isn’t it?
hahahahahaa. this made me fall off the chair.
I also thought this was hilarious when I read it last night!
T-shirt idea for the Co-op…
front: Hub-City Co-Op… (whatever y’all choose here)
Back: Holy Sh*t. I Own that!
We rode through yesterday. Awesome space. I’m geographically challenged and didn’t realize how close it is to Downtown!!! I always saw it as the other side of the Farmers Mkt…which is close but I didn’t realize Brawley came back toward Downtown. WOW. People could definitely access the Co-op from St. John. There was a cut-in to the back of that building that would lead to parking. Once the area became stablized we could ask the City to re-open that cul-de-sac. And wow, that underpass is LOW.
But, dang. There are some cool houses and buildings over there. And it’s SO close!!!
At least one of the small houses on Mill St. is selling in foreclosure at the moment. Buy your own downtown house next to a future college campus for the low-low price of $2500. You’ll probably pay more in closing costs than on the house itself.
http://hotpads.com/search/listing/30474147_RealtyTrac#lat=34.952893&lon=-81.941834&zoom=20&previewId=30474147_RealtyTrac&previewType=listing&detailsOpen=true&listingTypes=foreclosure&pricingFrequency=once&loan=30,0.0525,0&visible=new,viewed,favorite
Steve, you rock. You are dang thinking machine. After the last article you posted on this topic I shared with a friend who rode out and emailed me a picture of 414 Brawley Street. It is gorgeous.
If I had some money, I’d love to buy a few houses and renovate them green while maintaining their historic integrity.
And how about Betsy owning that building. We could all chip in, buy properties and name it Teterville.
I like thinking. It’s my favorite hobby.
I wonder how much investment it would take to start the ball rolling on Brawley. It seems like quite a lot could be done with a relatively small investment — $50k or so in one or two houses — and a PR campaign touting the area, as well as some volunteer time documenting the other houses in the area and their potential.
And having a food co-op (just for the sake of argument) within walking distance would make for quite a selling point. If one of the vacant lots were turned into a small community park (I can’t imagine it would cost that much to do), there’s another little incentive.
There’s also a huge, kudzu covered field at the end of Brawley, between the railroad tracks and the store area, that might actually make for a good spot for a future dog park. The whole place has tons of potential.
I like the idea of us all chipping in. If some real-world discussions and actions come from this, maybe some folks can organize a fund-raiser?
Yes.
Incidentally, Brawley Street was a through-street till just a few years ago. The cul-de-sac at the southern end was put in when the St. John Street. connector was built. It’s sensible to limit traffic there somewhat — you wouldn’t want cars trying to turn left from Brawley Street onto the connector — but maybe the entrance to Brawley could be re-opened with a traffic island allowing only right-turns? Otherwise it will be hard to get delivery trucks down there — the railroad overpass is very low (under ten feet), as I recall.
That’s good to know. It definitely has the look of a road that once connected.
The low bridge would probably be an issue, although I’m fairly certain Clinton Street connects to Forest Street. Google Maps doesn’t think it does, but I drove out of Brawley Street that way just a few days ago.
Alternately, the lot connecting to Wofford might be made into a through-traffic hostile parking lot, rather than a road. Some speed bumps or some kind of median to prevent people from driving straight through to Brawley might do the trick.
I’m sure there’s some reasonable solution to this traffic puzzle.
It’s not necessarily relevant to reconnecting Brawley to St. John or Wofford St., but I thought it would be good to mention this for the record:
Based on photos I’ve seen of that area, there may be a second underpass below the railroad tracks that go over St. John Street. I think they filled in the underpass when they reconfigured Wofford Street in the 1950s or 1960s. This second underpass would be just to the north of the one you go under now on St. John Street. On Google maps, there is a dirt patch next to the tracks in the area I’m talking about.
By the way, the old, old name for Walker Street, Forest Street, and the area behind Wakefield (which still has a fair share of 1870s-era houses) is Hamburg Heights. I think a group of Germans settled there in the 1880s. Walker Street, is named for Singing Billy Walker, whose house stood near the corner with Wofford Street. It was torn down less than 10 years ago.
