It's New Year's Eve, a time to look back and reflect on the year that has been as it slips away forever into the past before thoughts turn to the year ahead. What better way to spend part of the last day of 2015 than to catch up on some of this year's highlights in Spartanburg. With announcements like a new 10-story downtown Marriott AC hotel and streetscaping projects that have increased vibrancy in two important downtown areas, 2015 was a big year for Downtown Spartanburg.
2015 also saw the completion of a citywide $2.5 million parks improvment plan that, in addition to upgrading park equipment in neighborhood parks throughout the city, also included the City's first neighborhood park on the westside and included the new Thornton Activity Center at Stewart Park. It was also an important year for the Northside Initiative, with the first full year for Harvest Park, a $7.5 million commitment of private funding, and the city taking possession of Oakview Apartments earlier this month, laying the groundwork for the future T.K. Gregg Recreation Center planned for the site.
In fact, so much happened in Spartanburg in 2015 that cramming it all into one podcast would normally be virtually impossible, so how did we do it? Let's just say it involved a timer and a challenge to City Communications Manager Will Rothschild's ability to distill complicated local issues into their easily digestible essence.