Double R Flo-Town
The Double R Flo-Town Podcast is where two Florence, SC locals—Reeves and Robert—pull together community stories, real talk, and a behind-the-scenes look at life in the Pee Dee. Born and raised in Florence, they’ve chosen to raise their families here and are passionate about highlighting what makes the city special—while also having honest conversations about what could make it better. With a mix of local updates, guest interviews, real estate insights, and plenty of banter, this podcast is about more than just where you live—it’s about why you choose to stay. Whether you're a longtime local, new to town, or just curious about the people shaping Florence, this is your spot for connection, conversation, and community.
Double R Flo-Town
Developing Florence's Future with Clint Moore
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Florence is growing—but how does the city prepare for that growth without losing what makes the community special?
Florence Assistant City Manager Clint Moore joins Robert and Reeves to explain the planning behind the city’s development. They discuss Florence’s long-term comprehensive plan, major water and sewer investments, downtown revitalization, neighborhood improvements, infrastructure challenges, and the city’s goal of adding 1,000 residential units downtown.
Clint also explains why public projects can take years to complete, how new development can help improve existing infrastructure, and why community involvement matters as Florence plans for the next several decades.
00:00 Introduction
01:40 Meet Clint Moore
04:45 Beautifying Florence and the Cost of Improvements
09:16 Florence’s Long-Term Comprehensive Plan
11:36 Priorities for Florence’s Future
14:25 Managing Florence’s Accelerating Growth
18:12 Water, Sewer, and the $138 Million Investment
22:42 The Hoffmeyer Road Sewer Project
29:30 How Residents Can Help Move Florence Forward
32:18 Are We Building Too Many Houses?
37:56 Downtown Florence’s Next Chapter
40:30 The Goal of 1,000 Downtown Residences
43:20 Growing Without Losing Florence’s Identity
46:00 Revitalizing Florence’s Neighborhoods
47:35 Final Thoughts
Why Local Media Helps Cities
SPEAKER_00Double R podcast. Reeves, we've got Mr. Clint Moore today.
ReevesSo here's the first thing I noticed. It's not often that a man with two cell phones. I mean, so we know we've got somebody imported. That's right. That's right.
SPEAKER_00I've been working on Clint for a little while. How long have we been working on this? A few months. A few months. I've sent that text, I'm like, let's see. And he he bit. So thank you, dude. I know you're busy.
SPEAKER_01No, no, no. This is great. City's growing. Yes. Yes. It's exciting. Things like this. Um, when you look at other communities that are doing well and and that are being successful, it's it's this uh investment in your own community. There's there are great examples. Uh Brevard's got a good example with uh they have a um it's called Territory, it's a local uh magazine that they put out. You know, things of that nature where you have uh your own folks highlighting all the things that you're doing in the area. Uh though those are signs of success and and really helps get the word out on all the different things. So uh it's exciting that that you all are doing this and it's good to be a part of it.
SPEAKER_00Well, it's been cool for me because you know, you guys, I've heard you guys talk about it. So when we have when we're doing it, I know you guys are listening and and that's how we grow and make the city better. Yeah. And it's happening. Yeah.
ReevesYeah, we believe in Florence, and so that's why we're doing the podcast.
Clint Moore And The Public Private View
ReevesSo let's let's start, Clint. For those who of our listeners who may not know you, what do you do for the city?
SPEAKER_01I am the assistant city manager. I've been with the city of Florence now for 12 years. Uh prior to that, I was I worked in development up in the Asheville area, worked for a firm. Uh, we did a lot of development in South Asheville uh design. Uh I'm a landscape architect. So uh for school, I went to uh Appalachian State undergrad for town city regional management and uh planning and construction management, and then uh went on to my master's at NC State for landscape architecture. So that kind of got me in the development world. I've always loved development. Um it is it can be an amazing thing for a community, but it can also hurt a community. So um it's working in the private world uh was exciting. Uh getting that understanding and and knowledge of where a developer is coming from is important. Um, but the the public side was really kind of calling my name because I felt like I could contribute and really direct how community could grow uh and and help the residents and the overall community like the PD region benefit from that.
