Palmetto Pulse Upstate

HOSPITALITY EXCELLENCE

Hotel Hartness Named to 2026 U.S. News & World Report ‘Best Hotels in the USA’ List, Ranked No. 1 in Greenville

Hotel Hartness has been named to the 2026 U.S. News & World Report Best Hotels in the USA list, earning a coveted Gold Badge and top rankings at the national, state, and local levels. Among 3,968 hotels ranked nationwide, Hotel Hartness placed No. 243 overall, ranked No. 12 in South Carolina, and was named No. 1 Best Hotel in Greenville. Of the hotels ranked in the United States, only 927 properties received the Gold Badge distinction, placing Hotel Hartness among the top tier of hotels nationwide. 

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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE

Colliers Facilitates the Investment Sale of a Medical Office Building in Easley

John Folsom, Matthew Pollard, and Macy Scoggins of Colliers | South Carolina represented Radar Doctors LLC in the sale of 832 Powdersville Road to Chass Holdings LLC. This approximately 3,400-square-foot medical office building is located off of Calhoun Memorial Highway in Easley, South Carolina and is leased by a grade A medical user. Folsom, Pollard, and Scoggins generated multiple competitive offers within days of listing and successfully closed the transaction just 45 days after launching it to the market.

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SPOTLIGHT

United Way Seeking Projects for Annual 'Hands On Greenville Day' on Saturday, May 2

United Way of Greenville County’s Hands On Greenville (HOG) Day returns on Saturday, May 2, uniting thousands of volunteers to make a tangible impact across Greenville County. United Way is now calling on local nonprofits, schools, faith-based groups, and community organizations to submit service projects for consideration. HOG Day typically generates, approximately, 8,000 hours of community service in a single day. Projects typically include landscaping and beautification, park cleanups, painting, minor repairs, work at community gardens, and other high-impact initiatives that organizations may not otherwise have the capacity or budget to complete. 

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FRANCHISE PARTNERSHIP

Eggs Up Grill Accelerates Growth Through Multi-Unit Partnership with Metz Group

Eggs Up Grill, a national breakfast restaurant franchise, has entered into a multi-unit franchise partnership with Metz Group, a company founded on long-term brand building, with companies like Ruth’s Chris Steak House, Dunkin, Chick-fil-A, and TGI Fridays. The partnership reflects Metz Group’s search for the right growth brand and its confidence in Eggs Up Grill’s positioning in the daytime dining category. Eggs Up Grill will be attending the upcoming Multi-Unit Franchise Conference, where they will connect with industry leaders and share insights on strategic growth and multi-unit development.

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RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE

Eastwood Homes Expands Greenville Division with New Communities Across the Upstate

Eastwood Homes has announced significant growth across its Greenville Division. In Anderson, Eastwood Homes is building at Kayfield at Midway, a community featuring 124 single-family homes. Woodruff is welcoming CraigStone, which includes 97 townhomes with one-car garages; and Benjamin's Grove, featuring 40 single-family homes with two-car garages and an amenity package. In Moore, the homebuilder opened the 58 single-family home Founders Club in November 2025. In Spartanburg, East Main Townes will bring 28 townhomes with one-car garages to market. 

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NEWS EXCELLENCE

WYFF 4 Finishes February as the Top Station in the Market

WYFF 4 recently wrapped up the February sweep as the No. 1 local station in the Greenville-Spartanburg-Asheville-Anderson market. Viewers tuned in for a month packed with programming, from the Milan-Cortina Olympics to Super Bowl 60. WYFF 4 was the No. 1 station in every key demographic and outperformed the other three main broadcast stations combined with Adults 25-54. Super Bowl Sunday reached more than 782,000 local Adults 18+, and with the Winter Olympics, NBA, and big news wins, WYFF 4 reached more than 1,000,000 Adults 18+ for the sweep. 

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BANKING EXCELLENCE

Countybank Mortgage Receives 2025 Excellence Award from PennyMac Financial Services

Countybank Mortgage has been recognized by PennyMac Financial Services with the 2025 Excellence Award, marking the second consecutive year the company has received the honor.  The award celebrates exceptional performance and partnership with PennyMac in 2025. The recognition comes during a milestone year for Countybank Mortgage.  In 2025, the division closed a record number in total loan volume for borrowers, and four mortgage loan originators on the Countybank team placed among the top 3 percent of originators nationwide.  

