Sumter- The Gamecock City (Rock Hill, Spartanburg: credit, hotel, new home)

[Woodlands]

I wanted to see if anyone had any interesting comments on happenings in Sumter. Sumter is one of SC "interesting" cities. Interesting in the sense that it may not necessarily be considerd one of SC larger cities but it is not an SC town either. The population is constant at around 40,000 and flutuates between 38,000 and 42,000.. no explosive growth by most SC City standards, but it is not in decline either. The City's peer communities would be (based on population) Spartanburg, Rock Hill, Anderson, and Florence but these cities may have more in common with each other than with Sumter. Most of the City's growth is to the west and the north and east are more stagant/rural. Some new growth is occuring south of town. Downtown Sumter has been undergoing a slow transformation with the expansion of the hospital, new/renovated buildings and businesses, a new transportation center and campus for Central Carolina Tech are also in the planning/development stages. I wanted to hear other thoughts on Sumter.. good and bad from those who live or are familiar with the City.

[waccamatt]

Sumter County's population has been stagnant for some time. It is one of those "in-between" counties that isn't overly urban, but not totally rural either. The rural counties in South Carolina has seen population declines and hign unemployment for many years, while most of the urban counties have seen steady or rapid growth.

[lainykai]

I lived in Sumter for 15 years (grew up there). The military base is very important to Sumter's economy and every few years the government threatens to close it down. Many years ago Sumter decided to cater to military retirees. While that is great on certain fronts with a city that largely consists of retirees you have mostly fixed income and no growth. The negative affects are now starting to be felt by the stale economy. Younger couples are favoring cities with more opportunities, socially and economically. As long as the base is there Sumter will survive, however, if they ever shut it down Sumter will slowly fade. Now I live in Florence and really enjoy it.

[CarolinaBredChicagoan]

Most of the posters on this board aren't too keen on Sumter. I grew up there, and my family has been in the area for a looooong time.

Sumter has its issues. It doesn't really have a growing industry sector. The AFB really is its life blood. People always talk about the US as an economy in flux, moving from an agricultural and manufacturing economy to a service-based economy. Well, that leaves a town like Sumter behind, unfortunately.

I live in the Midwest now, and am more familiar with the whole idea of rust belt cities. (I live in Chicago, which has weathered the storm, but have spent a lot of time in cities like Rockford, IL and Detroit, which have not fared as well). Sumter seems kinda rust-belt.

Now, on the upside, there are a lot of amazing people trying very hard to keep Sumter relevant. They're doing a lot of work downtown and there's a lot of new home construction. Unfortunately, Sumterites seem hell-bent on being like every other town in America. Local restaurants are getting shut down and Chili's and IHOP are getting built, and people rejoice. That part kills me. I'm big on local business, and Sumter just doesn't seem to care much about that.

Still, as long as some of the very committed people in Sumter keep trying to make it a town worth saving, it will remain so. I concur that if that base closes, all bets are off.

[Captain Worley]

One thing I noticed about Sumter is how few smiling faces you see. Everyone seems to be in a funk.

Don't ever try to go to the Walmart in Sumter, it is almost always packed, and the traffic in the parking lot does not exactltly flow well. Worst layout I've seen in a while.

I'm surprised to hear about CCTech expanding. News to me.

[Woodlands]

They have been looking over the past several years to expand their Allied Health and Science programs to free up some of the space on their main campus. They are working with the City to renovate the "Old Western Auto" aka WA Store at the corner of South Main at Barlette for this purpose. This is part of the City's efforts to bring a major anchors downtown and to put more bodies on Main Street. Presumably the hundreds of students who are enrolled in these programs would eat at downtown restaurants. On the northern end of downtown there is the Tuomey Hospital which provides additional opportunities for downtown businesses once they feel more comfortable in venturing out on to Main Street. The transit center is directly across the street in a wonderfully renovated historic warehouse. If CCTC students who commute in from Lee, Clarendon, and other parts of Sumter cannot afford $3.00 a gallon gas they can ride the bus system into the transit center and walk across the street to their classes. I give the City leaders some credit in trying to build up the downtown area and the City, though they certainly face many challenges...i.e. Sumter appears to be a manufacturing town that is losing industry and it still appears to be agriculturally based economy as well. And I would hope that are looking into contigency plans for the possibility the base does close. I still can not figure out where all the people are coming from that are moving into the new homes being built west of town? My only thought if it is not military people moving into town, it must be residents "trading up". If the later is true, it may present some challenges, because I am not sure that there is a sizable population that can afford to back fill those older homes/neighborhoods that are being vacated, which may leave these areas vulnerable.

[Captain Worley]

Makes sense. When I taught as CCTech, the nursing program seemed to be the only program that had any traction behind it. They had a two year waiting list.

Glad to hear their expanding it. Seems very well thought out.

[JFRRACING]

What are some of the manufacturing companies in and around the surrounding sumter area ?

[Woodlands]

Here is a link to the Sumter Development Board's Web Page that list some of the industries. I was actually surprised to see that there are quite a few here, there have been some closings.

Sumter Economic Development :: Existing Industry :: Industrial Directory

I had read in The Item, newspaper that the City is exploring developing a downtown hotel which would be a nice boost for their downtown. They are doing more with the Opera House and I am sure the Hospital also has many overnight stays so it should be a nice boost for the town.

The Item - South Carolina

[Woodlands]

Don't ever try to go to the Walmart in Sumter, it is almost always packed, and the traffic in the parking lot does not exactltly flow well. Worst layout I've seen in a while.


That is so true.... A second Walmart was proposed on HWY 15 South which may be emerging at the new "Broad Street" but last I read it was on hold presumably because of the economy..It seems rare that a City Sumter's size would only have one Wal-Mart ( I believe there are two in Florence) it is even more strange that Wal-Mart would put a store "on hold". It has had problems attracting larger typical retailers like Target, Kohls, and Home Depot which may be related to the income of buying power calculated for the area.. Though TJ Maxx has moved into town. It just appears that the City is either on the verge of success of failure and no one knows which way it is going to go.. which may contribute to some of the investor's reluctance to invest in the area.