Laurens Road needs cars

By Cindy Landrum  

JANUARY 27, 2012 9:36 a.m. (0)

Laurens Road’s success as one of Greenville’s leading commercial corridors rests on the automotive industry.

As automotive dealerships merged and big box stores left the southern end of Laurens Road known as the Motor Mile, the state highway’s significance in Greenville’s commercial landscape plummeted.

But there’s renewed interest in the southern part of Laurens Road – and the city can thank the automotive industry once again.

“One of the challenges on Laurens Road south is how do you redevelop the car dealerships,” said Tracy Ramseur, a development coordinator for the city’s economic development department.

In 2001, the southern portion of Laurens Road was Greenville’s second biggest commercial corridor with $771,653,302 in total gross sales, behind only downtown’s $928,220,914. The northern part of Laurens Road contributed another $228,255,095 in total sales.

By 2010, total gross sales for the Motor Mile end of Laurens Road had plummeted to $379,003,256. The other end of Laurens Road had produced $196,534,703 in total gross sales.

Ramseur blamed the fall on the consolidation of auto dealerships and the relocation or closure of several big-box stores such as Sam’s Wholesale Club, Best Buy and Goody’s.

But automotive gives the corridor hope, she said.

“As Verdae and ICAR grow, there’s been renewed interest in Laurens Road,” she said.

Verdae is the 1,100-acre development at the triangle of Interstate 85, Woodruff Road and Laurens Road that formed the centerpiece of the late reclusive textile magnate John D. Hollingsworth’s land fortune.

The Clemson University International Center for Automotive Research is a 250-plus acre research campus on Interstate 85 and Laurens Road that is situated close to a number of automotive-related industry research, development and production facilities.

The city’s Planning Commission will consider at its February meeting a land development application from The Vinings at ICAR. The proposed multi-family residential development on Laurens Road near Innovation Drive would have 244 units on 16.53 acres.

The Transportation Museum of the World featuring the Miniature World of Trains has announced it wants to locate in the former Sam’s Club at 2519 Laurens Road.

Greenville County Schools has announced plans to build a new middle school in the CU-ICAR Millennium campus. The school will open in August 2014 and have a projects-based curriculum that will encompass the sciences, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics.

One key in Laurens Road’s new success will be to improve its connections to other developed parts of the city, Ramseur said.

“Laurens is a major connection to Haywood and Verdae,” she said.

The city wants to create gateways into Verdae.

Landscape islands are planned for Laurens Road’s intersections with Haywood, Woodruff and Verdae Boulevard, she said.

The other side of Laurens Road will benefit from the city’s decision to concentrate on sections of Pleasantburg Drive.

Since Pleasantburg Drive is so long – five miles of it is in the city limits – the city will focus re-development efforts on key “nodes” such as its intersection with Laurens.

The city has a façade improvement program and Pleasantburg’s intersection with Laurens is one of its focus areas. At least one strip shopping center on the northern part of Laurens Road has been renovated and Ramseur said the city hopes it will get other property owners to fix up their property as well.

“Laurens Road overall is still a strong area,” Ramseur said.