SPEAKER_00That's good. I think it's so important that you have seen the you've been on the public side, you've seen all that, and then get in the yeah, that that is what we need. I feel like a lot of guys in your role sometimes hadn't seen both sides yet. Yeah. And so that's why whenever I'm meeting with you, you you understand the challenges that we're having as we're trying to do little developments. Right. And and you guys work, you guys work with developers better than I think a lot of people realize.
SPEAKER_01It's it's all about balance and understanding. We and I'd like to talk about the comprehensive plan later. Yeah. Uh, but understanding the intent of our comprehensive plan, which is a large document. It's our guideline to how we um elevate the community, how we make continue to to grow and uh from all the many aspects, uh, overall community better. So uh what's important is understanding that intent. Yeah. And how we get to that uh can take many different paths. Uh so working with developers, meet the intent of the code, uh, meet the intent of the comprehensive plan, but knowing the hardships that developers often have. Uh, and right now, more so than ever, I mean, it's constantly changing. So I think it's important that we stay on our toes as much as the developers do, so that we have successful developments uh and projects throughout the city.
ReevesYou you said something interesting I didn't know about you in your opening about your background, landscape architecture, you've got a master's in that. And one of the things we've talked about, and I know the city is moving forward in these directions, and maybe that's part of the master plan we're gonna get into and talk about, but we've talked about the opportunity and the need to beautify Florence through landscaping, and we've seen some
What Beautification Really Costs
Reevesreally great examples of that. But you know, two guys like me or Robert or any private citizen out there talks about man, we need to make this more beautiful. Take us from that type of comment to how do you actually make it more beautiful? Yeah, like through the securing the money, everything that's involved in making Florence more beautiful from a landscape standpoint.
SPEAKER_01It is always far more difficult than when people realize. Um, you know, I heard you all talk about five points a little bit.
ReevesYeah.
SPEAKER_01Um when you have areas like that, we can use five points as an example. When you have an area that is so heavy laden with utilities, uh permitting with DOT, all the different components that go into beautifying a public space like that, it becomes extremely complicated. It becomes extremely costly. Yes. Um, you know, I always like to tell folks when we uh the stretch of Evans Street from Coyt to Cougar that we just finished a couple of years ago. It looks awesome. It looks good. Um, just the underground portion of that. So converting overhead utilities to underground uh cost us about $400,000. Uh and that was with a matching program that Duke Energy has with us. So they they cost up a lot of money too. So that's a great program uh that Duke has. Uh that there are great partners, uh, but it's very cost, it's costly for them, it's costly for us. So when you take it like a five points, that's a that's a tough area.
ReevesAnd the average citizen is just like put some daggum candilever light poles up and you're like, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.
SPEAKER_01I mean you'd love to do that. Yes, yes. Yeah. You know, it's not that easy. So it it it is a process. I think um what we have, what I've always felt the city has done a very good job about doing is capitalizing on those funding opportunities. Often it's with penny sales tax. That's where you often get that that funding for those types of things or grant opportunities. Um being uh intentional with that type of funding so that you can uh it's multi-layered, so you're not only addressing traffic concerns or public or uh pedestrian safety concerns, but you're also beautifying and doing all those other types of things. Uh and that takes a long time to to one um get it on the books as far as being able to fund. Uh, then you get into engineering, uh, then you get into permitting with DOT. Um we'll uh some of the stormwater projects that I'd like to hit on later. You know, those that took almost 14 months for permitting. We complete completed the engineering, which took a long time, you know, a year plus, uh then permitting with DOT and other entities. Uh that takes uh a long time to get the permitting. And so um it's just a long process. And you know, in today's world where we're very uh we want to see it now, uh, which I'm sure has always been there, uh, but now more so than ever, that's a that's a tough thing. And coming on to uh podcasts and speaking to rotaries and you know other types of things are very important so that our residents and people investing in the community know that we're talking we're we're thinking about that stuff. We're we're talking about that stuff, uh, we want those goals uh as well, and we're trying to accomplish the same things that everybody wants. You know, we listen a whole lot more than I think people realize.
SPEAKER_00We're yeah, I've seen that. I've seen that. I'm glad you're young. See, we need young guys like Clint that are gonna be there to see these projects through.
ReevesYeah, the phrase that's coming to my mind, Robert, is good things come to those who wait. And to those who plan. Yeah.
