Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Boyer construction out of Columbia has their sign up and has started clearing the lot at the corner of Bultman Dr @ Rast st. Anyone know who bought the old NBSC ops center on South Pike? The building has a entire new wing built on and a reconfigured parking lot.
That project seem to be on hold at the moment, I notice that lot was holding a ton of water lately. It was completely flooded one day, like if they hit a water main.
Broad Street from Wise Drive to Kmart, is a mess these days with the road resurfacing going on. Avoid at all costs if you can.
An old state highway engineer once told me if you want to see poor road engineering work.. come to Sumter. He pointed out many of the City's streets/roads are built flat with no crown in the middle which causes the water to pond on them. They are built that way because the city/area is so flat and over the years refused to build a good drainage/storm water system with curbs to catch the water.. thus diverting it into people's yards or the proverbial drainage ditch next to the road... He once called Sumter the "Venice of the Carolinas" because of all the roadside drainage ditches and canals that filled with water after a good rain often marooning residents in their homes after significant storms.
An old state highway engineer once told me if you want to see poor road engineering work.. come to Sumter. He pointed out many of the City's streets/roads are built flat with no crown in the middle which causes the water to pond on them. They are built that way because the city/area is so flat and over the years refused to build a good drainage/storm water system with curbs to catch the water.. thus diverting it into people's yards or the proverbial drainage ditch next to the road... He once called Sumter the "Venice of the Carolinas" because of all the roadside drainage ditches and canals that filled with water after a good rain often marooning residents in their homes after significant storms.
Yeah the roads are pretty bad on many of the major roads in and around Sumter. Many of the roads were simply patched up after the flood of 2015, so many were damaged that I'm guessing the funds were just not there to get to all of them. Highway 15 South was just recently finished resurfacing, and they started with Broad right after that. Guignard Drive should be next.
Yeah the roads are pretty bad on many of the major roads in and around Sumter. Many of the roads were simply patched up after the flood of 2015, so many were damaged that I'm guessing the funds were just not there to get to all of them. Highway 15 South was just recently finished resurfacing, and they started with Broad right after that. Guignard Drive should be next.
Remember what was "Lake Alice Drive" I think it has been developed now through fill and drainage
Boyer construction out of Columbia has their sign up and has started clearing the lot at the corner of Bultman Dr @ Rast st. Anyone know who bought the old NBSC ops center on South Pike? The building has a entire new wing built on and a reconfigured parking lot.
I saw big sign on that lot with Sandhills Medical Center on it, and a picture of what the building will look like.
Does anyone know if there is some form of "Master Plan" for South Sumter? The area is becoming increasingly devoid of homes as the ones that are vacant and substandard are being torn down and turned into weeded lots.. which have their own maintenance challenges (if neglected by the owner) but still likely better than a vacant and dilapidated structure.
With the area becoming more rural in nature it begs the question of what next? In Detroit, St. Louis and Baltimore those cities are reclaiming these sites and packaging them for redevelopment or turning them into "urban fields" for farming or environmental benefits...In Sumter having a farm in the city center is not what I am getting at.. but assembling properties near downtown to where they can be offered for infill redevelopment would seem to be a viable goal. The City used to build houses here and there through various federal programs. I have always thought that they should assemble a large site in an area like South Sumter and build a few dozen homes much like in the same manner that a suburban developer would. The streets and utilities are already in place and building a "subdivision" is more likely to attract buyers and potential residents than a single new home built in the middle of a sea of vacant homes or weeded lots. There are various incentives and programs to help buyers.. which is also a plus...and could help generate interest in the area.. Then there are the homes designs/floor plans etc which could also be attractive as well. Again.. people may be skeptical of Southside for one reason or another but getting a critical mass and concentration of homeowners and/or newer housing is the only way to tip the scales in the opposite direction....
Does anyone know if there is some form of "Master Plan" for South Sumter? The area is becoming increasingly devoid of homes as the ones that are vacant and substandard are being torn down and turned into weeded lots.. which have their own maintenance challenges (if neglected by the owner) but still likely better than a vacant and dilapidated structure.
