The Cliffs Communities now has the funds to complete golf courses to be designed by Gary Player and Tiger Woods thanks to Cliffs property owners.
More than 500 property owners loaned the Cliffs Communities a total of more than $60 million, or an average of about $130,000 each, so the projects can move forward.
Cliffs developer Jim Anthony recently turned to property owners for funding help after struggling to obtain funds through other means. He says the funds from property owners, loaned to the development at a 12 percent annual percentage rate in 7-year notes, offer more certainty for prospective new property owners who have been concerned about the future of the 8-development communitys future.
Anthony says he hopes to finalize an agreement soon to address a conservation groups concerns about the Mountain Park course. He says construction could resume at the course in northern Greenville County in a couple months.
Anthony also planned to meet recently with Tiger Woods at the High Carolina course to review plans there. Work on the 7,300-yard course east of Asheville was slowed during the recession. Anthony says grading could begin for the course in the next couple months now that funds are available.
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Lake Lure
An article about the dream towns provides information about Lake Lures history and things to do at the lake: “A lazy paddle around a still, sapphire cove. An early round of golf amid hazy Blue Ridge views fading back to the horizon. Sweet tea on the front porch after a breath-stealing hike to a roaring waterfall. Such are the pleasures that have kept Southerners seeking refuge along the shores of Lake Lure for decades, swelling the towns population tenfold in summertime.
The article says the lake, created in 1926, has more than 20 miles of shoreline, and offers plenty of recreational opportunities along with nearby Chimney Rock Park and the 404-foot Hickory Nut Falls.
Other towns listed in the magazines top 10 are: Beaufort, S.C.; Oriental, N.C.; Rockport, Texas St. Georges, Grenada Eurkea Springs, Ark.; Shepherdstown, W.Va.; DeFuniak Springs, Fla.; Eufaula, Ala.is listed among the top 10 Southern Dream Towns in the April/May addition of Garden & Gun, a Southern lifestyle magazine based in Charleston, S.C.
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Proterra plans to begin building electric buses in a temporary facility and break ground on a permanent facility in Greenville, S.C. in July.
The company has already begun hiring workers and plans to create about 1,200 jobs in Greenville over the next six years.
The permanent facility will be built at Clemson Universitys International Center for Automotive Research. The facility is expected to have a production capacity of 1,500 buses annually.
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South Carolina has been named a “Top 5 Fuel Cell State,” according to a Fuel Cells 2000 report.
South Carolina received the recognition along with California, Ohio, Connecticut and New York.
The report says South Carolina has promoted hydrogen stations, active forklift demonstrations, business development and collaboration with universities to develop fuel cell technology.
Fuel Cells 2000, a nonprofit outreach organizations, says the report is designed to highlight positive examples for other states to follow.
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Nearly $5 million has been allocated for advanced research in renewable energy in North Carolina.
North Carolina State University will get $2.7 million for work on biofuel development and the Research Triangle Institution will get $2 million for research in reducing carbon pollution.
The grants are funded by the federal stimulus bill and allocated through the Department of Energys Advanced Research Projects Agency. The money has been awarded to projects around the country to produce more efficient biofuels, design new electric batters to make electric vehicles more affordable, and remove carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants in a more cost-effective way.
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Concord, N.C. is one of 15 cities across the nation selected to receive federal recovery funds for health information technology to improve patient care.
The city will receive $15.9 million for a pilot program through the Southern Piedmont Community Care Plan.
Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) says the program will better coordinate treatments for patients with diabetes, hypertension, heart disease and asthma by better allowing patients and providers to share health care data to manage disease.
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The U.S. Senate has approved a bill sponsored by senators Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Richard Burr (R-NC) to give Blowing Rock a water reservoir in exchange for a 192-acre buffer along the Blue Ridge Parkway.
Officials said the bill protects the parkway and ensures the long-term water supply for Blowing Rock.
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South Carolina has settled a dispute with Duke Energy over the utilitys use of the Catawba River, which flows into the state from N.C.
Duke plans to maintain the flow of the river below Lake Wylie to ensure adequate oxygen levels. In exchange, South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster has dropped lawsuits that blocked Dukes plans for dams on the Catawba-Wateree river system.
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The Hub City Railroad Museum opened this month in Spartanburg.
Displays in the museum at the Magnolia Street Train Station explore the history of Hayne Shops, the Tunnel, peach shipping on the railroads and the Southern, P&N, C&WC and Clinchfield. The photos displayed are rare and show a lot of Spartanburgs rail history that has disappeared.
The Hub City Railroad Museum is a collaborative effort between the Spartanburg Convention & Visitors Bureau, the National Rail Historical Society and the Spartanburg County Historical Association.
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The NASCAR Hall of Fame opened this week in Charlotte.
The 150,000-square-foot museum in Uptown Charlotte features memorabilia, racing simulators, interactive activities, 154 video screens and exhibits that recreation old-time NASCAR lore. The city spent $195 million to create what is considered the most technologically advanced Hall of Fame in pro sports.