The DGDI of Greenville, SC: Redefining Possibility

If you have been directed to this blog through a few impulsive clicks on your search engine of choice, you may be wondering, what or where exactly is Greenville, South Carolina? Rather than rattling off a few geographical facts or numbers relating to population, consider this: Greenville, SC MSA has the highest level of foreign capital investment in the nation. Forbes Magazine touted Greenville, SC as the fourth best place in the country to weather the current economy. Greenville's vibrant downtown received the Great American Main Street Award in 2003 and continues to be the center of excellence for retail and industry.

To put it simply, Greenville, South Carolina is a place you want to be. Called the 'jewel of the Upstate', Greenville's quality of life is only exceeded by its potential for future economic growth. It is this potential for the future that has prompted the formation of the Downtown Greenville Development Initiative.

What Is The DGDI?
The Downtown Greenville Development Initiative is a partnership between the City of Greenville, SC, the Greater Greenville Chamber of Commerce and the Downtown Development Group. This gathering of like-minded individuals and groups is hyper-focused on attracting new corporate sector clients to relocate or expand into the Greenville downtown area.

Some may ask, why Greenville? Simply because Greenville offers the best of both worlds - one of the nation's fastest growing business hubs as well as a quality of life that you would be hard-pressed to find elsewhere. To some, these may seem like empty statements. Fortunately, the statistics of Greenville more than support these claims.

Business in Greenville
It's certainly no coincidence that Greenville has ranked among America's 50 Hottest Cities For Manufacturing Expansions and Relocation. The South's best kept secret is slowly but steadily making its presence known in the national and international business community. Globally renowned companies such as BMW, General Electric, Michelin, Milliken, Fuji, Samsung, and Scansource have chosen to locate their corporate headquarters in the Greenville-Spartanburg Area. In fact, more than 124 Fortune 500 companies call this area home. The DGDI believes that Greenville is a strategic location for companies seeking out relocation/expansion because Greenville is a place of mutual advantage - both for the corporation as well as the area.

Quality of Life in Greenville
Southern hospitality is a given when considering the quality of life in South Carolina. But how about an extraordinary arts and culture scene? Top-notch education at all levels? Advanced healthcare systems? Maybe you'd be surprised to realize that these aspects of life in Greenville are also typical of what we now lovingly refer to as the Intellectual South. Greenville showcases some of the best offerings in these areas in the South. The Peace Center, located in Downtown Greenville, is one of the best examples of the thriving art scene of Greenville. From John Legend and Robin Williams to Yo-Yo Ma, the Peace Center offers a diverse range of performances to suit any tastes. As for education, there are over 20 universities and colleges in the Upstate area, including the acclaimed Furman and Clemson Universities. And how about healthcare? Greenville Memorial Hospital was ranked by Forbes as one of the top three safest hospitals in South Carolina as well as ranking in America's Safest Hospitals. Bon Secours St. Francis Health System ranked among the top 10% in the nation for Overall Orthopedic Services and Cardiac Surgery and was a recipient of South Carolina Governor’s Gold Award for Excellence in Quality.

Greenville is a place not only where an organization can succeed, but where the individuals making up that organization thrive. That's a promise we invite you to consider.

To learn more about DGDI and Greenville, please visit

http://www.thrivedowntown.com/

Thrive Downtown Greenville & Web 2.0

Downtown Greenville can be characterized with a variety of different adjectives – vibrant, buzzing, lively. All of these words describe the ‘now’ aspects of downtown. It’s modern, as is apparent by the myriad of corporate offices and glittering skyscrapers located on the picturesque streets; accessible, in part due to the boutiques, world-class restaurants, and the dozen coffee shops one encounters on every corner. It is also ‘cool’ and is an attractive weekend destination for area teens and their parents. But go downtown any day of the week and you are likely to encounter a pleasantly surprising mix of diverse individuals, superior cuisine, and a general ambiance that is unique to the international community of Greenville, South Carolina.

What describes the future growth of the downtown area? In a word, ‘thriving’. A word that encapsulates not only the past progress and re-innovation of downtown but also sets the stage for what is yet to come. The rejuvenation of the area was paved for even greater progress and it is this reinvention that has sparked the creation of the Downtown Greenville Development Initiative. To put it simply, the objective of the Initiative is to keep the ball rolling. The development of the new ‘Thrive Downtown’ campaign highlights the area’s burgeoning potential and is aimed at making what has been called ‘the South’s best kept secret’ a buzzword for its innovation, livability, and potential.

‘Thrive’: Creating A Tangible Presence
How is the Thrive campaign accomplishing this seemingly lofty goal? In a unique method that marries technology and one of the biggest trends of today: social networking. Thrive is creating a subtle yet undeniable presence – a marked contrast to the conventional marketing methods of aggressive exposure. The proliferation of Thrive on such social networking sites as Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn, will enable the Initiative to make the kind of connections that matter – at a very personal and individual level. It will allow both those interested in the welfare of downtown Greenville and those looking for relocation possibilities to be up to date on all aspects of life in the area. Whether it’s business opportunities or the search for the perfect cycling locations, Thrive Downtown pages will harness technology and all that Greenville has to offer in order to meet your needs.

To use the jargon of Web 2.0, it would definitely be in your best interest to ‘Become A Fan' on Facebook, ‘Follow Me’ on Twitter, or ‘Make a Connection’ on LinkedIn. ‘The Intellectual South’, the tagline of the Thrive Campaign, couldn’t be more appropriate.

Greenville's DGDI & 'Thrive' Campaign Kick Off

Kym Petrie, Executive Director of the Downtown Greenville Development Initiative, has recently concluded the first leg of a business development tour aimed at generating interest in Downtown Greenville as a potential destination for corporations and small to midsized companies. The Downtown Greenville Development Initiative has spearheaded campaigning efforts through the creation of the ‘Thrive. Downtown Greenville South Carolina’ campaign. The goal of the Thrive campaign is to position Downtown Greenville as the low-cost solution to companies looking for areas in which to open branch, satellite, or regional offices. Thrive focuses on such personal aspects of the Greenville Downtown area as quality of life, livability, and activities that are offered.

The campaign website, www.thrivedowntown.com, is now up and running...check it out.

Petrie has already visited Charlotte, Atlanta, Calgary, Vancouver, and Toronto, where she has introduced and presented the conceptualization of downtown Greenville as an option for companies considering relocation or expansion. In addition to site selectors, presentations with CEO’s and lawyers representing multinational organizations are also conducted by Petrie, in an effort to create mutually beneficial relationships with a variety of companies, of all sizes and spanning a range of industries. Non-profit committees have been organized in order to review and select possible targets for potential future points of contact.

The objectives of the Thrive campaign are to highlight to the unique ambiance and amenities of downtown Greenville and use that as a starting off point to attract organizations to the area. Through this, the DGDI aims to expand the economy of the region by bringing a variety of business to downtown Greenville. Petrie is also set to visit Virginia and D.C. areas in the near future as the next stage of the Initiative’s business development tour.