Re/max Real Estate Update - Greenville, Travelers Rest, Simpsonville, Greer April

BMW has announced a goal to increase production at the Greer plant to 200,000 cars per year by 2010. This is good news for the Upstate because it will not only increase employment at the car manufacturer, but will also have a profound impact on BMW suppliers, many of whom are found locally. Across the street from the main entrance to BMW, Liberty Property Trust has purchased 51 acres for an industrial park that will mostly house tenants who serve the auto manufacturer. The first to sign up is the Fast Tec Group, an Indianapolis firm that provides sorting, inspection, re-work and containment services for vehicle manufacturers. The developer plans to build up to six buildings on the land over the next five years, as demand requires. Demand does seem to be consistently high in the Golden Box area south of I-85, but according to the developer, inventory of Class A industrial space is lacking.

The number of aviation firms in the area has prompted Embry-Riddle International Aeronautical University Worldwide to open a campus here for Aviation Maintenance Management. Students at Greenville Tech working toward their airframe power train certificate can transfer easily into Embry-Riddle's four-year degree program. Aircraft technician was recently listed by Forbes magazine as number 6 in the Top 10 blue collar jobs.

Downtown Alive, the weekly Thursday night live-music event in the center of town has begun for the 2007 season. This popular gathering closes down the upper end of Main Street for a great family excursion. You can expect a friendly crowd, a variety of music, street vendors, and sidewalk café tables from the restaurants. The event acts as a fundraiser for the Metropolitan Arts Council.

Greenville engineers should be excited about the recent boom in business for large engineering companies in the area. Fluor has announced that they are tracking 35 nuclear power plants to be built in the US from 2010 to 2020, which makes it the first ones to be seriously considered since the Three Mile accident in 1979. Fluor expects to hire more engineers to meet this demand, and follows a recent 200 employee addition in response to increased demand on other sectors.

After a lot of debate, the Greenville County Offices won't move to the new Magnolia Mall on Woodruff Road after all. Canyon Gulfside Greenville LLC was unable to come to terms with County Council over how they would develop the aging mall bought last year. The plan kept changing until there was no residential housing included in the mix of commercial and retail. Also, at stake was the 33 acres of prime downtown land where the County buildings now sit. Gulfside wanted to develop the downtown site with high-end office, retail, and commercial if they could move the offices to Magnolia Point. Lacking a satisfactory agreement with the County, Gulfside has now sold Magnolia Point to Menin Development Companies while in the middle of a demolition project. We'll have to wait and see how Magnolia Point plays out for high end residential real estate that is surrounded by a burgeoning commercial and retail district.

It's full speed ahead for the Carolina Swamp Rabbit Tram Trail, which will connect downtown Greenville and Travelers Rest with a running-biking corridor. After crews remove the steel from the old railway this summer, recreational district employees and volunteers will move the wooden crossties. With funds from the 2% hospitality tax available in the fall, paving should begin.
Unseasonably warm this week with highs around 80 and lows in the mid-50s. Some clouds are expected but no real rain is in the forecast.

Source: Greenville News, GSA Business.