How The Comprehensive Plan Guides Decisions
ReevesAnd I think that kind of leads us into this comprehensive plan. The city, you're not just flying by the city of your pants. There you have a plan. You're strategically moving in a direction, but it does take time because of all the so tell us a little more about the comprehensive plan.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, the comp plan uh it is it's required by law, so all communities have to have one. Uh you have to do it every 10 years. We we do an update as well, which we're getting ready to to get into. And Jerry Dudley, our planning director, he's heading that uh that project up. Uh but a comp plan essentially looks at the whole community. Uh, and it's not only looking at the things that the city needs to do, but every organization, yeah, kind of area, whether it be health care, education, or um utilities, it's always a big focus, uh, both power, uh, but more so reflecting on us with our water and sewer. Um so we're looking at uh that plan looks at everything uh and it sets out uh goals and initiatives to uh step by step improve the community. Um we have always had a lot of success with our comp plan. We don't let it sit on the shelf and collect dust. Uh we're we're very um active with our comp plan. We look at it as our opportunity uh for uh everyone to say yes, right? We've we've gone through the comp plan process, uh we've sat down with all our stakeholders, the public. You all have had input on this. Now it's our job to implement it and get it done. And so uh we we love the comp plan. Uh we always use it uh with everything that we do. It's kind of the it's the policy that backs our decisions. And um we're we're starting our update now, and certainly uh it's important for all the public to get involved, for our stakeholders, uh everyone to to have an input on this because this is gonna be our guideline for the next 20 to 30 years. That's what we look, you know, that's how we look at it. Is it we think in terms of not two years down the road, we're thinking in terms of how does this impact us 20, 50, 75 years from now?
ReevesGive us an example of a project that's in there that's you know, your your forecasting for that 10, 20, 30 years. Is there something Yeah?
SPEAKER_01There's um downtown is always a focus. Uh our neighborhood redevelopment is always a focus in some of our historic neighborhoods. Uh that is always continued growth and building upon previous successes. Uh, I would say that those are two of our most important. That and water, our water and sewer utility, and building upon what we've done now, uh, identifying areas that we need to reinvest or invest in new infrastructure, uh, that balance that we have to play. Uh so those are the three main areas of focus that our comp plan often looks at, but it's looking at policing and safety and what are some of the things that we can do from you know down to the detail of landscape requirements. You know, we recommend you adjust this so that you create a safer development to um, you know, you need to add a new district or you know, what what that may look like for our police force. So it's looking at all that.
SPEAKER_00That's a lot of details to have to think about each project. You know, we think, oh, you just go put a road in and build some houses. No, you gotta police it, fire. I've seen you use the comp plan in meetings. And I mean, I think that's we gotta have it. I know you get pushback sometimes, right? But we gotta I I here's what here's one thing I will say positive about some of these new big builders we've had come to town. Their landscaping looks good. Yeah, they're elevating the entrance, they're elevating the landscaping, and that's what we need. Right.
ReevesYeah, I mean, Robert, you and I have ridden by some of those track built neighborhoods and some of the other neighborhoods, and we're like, they're beating us, they're beating the local guys. They are, and um and and so that that's been a good and as a local guy.
SPEAKER_00I feel like okay, hold on, we gotta step it up. Our little entrance isn't doing the trick anymore. These guys are putting a lot of horsepower into it.
SPEAKER_01Competition's always good. It is um for any any field. You've got to have that competition to it to show yourself what you can do better, um, and also identify the things that you're doing better that you can outdo your competitors with. True. And um, I think we've seen uh folks like yourself leaning into okay, here's our strengths. We're we're gonna lean into that. And I think at least from the outside looking in, it it seems to be paying off.
SPEAKER_00It is, yeah, yeah. There's room for all of us.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00You know, we had Chase Howard on the last episode, and he's like, guys, this town, South Carolina, is gonna continue to explode
Managing Fast Growth Without Chaos
SPEAKER_00in growth. Yeah. And sometimes we get a little, we're like in it too much, and we'll have a house or two that doesn't sell. I'm like, oh God, the market's over. No, over the next 20 years, this place is going to continue to grow like crazy, isn't it?
