Estate Planning Attorney inGlendale, SC

Spartanburg Area Conservancy (SPACE) is one step closer to its goal of preserving over 1,000 acres in Glendale.

Spartanburg County Council unanimously voted April 15 to approve a resolution giving $2 million from the Spartanburg County Public Access Land Bank to the project.

If SPACE succeeds in acquiring the property, approximately 945-acres to the east of their Glendale Shoals and Glendale Mill properties, it will be leased and managed by Spartanburg County Parks and Recreation for 100 years and protected by a SPACE conservation easement.

"The easement that will be reviewed not only by the state, but by the county as well to make sure that it meets everybody's goals, and the language within that easement will have allowances for the creation of infrastructure for passive recreation," SPACE Executive Director Sam Parrott told council members. "Welcome centers, parking lots trails, bathrooms, the facilities that anybody would need to be able to use this space well for recreation."

County Council Chairman Manning Lynch called the project a "tremendous opportunity."

"The way this fits into our overall program for outside linear parks, which are our trail systems, this is right in the middle of what will soon be the Country Club Road corridor addition to the Mary Black Rail Trail, and it will eventually end up in Clifton in one direction," Lynch said. "So, this is just an exciting piece in that whole puzzle. A great opportunity, a generational opportunity."

One vote left to fund the park

The SC Conservation Bank voted to give $3 million towards the purchase last month, so Spartanburg County Council's decision brings space to approximately $5 million towards the $25 million purchase price for the land.

SPACE has requested $20 million from the South Carolina Office of Resilience, which was founded to help mitigate future risk of flooding in the state. That vote is set for May. Closing on the property is tentatively scheduled for June, pending a favorable vote.

Acquiring the property for a green space park would be a significant win for conservation in Spartanburg County, according to SPACE Board of Trustees President Laura Stille.

"Spartanburg is now the eighth fastest growing metro area in the nation, according to US census data. Additionally, Spartanburg County has one of the lowest percentages of protected lands in the state of South Carolina at 2.6 of our total acreage, this ranks us 42nd out of South Carolina's 46 counties. This proposed project will increase the percentage of protected lands by 8%," Stille said.

While the acquisition is not anticipated to change that ranking, Stille noted, "Protecting this property forever, helps ensure that future generations — my children, my grandchildren — hopefully, know the Spartanburg that we love today and want to return to live here one day."

Samantha Swann covers city news, development and culture in Spartanburg. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her at or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.

A Spartanburg conservation group is eyeing close to 1,000 acres in Glendale for a public green space park.

Spartanburg Area Conservancy (SPACE) has plans to purchase a 945-acre tract of undeveloped land east of Glendale Shoals and Glendale Mill properties. They are working to acquire funding for the $25 million purchase.

If acquired, the property would be owned by the state, leased and managed by Spartanburg County Parks and Recreation, and protected from development with a SPACE conservation easement.

For SPACE Executive Director Sam Parrott, the opportunity comes with some urgency because, from a conservation perspective, keeping the land as natural as possible would be helpful in the prevention of future flooding from Lawsons Fork Creek.

“With the rate of development in Spartanburg, this is our last chance to protect and create a publicly accessible greenspace of this size so close to town,” Parrott said. “We’re extremely fortunate to have this opportunity."

In March, the SC Conservation Bank voted to give $3 million towards the purchase.

In addition to the funding from SC Conservation Bank, SPACE is seeking about $2 million from Spartanburg County and has requested $20 million from the South Carolina Office of Resilience, which was founded to help mitigate future risk of flooding in the state.

Closing on the property is tentatively scheduled for June. Funding requests made to Spartanburg County Council and the SC Office of Resilience are set to be voted on in April and May, respectively.

“We still need a lot of things to go right in order to purchase this stunning property,” Parrott said. “To date, this project has received wonderful support locally and statewide. Our community’s quality of life is tied directly to the presence of, and access to, greenspaces. We’re all hopeful that we’ll be able to celebrate this as a win for local conservation and the citizens of Spartanburg County and the State of South Carolina.”

