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The truth is that this is the sign that I've been trying to tell this forum for the last year. Charleston is growing, and acording to this, at a fast rate. Construction has gone up due to the increase in business, public works projects, and even housing. And several large projects will help this along in the next few years,
EX:
Saint Albans/ Nitro Bridge Project,
new downtown library,
downtown urban development projects, CAMC billion dollar expansion plans, CAMC Cancer Center
new downtown hotel,
Cabela's
Cato school Charleston Civic Center Renovations and Expansion
Casino Expansion and Convention Center
Expansion at Bible Center Phase II-III
redevelopment of old FMC plant in SC
redevelopment of old union carbide building site
Flemming Hall renovations and Expansion at WVSU
new industrial site at Bayer Crop Science plant new technology school at MATRIC Park
the renovation of facilities at MATRIC
renovations to the old Stone and Thomas building
Current Projects:
4 story office building South Charleston
4 story Medical wing to Highland Hospital
Renovations to City Center West, home of new Lottery HQ
New Basketball Arena for University of Charleston
I-64 bridge work and lane expansion
New FBI center in Downtown
Yeager Airport Runway Expansion
Air National Guard building 2 large hangers
West Side Projects Redevelopment
The City of Charleston and its suburbs are seeing growth in every aspect of a city. In infrastructure, education, recreation, retail, business, government, housing, and even tourism.
There has also been a recent growth in housing, and apartment complexes. Just Beyond Southridge is a good example of all the new subdivisions that are being built. Another good example is within city limits along Oakridge Drive. Also condos and townhomes are going up in places like Cross Lanes and Pinch. Plus as I mentioned on another thread, retail is booming right now. The mall has brought in 3 new full service restaurants and numerous other stores in the past 6 months. Downtown has seen huge growth with both local and chain restaurants opening up in revamped store fronts. The Kanawha City area has been growing with retail, and so has Southridge and Cross Lanes.
I think we both can agree charleston has seen better days. Anyway my comment was about charleston per se, but its politics. I'm a west Virginian and want to see the state prosper charleston included. The current government is holding your coty and the state back.
There might be new construction in charleston but the city is not growing. Maybe the suburbs are. I'm personally not a fan of the death of city cores because of suburban flight.
From what I've read (and that may be wrong) Charleston has had significant fiscal problems in part because of unfunded obligations for police pensions.
Where are they getting the money for some of these projects? I realize that the Civic Center is basically a dump, but it would be very expensive to make signigicant changes there and as far as expanding it? They seldom seem to utilize all of the current facility.
It is true that the Town Center has made a rebound of sorts, but I suspect that might be short lived since those types of facilities seem to be on the wane nationwide. Parking issues, for one, make them unattractive for many shoppers. And, while Charleston really doesn't have a traffic congestion problem of which to speak, there is enough hassle involved with driving in a downtown area to make suburban shopping easier just about anywhere.
There is one thing that is different about Charleston though. The interstates there also have to function as ways to get around for city travelers since, unlike most places, they were built right through the town rather than around it. Perhaps topography had something to do with that? In any case, it might also affect shopping patterns. I do have to believe the new Cabelas will have a negative effect on downtown shopping though and a very positive effect for suburban shopping. Also, and especially because it is being built on the west side of the town, it will have a major impact as far away as Huntington. That will be good for Kanawha, but bad for Putnam and possibly Cabell.
The new Cabellas is being built in Southridge. 10 miles and complete opposite direction of the west side.
The City of Charleston is funding the majority of the projects with the $2 user fee they tax workers within city limits with each week. You need to keep in mind. About a quarter of a million people do business in Charleston on a daily basis. That adds up.
The Riverfront Parks have been greatly remodled in the past two years, and I agree the Civic Center needs a makeover. Its still sitting in the 80's and doesn't even have a ribbon board, LOL. How is a top 25 basketball team supposed to play there twice a year?
Parking at the downtown Town Center Mall is more convenient than dealing with traffic at Southridge. There are 3, 5 story parking garages connected to the mall.
I haven't heard much about city police pension concerns. I play basketball with several members of the force and a retired chief. None of them have let out any worries about retirement packages that I'm aware of. Do you have a link to clear that up?
From what I've read (and that may be wrong) Charleston has had significant fiscal problems in part because of unfunded obligations for police pensions.
Where are they getting the money for some of these projects? I realize that the Civic Center is basically a dump, but it would be very expensive to make signigicant changes there and as far as expanding it? They seldom seem to utilize all of the current facility.
It is true that the Town Center has made a rebound of sorts, but I suspect that might be short lived since those types of facilities seem to be on the wane nationwide. Parking issues, for one, make them unattractive for many shoppers. And, while Charleston really doesn't have a traffic congestion problem of which to speak, there is enough hassle involved with driving in a downtown area to make suburban shopping easier just about anywhere.