SPEAKER_01Our location is so strategic for industry. I I don't I I really don't think that anyone should have any concern for that. Uh it's you know, from our perspective, it's certainly keeping up with that growth. We've historically we've grown, if you look at the life of Florence, we've grown about 2% every year. As you look back at the census and which is a comfortable, you know, we've never lost population, which is great. I mean, that's uh I mean you look at so do our communities, yeah. It's it's awful. Um, but for for us, we've always shown growth and and um the last few years we've seen higher growth, you know, we're talking four percent, six percent, which is which is a lot. Uh yeah, I don't think people quite understand how much that is.
ReevesYeah, well, you're talking about doubling the tri historic, you know, average growth rate. Yeah, doubling that is a big deal, right.
SPEAKER_01Well, and when you look at Ory County and some of those other areas that are growing in the double digits, you know, um growth is great. I don't want to see that kind of growth because that at when you reach that point, it's almost um out of everybody's hands, and it's you're kind of you know rushing and scrapping to try to pull stuff together and control some of that and uh make sure that you have the infrastructure, whether it's your police force or fire response or you know, all those things, uh sanitation, all those things have such a big impact. And for us, uh all the services that we provide, we we run about a essentially a year behind, right? So when a new development comes on uh online, those services are immediate. Well, we don't see that property tax or any of that revenue coming in until the following year. So we're always kind of having to plan and be strategic on how we do this. Uh so having a growth rate that would be 10, 12 percent is tough. Um it's we're I think we're starting to see some of that uh kind of push our way a little bit. I think the result of that is um you know when you speak with folks moving to South Carolina, when they live an hour from the beach, they feel like they live at the beach. Yeah. Um as far as water and sewer goes, you get outside of Grand Strand water and sewer from the Ory County area. The next largest utility is is us, and so uh that's I think that's driving some of that as well from the developer side. Uh but uh I think Florence is strategic for growth. The the key is doing that uh in an intentional way to where the community benefits from it. It's not as much of a burden as it is more of a benefit. Yeah.
ReevesAnd part of I think growing in a strategic way in an intentional way, not too fast, is we are able to strategically keep things in place in the right way instead of oh my gosh, we got 10% growth. We just got to put this fire out, this fire out. And then you end up making a bigger mess long term because you you weren't able to implement that strategic plan. That's right. Um, so
Water And Sewer Investments Explained
Reevesin talking about water and sewer, I'm gonna give you a true false question.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, okay.
ReevesAll right, true or false.
SPEAKER_01You know, we don't like to answer in true or false is here.
ReevesTrue or false. The city of Florence doesn't know what to do with the water and sewer, and so you're just doing nothing. False. Big false. I'll answer that easily. I th I thought you could handle it.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, uh the the and you all know this. Our water and sewer is critical for the city, for us as an organization, uh, but also the community. That's what uh obviously this is you know, people at their homes turning on the faucet. It's critically important to them, but it's also uh to our industry and growth, uh, small businesses, all you know, water, everybody has to have it. Um so again, going to our comp plan uh where it's you know called out water, sewer, stormwater master plans, you know, we've been able to accomplish that uh that not only addresses our um current needs, but what our future needs would be. And so uh we are always talking water and sewer. I you know, I I do all this other stuff, but I'm always talking about water and sewer too. Oh, yeah. Um, because it's so uh ingrained in our organization and the community and it's critical to the the growth and success of Florence. And so uh we're always talking about that. Uh when we you know we just took out uh $138 million bond to invest in the in the utility. Uh and the trick is always, especially for a growing community, how do we one invest those funds uh in our existing infrastructure, uh reinvest in it, you know, rehab it. Uh and two, how do we prepare for the future growth, uh, whether it be residential or industry or you know commercial? So that's always a balancing act on how we how we do that. Uh often we can kill two birds with one stone. You know, how do we reinvest in our existing infrastructure that can also prepare us for the future? Uh so we've got a lot of good projects going on right now. We've got uh a surface water project that's gonna allow us to increase our current capacity at the surface water plant from 10 million gallons a day in production to 15. Nice. Uh, but then we're also reinvesting in the Jeffries Creek Corridor, uh, where we're upgrading, you know, obviously everyone's very well aware of uh the impact that that uh that sewer line has to that natural resource, right? I mean that that's a that's the gem of the city of Florence is that Jeffries Creek Corridor. So making sure that we reinvest in it uh to protect that resource, but also do it in a way in which it can um have growth and capacity to allow for that that future growth as we we will see it.