Did we really let a house that was the home of Singing Billy Walker get torn down in the last decade? I knew we had problems with historic preservation in this town, but I thought we were doing better than that lately. Sheesh.
I know. I was driving out that way once a year or two ago and saw a cute little house for sale on Walker Street and for an afternoon I thought it was Billy Walker’s house. When I checked the museum photos, I saw that it wasn’t and got curious about where his house actually was on Walker Street. Around that time, I chatted with John Bullard and he told me it had been torn down just within the past few years. I think that’s a case pure and simple where no one did their homework or saw it in time to speak up.
Today (3/13) I drove down Brawley Street to refresh my memory. Yes, the overpass has only eight-and-a-half feet of clearance, but Clinton Street does intersect Brawley just south of the overpass and connect it to Wofford St. near Forest St. So re-opening Brawley’s southern end would not be necessary.
I drove through there yesterday myself, Steve. It does have tons of potential! While not ideal now, I do see that being a very cool little neighborhood.
“Potential” is the key word, definitely. I’m not saying it absolutely will become a cool neighborhood, just that the ingredients are right for it to become one. It’s cheap enough at the moment that a small, modestly funded group of citizens could buy up, restore and renovate a whole block. With city support and some fundraising, it could even become a little arts enclave.
Say, for instance, that most of the condemned properties were bought up by a group of citizens who wanted to turn the area from a residential area to something more along the lines of a small retail/commercial village. Little indie shops, studios, offices and the like in old houses, which is a common sight in once historic neighborhoods.
It would be hard to argue that it would be the “wrong” thing to do with the neighborhood, since it’s vacant, blighted and mostly condemned, not to mention next to what it currently a giant hole in the ground.
Assuming the community didn’t complain — hard to argue against bringing retail space to the area — and the City saw the potential, this could actually be a little tourist attraction. Low-cost buildings means that the overhead would be lower for a lot of these spaces, which means commercial pressures could be lower. That’s ideal for artists and galleries, as well as boutiques and even small groceries. It could serve VCOM’s students, as well as being a potential attraction to downtown once the crackhouses are a few years in the past.
But all of that would require several factions within the city working towards the same goal. It would also require investment money in a time where funds are drying up. It would require someone who understands the vision to shepherd the project through. Maybe it’s a pipe dream, but at this exact moment — and only for a short window of time — it’s actually possible for a small group of citizens to create such a thing.
Betsy, what else do you own on the street? Do you even know?
Upstate Pride would love to wine and dine you – ok, coffee and scone you – because we have a dream!
347 Brawley (the smaller of the two warehouses) is for sale or lease. It may be the lowest lease in the 29301 zip code:
http://www.loopnet.com/xNet/MainSite/Listing/Profile/Profile.aspx?LID=15746428&SRID=800826264&StepID=101&LinkCode=20280
I mean, lowest lease for something its size.
Nearly 8,000 square feet for $1,500 a month is beyond reasonable. Say you made that into the often-mentioned, desperately needed “business incubators,” splitting into 2000 square foot spaces for four local businesses. (I say four because there are four loading bays which could probably be altered to become distinct entrances.) That’s $375 a month each … pennies by comparison to other offerings downtown.
Or say it was made into shared display space, with 20 local artists/crafters/small retailers getting like a 15 by 15 display area each. They’d only have to sell $75 each to break even on the space, which would probably come to $100 each per month once you factor in utilities.
You would have the problem of location, sure, but if there was a shared pool for advertising, signage and other publicity — say $500 a month to start — it could very generate enough interest to start paying for itself.
Also, that’s not a bad sale price, considering …
“7,900 square feet on .29 acres with sprinkler system, 2 rest rooms and accommodates 4 dock doors. Open floor plan. ALSO FOR SALE: $289,000. 2 turns off St. John Street”
I suspect you could haggle that down a little, too.
Holy cow! Same neck of the woods, just up Wofford Street a bit …
http://www.loopnet.com/Listing/16515186/630-Wofford-Street-Spartanburg-SC/
“Price:$225,000Building
Size:50,292 SF
+/47,700 square foot warehouse space
+/-2,000 square foot office.
100% Sprinkled.
