It's tough to miss the three anchor developments in Downtown Spartanburg's northernmost reaches. The Marriott Hotel & Conference Center, the Chapman Cultural Center, and USC-Upstate's George Dean Johnson Jr. College of Business and Economics might not have all been built at the same time, but combined, these crucial pieces of Downtown Spartanburg's renewal represent an enormous investment. How enormous? Check out the infographic below:

 
Aside from being an enormous figure all by itself, the figure above barely scratches the surface. Additionally, the developments along that block provide jobs for educators, artists, hospitality workers,  and others, helping to provide a customer base for other downtown businesses, and the success each of these major developments has enjoyed encourages new development, like the kind recently approved by City Council for a parcel behind the Marriott. It also helps make the Montgomery Building — long the most important potential redevelopment project in Spartanburg — more attractive for potential future owners.
What's next for this example of the economic power of Downtown Spartanburg? Recently we sat down with Assistant City Manager Chris Story to talk about this crucial part of our city.