ReevesSo you're not ignoring these things.
SPEAKER_01Oh, absolutely not. But going back to that funding, you know, that that takes a tremendous amount of time uh between when you're talking projects of that nature, uh where it's tens of millions of dollars, uh, going through that planning process for the financial side of it. Uh, but then when you reach the uh closing on the bond and getting the actual funding for the project to start, you then start the engineering process, which you're something of that nature, uh at least a year of engineering going through it. Yeah. Uh followed by permitting with Army Corps of Engineers, DOT gets involved, you're you're going through a lot of folks. So it's it's a long process. And we're um what we do not do is just sit there and allow things to to sit. There are there's smaller projects that we can do in the meantime to help manage that, which we've we've done uh but those are those are uh projects to to address the kind of current need it's not long-term solutions uh the long-term solution is you know in the background running full speed ahead uh trying to get to construction so uh I'm sure you've seen on social media all the hubbub about people complaining about the pipe on Hoffmeyer Road.
Hoffmeyer Road Sewer Fix And Timeline
ReevesYes hubbub the hubbub the hubbub is that what we call it yeah so tell the public what's going on with that.
SPEAKER_01Yeah so we uh that is an old section of a sewer line um and we've had a few issues over the the handful of years uh point repairs that we've had to do I think we've we've had about three kind of repair projects over the over the last five to six years uh where we've uh come in and completed a point repair or laid new line to replace the existing old line. So right now that is we have a contractor under contract the uh pre-construction meeting which is what's required uh is actually Wednesday uh and then they'll turn around and start in uh next week start to get mobilized do a little investigation uh so that that's uh uh we believe there's a point failure there uh where we've had some sewer line issue uh we have a lot of restaurants in that area uh with restaurants come grease and that can kind of uh often amplify the problem a lot uh so uh we'll go in uh do some investig investigative work with our contractor and the goal is to make we believe there's one to two repairs that need to be completed where we'll dig down and and repair that uh but with this project we will also slip line or uh it's often called trenchless construction where they will essentially shoot a resin kind of uh epoxy coating to the existing sewer line and uh rehab that existing sewer line in place so that we're not digging up all of Hoffel Air. That is the last thing that I want to do. So we'll we'll make the repair essentially from five points all the way to Darlington Street is the goal. So that we're you know we can put that to bed and feel confident with it.
ReevesSo I had to do exactly what you're talking about on under a concrete slab on a house I own for a sewer line and that was expensive for a small little house. So you're going from five points to darlington doing that that's got to be a massive cost.
SPEAKER_01It's a big cost yeah uh you know we're uh we're right now we've got about 750 000 set aside uh to do that work yeah um the depending on how much we have to dig up Hoffmeyer will depend on how much we have to repave it you know that's a big cost uh that's why we're trying to go the the trenchless route uh but we've got a contractor who specializes this is their bread and butter this is what they do so uh this this will be a good project and one that I think everybody will be happy with I hate driving down you know and seeing that bypass pump I know everybody is tired of it it's having an impact to everybody um and it it will be good to kind of get that that corrected and and moving forward. Oh yeah y'all got a good plan for that I guess Robert it's true the city is not sitting on their hands doing no I no they're not they're not they're not and and just like yeah anybody that's had any project at their own house oh yeah your your water line in your yard it messes up go get that fixed and see what you got to go through yeah it's it's crazy these days to just get stuff done because you guys have a good team you really do I love your you know I've got good relationships with the engineers at the city they're great Josh Whittington is awesome you guys you've got the right team and we're not the only city dealing with these things no you know everybody thinks oh Charleston Greenville they got no problems they got problems yeah they promise you yeah I when you look at Charleston and like some of their stormwater issues that they're having oh my god there's no fix really no and the ocean make the ocean bigger and j just the the sheer amount of cost um I think people often you know why don't why don't you just go get the money and do all the projects that would be terrific right you know we have to plan we have financial advisors we we have folks that help us financially plan this out just like any business or any other organization um so we have to be smart with that as well so that we are responsible with our customers and our our residents uh the money that we you know that revenue yeah um but it's also uh the skip funding that that the federal government gave during COVID was a prime example of our capacity to do the work um when you have that much money coming down that short a deadline just getting contractors to be able to do that work they don't have the capacity we don't have enough contractors uh to do the work um so you've you've you've got to play that smartly so that that you're not inflating that market for the contractor you know you're not creating a false situation yeah uh for everyone in that field so uh we have to do it incrementally just like everybody take the I mean ultimate it's the public's money you you collect that money through tax revenue and then that private contractor sees the government's writing that check and they can inflate that number as much as they can get away with inflating and so you're constantly battling all of those things as well as the logistics and of organizing all the various entities to do a public project.