With the area becoming more rural in nature it begs the question of what next? In Detroit, St. Louis and Baltimore those cities are reclaiming these sites and packaging them for redevelopment or turning them into "urban fields" for farming or environmental benefits...In Sumter having a farm in the city center is not what I am getting at.. but assembling properties near downtown to where they can be offered for infill redevelopment would seem to be a viable goal. The City used to build houses here and there through various federal programs. I have always thought that they should assemble a large site in an area like South Sumter and build a few dozen homes much like in the same manner that a suburban developer would. The streets and utilities are already in place and building a "subdivision" is more likely to attract buyers and potential residents than a single new home built in the middle of a sea of vacant homes or weeded lots. There are various incentives and programs to help buyers.. which is also a plus...and could help generate interest in the area.. Then there are the homes designs/floor plans etc which could also be attractive as well. Again.. people may be skeptical of Southside for one reason or another but getting a critical mass and concentration of homeowners and/or newer housing is the only way to tip the scales in the opposite direction....
A master plan for south Sumter would be great if they (the city planners/leaders) are quietly trying to get their ducks in a row before development. But what I am concerned about is that Sumter county and the surrounding area is projected to lose population or population growth may be stagnant in the next decade making a large scale residential rebirth unlikely for south Sumter. Perhaps they are taking an "If You Build It, They Will Come", approach but I don't know.
Now having said all of that, I still can't help but wonder about all of the hotels being built on Broad near the car dealerships. I know this subject has been beaten to death but the continued growth of hotels in this town has always been curious to me. It begs the question, for me at least, "Could all of these rooms be needed for some secret major development in the future and they need places for the workers?" They could have built these chain hotels off of the Camden exit on 521 which would still be convenient to the base, but they didn't; they built them in town that isn't even on an interstate. It's just the hotel boom in that area has always been curious for me.
A master plan for south Sumter would be great if they (the city planners/leaders) are quietly trying to get their ducks in a row before development. But what I am concerned about is that Sumter county and the surrounding area is projected to lose population or population growth may be stagnant in the next decade making a large scale residential rebirth unlikely for south Sumter. Perhaps they are taking an "If You Build It, They Will Come", approach but I don't know.
Now having said all of that, I still can't help but wonder about all of the hotels being built on Broad near the car dealerships. I know this subject has been beaten to death but the continued growth of hotels in this town has always been curious to me. It begs the question, for me at least, "Could all of these rooms be needed for some secret major development in the future and they need places for the workers?" They could have built these chain hotels off of the Camden exit on 521 which would still be convenient to the base, but they didn't; they built them in town that isn't even on an interstate. It's just the hotel boom in that area has always been curious for me.
The hotel boom in Sumter is growing in the direction the city is growing, westward. The hotels are occupied by a variety of tenants such as, visitors, contractors, extended stay, and a few people actually live there in suites. Believe it or not, things do take place in this town. I work at a top tier industry in Sumter, we are the world largest at what we do. People come into town from all over the country and from around the world to visit the site, and I'm not talking about Continental Tires, but I imagine the same thing applies to them as well, and people need a place to stay. We had a large group of people just this week from all over the state in town for a tour of the site, we also had a large group of Canadians earlier this year. People come for business purposes, tournaments, and to visit family, family reunions, weddings, the military connection,and funerals.
A master plan for south Sumter would be great if they (the city planners/leaders) are quietly trying to get their ducks in a row before development. But what I am concerned about is that Sumter county and the surrounding area is projected to lose population or population growth may be stagnant in the next decade making a large scale residential rebirth unlikely for south Sumter. Perhaps they are taking an "If You Build It, They Will Come", approach but I don't know.
Now having said all of that, I still can't help but wonder about all of the hotels being built on Broad near the car dealerships. I know this subject has been beaten to death but the continued growth of hotels in this town has always been curious to me. It begs the question, for me at least, "Could all of these rooms be needed for some secret major development in the future and they need places for the workers?" They could have built these chain hotels off of the Camden exit on 521 which would still be convenient to the base, but they didn't; they built them in town that isn't even on an interstate. It's just the hotel boom in that area has always been curious for me.
I'm not sure about that one, a lot can happen in the next decade and forecast can change. However, I don't see any population explosion anytime soon. I see indicators around town that suggest things are not as bad as they seem. Traffic is getting worst all the time around here in different areas of town, and I often wonder where the heck is all these people are coming from. Sumter was ready to take back in 2008, signs were everywhere of things to come, but the recession of 2009 pretty much wiped all that out. And when the recession was over, hardly any of those things continued with their plans.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