There is one thing that is different about Charleston though. The interstates there also have to function as ways to get around for city travelers since, unlike most places, they were built right through the town rather than around it. Perhaps topography had something to do with that? In any case, it might also affect shopping patterns. I do have to believe the new Cabelas will have a negative effect on downtown shopping though and a very positive effect for suburban shopping. Also, and especially because it is being built on the west side of the town, it will have a major impact as far away as Huntington. That will be good for Kanawha, but bad for Putnam and possibly Cabell.
The Charleston Town Center was never doing bad. in fact it has been pretty much full for its entire history, and there is always people there. I don't know why anyone would have thought that it was doing bad because it has been an engine for downtown for decades. The Civic Center is probably the most used venue in the state. Once again, I don't know why anybody wouldn't know that. It is used every week out of the year, and has hosted some huge events. The facilities are old, but I wouldn't call the place run down. The building has seen better days though, and the project will make it a state of the art center for anything and everything.
Cabela's won't hurt downtown because it is two types of shopping. Downtown is more upscale, while Southridge is more suburban and box stores. Downtown has seen recent growth, and Cabela's will help it because all of the good hotels are in downtown.
Downtown and the Town Center cater to two different crowds. The daytime business and lunch crowd, and the young urban scene. That's why Capital, Summers, and the Town Center are still thriving. Good business models that cater to different crowds for different times of the day.
The new Cabellas is being built in Southridge. 10 miles and complete opposite direction of the west side.
The City of Charleston is funding the majority of the projects with the $2 user fee they tax workers within city limits with each week. You need to keep in mind. About a quarter of a million people do business in Charleston on a daily basis. That adds up.
The Riverfront Parks have been greatly remodled in the past two years, and I agree the Civic Center needs a makeover. Its still sitting in the 80's and doesn't even have a ribbon board, LOL. How is a top 25 basketball team supposed to play there twice a year?
Parking at the downtown Town Center Mall is more convenient than dealing with traffic at Southridge. There are 3, 5 story parking garages connected to the mall.
I haven't heard much about city police pension concerns. I play basketball with several members of the force and a retired chief. None of them have let out any worries about retirement packages that I'm aware of. Do you have a link to clear that up?
Thinking about it, I believe it was Huntington that had the pension issues?
I'm not really familiar with Southridge. You're saying it is east of town? If do, it won't have as much effect on Putnam but that will also limit it's draw. I'm surprised Dick Cabela isn't building it as close to every possible population center like he did in Wheeling, where it draws big time from the Pittsburgh market.
I did see the riverfront park revamping, and they look nice although that is one strange looking pavillion they have there. Who designed that thing?
I've parked in those parking garages at Town Center. In fact, I lost my car for a brief time there once because I parked in one and mistakenly thought it was in the other. But the trend nationwide is for strip malls with open, free parking in lots and the malls are gradually either going under or, as is happening in Morgantown, being adapted for other uses. One of our malls is now being used as a call center, the accounting department for a growing Pharma firm, some health clubs, and Goodwill. I will be amazed if they can keep the Town Center competitive long term.
Last year I was in town when West Virginia played Marshall in basketball, and I ate in the full service restaurant in the mall. In spite of the fact that there was a basketball game going on right across the street, the place was maybe 1/4 full. I had very good service from Rebekkah the waitress. There were, however, some folks browsing in the mall.
Downtown and the Town Center cater to two different crowds. The daytime business and lunch crowd, and the young urban scene. That's why Capital, Summers, and the Town Center are still thriving. Good business models that cater to different crowds for different times of the day.
So the Town Center is catering to young people evenings? Interesting.
Thinking about it, I believe it was Huntington that had the pension issues?
It was Huntington and Charleston. Huntington made the biggest push for pension funding change and took care of their's last year. Charleston is in the process of taking care of theirs.
I thought I'd seen something like that. The pension issues are big.
As you guys know, I'm originally from Wheeling. Wheeling has probably the least efficient police organization in the country. They actually have a law on the books there that requires the police chief to have two cops in a cruiser 24 hours per day, no matter where the cruisers are located. It is the only such law in existence as far as I know. I mean, the NYPD doesn't have to have two in a cruiser. Somehow they have avoided the pension issue, and I have no idea how they have done it but I consider it baffling.
I am retired from public service, and have an appreciation for the fact that public personnel should have better retirement systems than the ordinary public because of the fact that they often work for lower wages than civilian counterparts and need some form of compensation to offset that fact. Job security and good retirement have always served as a counterbalance. But in our comparitively small towns in West Virginia, we often find that the public employees become such a potent political force that the tail wags the dog. That is not a healthy situation.
Wheeling actually didn't avoid the pension issue, currently having over $47 million in unfunded pension liabilities. Nearly every city in WV with professional police and fire services has an unfunded liability. Where Huntington and Charleston are the biggest cities in the state, theirs are obviously the worst and have gotten the most press. There was a list in an article a few years ago that had all of the unfunded liabilities but I couldn't find it with a quick search. Here are a few other articles though.
interstitials | Business solutions from AllBusiness.com (http://www.allbusiness.com/government/government-bodies-offices-legislative/12799595-1.html - broken link)
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