SPEAKER_00I mean it's it it's a lot of imagine there's contractors that are like yeah I could do this work but I don't want to do it in Hoffmeyer Road with all that traffic. Yeah and so I mean it's not an easy game you guys are playing.
SPEAKER_01No and you're competing against all the other municipalities and and and folks in the area as well so we're not the only ones doing work. And it's it is uh it is a contractor capacity problem. It's a just a workforce issue from top to bottom uh to get all those projects it you couldn't do you couldn't take out all the money in the world out to fix all the problems because you couldn't couldn't get the the work completed just out of the capacity that's
How Residents Can Help The City
SPEAKER_01out there.
ReevesIs there anything just the average citizen out there can do to help move Florence forward in in this regard? I mean and maybe the answer is hey just be patient I don't know but I mean is there anything that y'all would like to see the public do?
SPEAKER_01No I I think um we we love to hear from our our public we we want them getting involved in our top plan meetings our any public meeting that we're holding uh that is an open invitation to come and and give us your concerns opinions uh all those types of things we want to hear that um it's what I would say is uh be thoughtful in how you reach out to us because we you know if you're if it's average Joe posting something on Facebook you know we're not always going to see that right and so you've you've put out a problem which you know we want to to fix things that's I think that's uh every city or county employee is out there wanting to to help otherwise they wouldn't be in the job that they're doing right uh but if we don't know about it then we can't help and and I think we often see uh where uh our residents have a problem and they're not uh reaching in the right reaching us in the right capacity so that we know even know about the problem uh so reaching calling us uh is always the best you know you'll if you've got a problem call somebody or a department you will make your way to the right right right place I think there's a hotline for water and sewer things I mean you guys kind of have a dedicated hotline and are focused in on that our website is always uh another good option where you can you can submit an inquiry or a concern or anything of that nature but really getting involved in our comp plan is so critical because again we're laying out um the next 20 to 30 years of work that we're going to be doing and the goals and uh initiatives that we're we're setting and so we want you to have a voice in that because we we do listen we want to make sure that we're uh we're establishing those goals that the community wants obviously I mean that's that's that's how we're successful that's what we gauge our success off of uh so we want folks to get involved so that we we hear that let me ask one more question before we finish up I often hear people say we're building too many houses and we can't take care of the stuff we have is that a fair criticism or are those kind of two separate issues?
New Development Versus Old Infrastructure
SPEAKER_01I think they're two separate issues really um I think if you talk to any of our folks that that's involved in our industry whether it's Florence County economic development or or folks you know in our office or any uh small business you know we want to see we want to see good growth we want to see good development um again we don't want to be overloaded with it but we want to see we want to see that growth uh so you have that side where new infrastructure is going in uh I think that now more so than ever we are doing a better job of making sure uh from design to through construction that infrastructure that is being put in the ground is uh lasting it's not going to give us issues or problems we know going into it that we have uh decades of good infrastructure in the ground and we have again from the time you start design our eyes are on that design working with the engineers to ensure that uh everything meets those specifications and standards uh to the second it starts to get put in the ground you know we've got construction inspectors out there making sure that the contractors are putting it in correctly so um from start to finish that side is being well looked after now um more so than I would say it ever has been that that side of the organization has really uh grown uh with us because you look back in the 70s 80s I I don't know that that that was being uh completed on our side as well as it could have been right uh or any you know not not to pick on us that's any municipality but you're kind of now having to clean up some of that that's right yeah we see that which is the other side of this whole question I guess is new development isn't the same as fixing the old development new development you guys have been able to take a new development and implement things that help the older tribes I mean that new developer has to put in a new lift station that helps the whole neighborhood.
