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It seems that sumters growth with businesses is mostly locally home grown businesses which is good and hopefully attracts others or national retailers. Florence seems to have a nice mix of both but they also among other things seem to have more corporate citizens than Sumter that can contribute support and promote the city both in business and philanthropy which goes a long way. Sumter seems only to have Thompson..I believe they are/were involved in several projects downtown in addition to their HQ bldg...they seem the most visible anyway but I could be wrong
Thompson is a very dominant player here in Sumter, and especially in the downtown area, that's their playground. Florence have a major advantage in it's county and metro population, and they are growing. And something like the arts, there was never any real emphasis placed on that around here.
There was a time when many people I knew in Sumter were more than happy to go over to Columbia Florence or even Myrtle Beach to shop at certain stores that were not in Sumter. The ones that were in Sumter and also in these other places were accused of having picked over past season items that equally drove people out of town. That appears to have changed now ...maybe because of the by local movement or just changing of age demographics traffic and congestion in these cities or just changing consumer preference not to travel out of town for periodic shopping . The folks I knew used to enjoy going out of town to shop maybe it was because it was a change of scenery more variety ...they also seem to like Sumter being a "small city" with just enough....the bare minimum ..just my take glad to see that's changing.
You wonder how much of that has influenced ..retailers historically ? When a store in Columbia or Florence sees all these Sumter zip codes in their database with memberships or credit card purchases (I am over simplify their data collection ) that they say great they are willing to drive so because of that and XYZ income demographics buying power local economic strength etc we won't put a store down there ( again over simplifying )
Dollar Stores seem to be the only industry where more stores on every corner is better lol
Some people still shop out of town, but I'm sure it's not like it used to be since on line shopping came about. I buy lots of things on line myself, and I see ups, FedEx, or either regular mail trucks on Sundays in my neighborhood all the time. I personally know people who went out of town to shop at ROSS, and soon they won't have to. Things are happening around here, but just on a much smaller and slower pace, way too slow for most of us. And I agree, I believe city leaders love the small town mentality, but the crime data would rival some big cities.
Some people still shop out of town, but I'm sure it's not like it used to be since on line shopping came about. I buy lots of things on line myself, and I see ups, FedEx, or either regular mail trucks on Sundays in my neighborhood all the time. I personally know people who went out of town to shop at ROSS, and soon they won't have to. Things are happening around here, but just on a much smaller and slower pace, way too slow for most of us. And I agree, I believe city leaders love the small town mentality, but the crime data would rival some big cities.
Yeah.. I know we don't like to talk about it.. but the crime(s) that occur in Sumter are shocking... From shoot outs in the day time to home invasions. I don't think the average law abiding sumterite has anything to worry about in most cases but these stories don't help the citys image especially given its size....
Some people still shop out of town, but I'm sure it's not like it used to be since on line shopping came about. I buy lots of things on line myself, and I see ups, FedEx, or either regular mail trucks on Sundays in my neighborhood all the time. I personally know people who went out of town to shop at ROSS, and soon they won't have to. Things are happening around here, but just on a much smaller and slower pace, way too slow for most of us. And I agree, I believe city leaders love the small town mentality, but the crime data would rival some big cities.
Driving down Broad into town does give the appearance of growth with cranes towering over New Nissan dealer, Gateway Plaza, and Townplace suites along with Take 5 lot clearing and old Kmart guting
Driving down Broad into town does give the appearance of growth with cranes towering over New Nissan dealer, Gateway Plaza, and Townplace suites along with Take 5 lot clearing and old Kmart guting
Those are all good things, I can't deny that. The future looks bright for that end of town, and there is lots of room to grow out there. The city should work on keeping that area clean, perhaps add some sidewalks out there, so that hotel patrons can feel safe to walk to restaurants and stores. I have seen people walking from hotels to Walmart, but it doesn't look safe. And improve on other areas of downtown, that badly needs some attention as well.
Those are all good things, I can't deny that. The future looks bright for that end of town, and there is lots of room to grow out there. The city should work on keeping that area clean, perhaps add some sidewalks out there, so that hotel patrons can feel safe to walk to restaurants and stores. I have seen people walking from hotels to Walmart, but it doesn't look safe. And improve on other areas of downtown, that badly needs some attention as well.
I agree about the sidewalks. That's how we enter town from where we live and I see many walking that area. Almost every time we drive thru there. Even those who are waiting for their vehicles to get maintenance done at the dealerships like to walk across the street to get a bite to eat. I've done it before myself.
Looks like Mayor Mac will not seek re-election.. Will be interesting to see who runs for the seat. This is a critical time for Sumter so.. we definitely need someone with vision and bold additional ideas...Any takers????
Looks like Mayor Mac will not seek re-election.. Will be interesting to see who runs for the seat. This is a critical time for Sumter so.. we definitely need someone with vision and bold additional ideas...Any takers????
Lol, I'll pass on that. Hopefully someone younger, who can really promote and encourage growth, and with fresh ideas. And hopefully someone that's not connected to the Chamber of Commerce in any way.
I agree about the sidewalks. That's how we enter town from where we live and I see many walking that area. Almost every time we drive thru there. Even those who are waiting for their vehicles to get maintenance done at the dealerships like to walk across the street to get a bite to eat. I've done it before myself.
And it seems like such a no brainer to me. You would think it would have been automatic to have new sidewalks put in place, to connect all the hotels to the restaurants, they are within walking distance. And I'm sure all these hotel patrons are thinking the same thing. And that will be something they remember, that Sumter is not a pedestrian friendly town.
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