County leaders consider the creation of a park as a way to increase the quality of life for Spartanburg residents. Ideas for the park include amenities such as walking and biking trails and picnic areas.

“It helps define who we are, we’re about quality of place and quality of life,” County Councilman David Britt said. “We’ve been planning for something like this for several years, putting money into our conservation bank account, saving money to do something like this.”

If approved, it will be the first project funded by the county's conservation fund.

“It’s not often that you have the ability to preserve 1,000 acres in the county,” Britt said. “This is our Central Park in Spartanburg County … it’s one of the most beautiful properties in Spartanburg County. We want to keep it natural where people can just go out and enjoy nature.”

Samantha Swann covers city news, development and culture in Spartanburg. She is a University of South Carolina Upstate and Greenville Technical College alumna. Contact her at or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.

Structural repairs are planned for a Spartanburg County bridge that has been closed since March, according to the S.C. Department of Transportation.

SC DOT spokesman Robert Kudelka said the Clifton Glendale Road bridge over the Pacolet River at Clifton Mill 2 was closed for repairs following a routine underwater inspection. A maintenance engineer said there was corrosion on steel piles in the water that support the bridge.

Work has not yet started, but Kudelka said there is "an emergency procurement process" underway to speed up repairs.

"In the next couple of weeks, DOT should be able to provide a time frame for reopening," Kudelka said Monday.

The bridge has a 48-ton weight limit and carries an estimated 1,250 vehicles a day when open.

According to the Spartanburg Area Transportation Study (SPATS), the bridge is scheduled to be replaced next year at a cost of $6.5 million.

Meanwhile, a nearly 10-mile detour is in place directing motorists to use the U.S. Highway 29 bridge to cross the Pacolet River.

Long detour for eastern Spartanburg County drivers

Resident Bill Swofford of Clifton said he hopes the bridge reopens soon. He said he and his neighbors regularly used the bridge.

"This is a major detour for people like me living in the eastern part of Spartanburg County," he said. "It's supposed to be a three-month project, but they're still looking for funding and haven't awarded it yet."

Swofford, a 60-year-old mechanical engineer, said he has had to drive to U.S. Highway 29 near the former Converse Mill to cross that bridge to visit his brother.

There is a bridge over the river at Clifton Mill 1, but he said the roads around it are narrow and in bad shape.

"We all understand the bridge was closed for our safety, but we all expect to see people working on the problem," Swofford said.

Bridge near mill redevelopment

The bridge is near the site of a major redevelopment project at the former Clifton Mill 2.

In November, Greenville developer M Peters Group announced a $60 million project to redevelop the 30-acre former mill site along Clifton Glendale Road.

The project will include a 239-unit multi-family residential development with studios, 1, 2 and 3-bedroom apartments, all with views of the Pacolet River.

The project will also include 7,000 square feet of commercial space with plans to include a riverfront restaurant and a place for kayak rentals.

Clifton Park, including the Clifton Beach area, will undergo improvements. M Peters Group will build bathhouses and picnic shelters for beachgoers and improve a small playground area at the park.

Play. Advocate. Live Well! (PAL) is also participating in the project by expanding the Daniel Morgan Trail System with an additional 4.1-mile connector between Glendale and Clifton. The county and M Peters Group will partner to provide a pedestrian bridge across the river to connect to the trail.

Clifton Mill No. 2 was built in 1888 as a part of Clifton Manufacturing Company, founded by Dexter Edgar Converse in 1880. Converse also was co-founder and namesake of Converse College.

The mill was damaged in 1903 after the flooding of the Pacolet River but was rebuilt and expanded in the 1950s. The mill operated in some capacity into the 1990s. After 124 years, the mill was demolished in 2012.

Contact Bob Montgomery at [email protected]. Please support our coverage of Spartanburg County with a digital subscription.