SPEAKER_00That's right. So there's certain new development that's probably helping.
SPEAKER_01Yes definitely you we know where all those little problems are and maybe maybe the residents don't see it but we definitely see it. And so working with a developer so that they we can um complete a project that benefits both of us is always at the top of the list and and and it's not um you know we're not just coming in and saying hey we've got this problem over here we want you to fix you know we're we're partnering that's with our developers for that yeah uh but we have uh our utility construction fund which is a a separate fund that is there to address some of that that the the results of some of the growth the the the strain on some of our existing infrastructure so that we can either upgrade or rehab uh we have those in place and we're we're working through those projects to address it. So it is all one the same in the same but it's we kind of look at it from two different perspectives because there's a way that we can address some of the existing smaller type of projects where you're not you know you're not having to it's they're not Jeffries Creek problem.
ReevesIt's Hoffmeyer Road or some of these other uh like a line extension where we uh interconnect our uh water lines to provide you know better service uh helps the uh the high hydraulics of the system things like that we're always working on the smaller projects as well Robert you've done a lot of development with a lot of contractors builders and so you've sold land how have you seen you know maybe some engineering requirements come in and not just help with what's going to be built but also maybe what already exists and like if you've seen that in the Oakdale area or anywhere else where new development has gone and but they say hey you need this lift station or whatever it is give an example.
SPEAKER_00Yeah I mean in Oakdale we work closely with you guys and the the and partnership's the right word because I mean it really felt like the city was wanting to partner and we put in our part you put in yours it's going to make the area better I I commend you because ultimately like we've said before if if we're not growing we're going backwards and you guys have taken the risk on growth I mean you could you guys could have stopped growth before now you could have you could have bridled it way back but you've got the you've got the vision to see we got to keep growing or we're gonna just go backwards and it's not the easiest thing for you guys to do either. No but you're taking the risk and you're doing it and we will all benefit from it. I know we will yeah all right well before we before we leave on a more fun note because I'm loving what's happening downtown.
Downtown Vision Gentle Density And Neighborhoods
SPEAKER_00Yeah maple park starting to come to life it is yes it's starting to connect I got the vision of people riding their bike from Maple Park Timrod into downtown how excited are you to see this kind of come into life?
SPEAKER_01It's it's very exciting you know we've we've over the last really 10 to 15 years I I think if you ask anyone if the growth that we've seen just in in the downtown and kind of the the periphery of that yeah um it's it's a completely different city. We have got tremendous partners uh with Francis Marion and Bruce and Lee Foundation and McLeod and MUSC and uh a lot of our private developers that are doing great projects. I mean the and that's what it takes is the are those partnerships. Yes. And you can go to other towns and cities and see the potential but then you can also see those shortfalls where those partnerships aren't there or maybe they're not as positive as ours are and it has a huge impact on the on that town's success and growth. Oh yeah. And so when we all are working together which I I think we do a very good job of um you see the results uh you see the success uh and I would say you know you look at like a Greenville or a Charleston um you know those are decades of work uh that that town has put in uh Greenville's you know we everybody always uses yeah um you know that there's a lot of there's decades of background work and and putting all the right pieces in place so that uh they're successful and that's what I think we always look at it uh through through that lens is it's our job to establish the foundation for others' success. Uh because when they're successful we're also successful. That's the only way that the city overall will be successful. And so um you know we've done that in a much shorter time than most towns and cities. I think uh if you spoke to most professionals that are out there in the world doing master plans and planning initiatives and and those things when they look at Florence they go you all have accomplished a tremendous amount in you know a decade decade and a half than uh and it it took some of these other towns and cities two or three to do. So it's very exciting uh to see the results of a lot of that work but it does not go unrecognized that we have to continue to put in that work. We got to keep the momentum and so uh things like the Carolina theater uh updating our downtown master plan to kind of refocus uh okay you know initially how do we look at these you know six to nine blocks of downtown to uh redevelop it and make it successful and now we're looking at more of a broader downtown of what we've really defined downtown as um and where are those next steps and you know right now uh these next steps are really focused on getting folks living uh and