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WOMEN LEADERSHIP

Countybank Awards Amber Price This Year's Hazel B. Allin Award Recipient

Countybank and Greenwood Capital have recognized human resources director Amber M. Price as this year’s recipient of the Hazel B. Allin Women’s Leadership Award. Established in 2023, the Hazel B. Allin Women’s Leadership Award is presented annually to a female employee of Countybank or Greenwood Capital who exemplifies exceptional leadership. The award honors the legacy of Hazel B. Allin, director emeritus of both Countybank and TCB Corporation, the first woman elected to either board, and a trailblazer in South Carolina’s banking industry. 

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ENERGY LEADERSHIP

Blue Ridge President and CEO to Retire at the End of Year, Board of Trustees Names Successor

Jim Lovinggood is retiring as president and CEO of Blue Ridge Electric Co-op after more than four decades of service. The board of trustees unanimously named Zachary Hinton as his successor — only the fourth in the cooperative's history, a testament to the organization’s long-standing stability. Hinton will step into his new role in January 2027. Before joining Blue Ridge, Hinton served his community as a congressional aide and spent several years with the Greenville County Sheriff’s Office.

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MERGERS & ACQUISITIONS

Spartanburg-Based Tindall to Acquire Atlanta Structural Concrete

Tindall Corporation, one of the largest providers of precast concrete solutions, has announced the acquisition of Atlanta Structural Concrete (ASC), an EnCon Company. The transaction will close in July 2026. Financial terms weren’t disclosed. Atlanta Structural Concrete (ASC) is a precast and prestressed concrete company founded in 1959, making it the oldest precast concrete producer in the Atlanta area. ASC is a full-service specialty contractor, handling everything from preconstruction design and engineering to manufacturing to project management and product installation.

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CORPORATE RELOCATION

Shamrock Technologies, Inc. Relocating Corporate Headquarters As Part of Laurens County Expansion

Shamrock Technologies, Inc., a global leader in specialty additives, announced it is relocating its corporate headquarters as part of the company’s expansion in Laurens County. The company’s $39.6 million investment will create 57 new jobs, according to Gov. Henry McMaster’s office. Shamrock produces and distributes micronized wax and other specialty additives used in coatings, inks, greases, and lubricants. Shamrock’s new facility will be located at 101 Connexial Blvd. in Gray Court. Upon completion, the company will relocate its New Jersey headquarters to the South Carolina site.

SPOTLIGHT

Franchise Plans Major Expansion in South Carolina with 5 New Locations

National daycare franchise The Learning Experience announced it is expanding in the Greenville area with 5 new locations opening in the next two years – bringing 50,000 square feet of freestanding commercial real estate space, numerous full-time jobs, and consistent traffic to nearby businesses with parents dropping off and picking up their children twice a day, five days a week. The Learning Experience, which currently has more than 450 locations operating in 30 states, plans to open five new locations in: Georgia Road; Brookfield Oaks; Greenville; Simpsonville; and Spartanburg.

HEALTH CARE

Prisma Health Expands Partnership With Minerra™ Health and Announces Strategic Investment to Scale Obesity Care Platform

Prisma Health announced a major expansion of its partnership with Minerra Health to advance a system-wide comprehensive obesity care platform supporting patients across the full continuum of care — lifestyle, medical, pharmacy, and surgical pathways. Building on strong early performance, Prisma Health is expanding Minerra's role from surgical navigation to a broader longitudinal obesity care platform. Prisma Health has also made a strategic investment. Future phases of collaboration include expansion into medical weight management pathways, GLP-1 stewardship models, and employer-sponsored programs.

SPOTLIGHT

Partners Announced for Transformational Falls Park Conference District in Greenville, SC

Master developer of the Falls Park Conference District, The Furman Co., announced commitments from Auro Hotels, United Community and global real estate investment manager, Hines, to deliver key pieces of the Greenville, South Carolina project's mixed-use vision. Located in the heart of downtown, the Falls Park Conference District will be anchored by a hotel-led conference center, which will include a flagship, luxury hotel, multi-family residential, Class A office space, structured parking and expanded access to Falls Park.