Great condition.
One 11×16 Drive In Door.
12 8×14 Loading Docks.
One 16×32 Pit Loading Dock.
14-16 ft ceiling heights.
Flourescent Lighting.
Alarm System.
16×16 Column spacing.
Situated on 2.6 acres.
Clean Phase One on file.
Only $4.47 square foot price!
Owner very motivated to see offers.
Great user or investment potential. Market rent in $1.00 to 1.50 foot range.
Possible self-storage, storage, manufacturing, distribution etc..
Great central location very close to downtown Spartanburg and close to interstates. Right down the street from recently renovated Class A Integral Solutions.”
25 small businesses willing to take a chance on this for less than $10k each could have 2000 square feet of their very own, very close to downtown.
If you want to talk about a slightly higher risk, there’s also this gem, which is basically on the exact opposite end of Brawley Street, where Brawley t-intersects with Preston. At $85k for 20,000 square feet, it might be worth checking out. I briefly looked at it myself earlier this week. It’s like a fortress.
348 Preston Street
$85,000
Size Available:
20,250 SF
Type of Use:
Industrial
20,250 +/- sq. ft. industrial facility located on Preston St. one
block from Howard Street. 1 +/- acre site. 1,900 +/- sq. ft. office,
18.350+/- warehouse. 15′x30′ column spacing. Clear height – 10′ Office
area heated and cooled. Heated warehouse. 1 roll up door. 4″ concrete
slab foundation. Asphalt drive and parking. Located it the City of
Spartanburg. Zoned l-1 – Light Industrial. TM # 7-11-08-450.00
http://www.cityfeet.com/Commercial/ForSale/spartanburgcommercialrealestatelocal/348-Preston-Street-Spartanburg-SC-29303-16433702L0L0.aspx
Speaking of Singing Billy Walker (above), this might interest some of you:
http://www.goupstate.com/article/20100313/ARTICLES/100319825
I grew up on Johnson Street in the Spartan Mills neighborhood. I’ve been gone from SC for many years. It’s sad to see what shape the area is in now. Back in the 60s and 70s it was a great place to live.
If it’s any consolation, I suspect that shortly after VCOM opens, it’ll become one of the most desirable neighborhoods in the city.
After walking down Brawley Street, I really think that it has a lot of potential to attract some people to Spartanburg. With the low price of real estate in the area, I believe that it would be wise for the new orthopedic school being built in Spartanburg to possibly use this area for student housing or some other purpose. With a little bit of time and money, it is reasonable to believe that this area of Spartanburg could become a bright spot within the town.
As a current student, I believe that Brawley Street has quite a bit to offer for future students. If the appropriate investments were made and the houses were fixed up, these could be offered for either students of faculty of the new medical school. If this area were invested in and revitalized, it could allow the entire area to thrive.
I believe that Brawley street can be a great place if nutured properly. There is a lot of potential on this street and with adequate attention it can be beautiful. The new medical college could use this as housing for the students and faculty. One essential key is that they listen to the people who live in the surrounding community before they make any changes.
<> I agree that this idea is an excellent venture for the community. However, the number one priority I see is to ensure the history and homes of Brawley Street are preserved. As Vanessa stated, this would be the ideal place for faculty and students of the medical school. It makes me wonder if this a project that Preservation Trust, or another organization of its liking, could work on.
Bring back Brawley Street in an interesting idea to consider. I am a Senior at Wofford College, and I never realized the potential of the area. As I took a quick walk, maybe 15 minutes for a slow walker, I realized the hope the street has. Many of the buildings are not in complete shambles, at least not enough to be demolished. With a little bit of elbow grease and some new sidewalks, this street has the potential to bring in many of the artists that the Hub Bub tries to get, without the extreme cost on anyone’s pocket. The area has great promise, it will just take some nurturing from the community.
The buildings and houses on Brawley Street would be attractive to crafters and artists looking for a project to work on etc. and possibly to the students of the future medical school who will be looking for residence near the school at a decent price. Not so much a good place for businesses unless the street becomes more popular and attractive to the public. Excellent marketing would be needed to advertise Brawley street’s potential and applied soon before it’s history is lost.