and working downtown mostly living so that they are uh you know it's not just your folks from the all the different neighborhoods that make up Florence coming into downtown to uh go to all the things yeah spend money all the services and everything that we have here but making it its own community as well to uh with our new residential you know we have a goal of a thousand new units in downtown and and that's that's capitalizing on you know we have all this exist existing infrastructure here that is ripe for the use that's not being used to its fullest potential and so we've got to uh why would we not capitalize on that so uh looking and forecasting uh and getting into those partnerships uh to help boost the residential living in downtown is key um I think what you will see more of is more of those in fill projects like what we have on Chevis Street and some of these other things uh with our success combining uh and and getting multiple properties put together to be able to do a large project like what we have at Urban Square is becoming harder and harder uh because now that the value of those properties with all the success is is uh increasing and folks are seeing you know really starting to see the potential in their own properties. So it's uh collect getting a collection of properties put together to do a major project is hard and it it takes multiple years. You know we're we're working on one now uh which uh will hopefully come out here in the next handful of months that will be a I mean just a a game changer project that will um be a tremendous benefit for downtown but doing something of that nature is becoming harder and harder and I think I was very excited about the project on Chavez Street with um Chris and Teddy because I think that is a prime example of what somebody can do with a smaller piece of property. And it's really along the lines of what we're looking for. You know we we always talk about Greenville uh but we want to be Florence and when you look back at our history Uh, you know, you look at the images and the aerials of Florence 75 years ago, what did we look like? You know, we want to go back to that. Uh, we often call it gentle density, where you know, we don't have these huge and you know, large-scale buildings. It's more of the intimate, you know, I can I can live downtown, have a little bit of elbow room, and have all these amenities and services uh, you know, at my back door. Uh, and so I think that's that's where we want to see that growth because I th I I think it's easy for people for those that are moving into South Carolina, that's they're moving here because of those things. True. Yeah, that's very true. And for our current residents, when they're downsizing or looking to move to that more urban environment, you know, they're not looking for New York. They still want to be and feel like they're in Florence. And so uh I think that's kind of the direction you'll see see some of this development go. We'll have some of those larger apartment complexes, larger buildings. You know, that's gonna happen. Uh, but it's really gonna be that more smaller scale. Um, and I think that's where you'll really feel that kind of ownership and pride and everything that you'll you want to see in a neighborhood. That's awesome.
ReevesI got the vision. I mean, I I'm ready to sell my house out in West Florence and move. Yeah, there you go. Come find a property and renovate it and and invest. I'm I got the vision. Good, good.
SPEAKER_00That's good. That's good. Yeah, no, that's why what like when we were walking here, you know, we meet it. I love meeting at Victor's lobby and walking. Like this podcast being downtown is so perfect because that's where it needs to be. And you guys are doing a good job. I appreciate all you're doing. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01And it's you know, we we've we're essentially using the same method. Uh, and you've been a part of this conversation in our neighborhoods as well. Yeah. Because they are so critical to our success. They are just as critical uh as the success of downtown uh to the overall health and benefit of the community. And so um I think with our new neighborhood revitalization plan that we have coming out, uh that we we just presented it to council at council meeting, uh, that will be in place. It will be establishing a whole new set of goals and initiatives, um, you'll you'll see that success in our neighborhoods as well because uh you've got to have that throughout the community. Uh and when industry or new small businesses or regional businesses, they come to Florence to, I mean, they're they they come and scope us out. That's right. I mean, it's it's no secret. That's yeah, it's no secret. Yeah. Um, and they want to see that we're reinvesting in ourselves. Otherwise, why would they invest in us? True. Uh, and so I think you'll see that impact in our neighborhoods as well, which is very exciting. I mean, that is uh our neighborhoods and the success of those have a just a compounding effect on the whole community. And so uh I'm excited about that.
SPEAKER_00We got the right recipe. Yes, we've got people wanting to move here. Yes, we've got the right people in place. We we've got the plan. Just give it a little
Closing Thanks And Looking Ahead
SPEAKER_00time, yeah, and it's gonna it's gonna cook and all the pieces starting to fall and that's right in place. Yeah. Well, thank you, man. Anytime you want to come back, anything we can for you, yeah. Let us know. Yeah, that'd be great. I appreciate it. Bye.