Spartanburg welcomes Coastal Carolina National Bank. Section of River Birch Trail opens

Samantha Swann, Herald-Journal
·3 min read

Spartanburg had two openings and a temporary business closing in the last two weeks as part of its growth and development.

Magnolia Street welcomed a new bank branch. And residents have discovered the beauty of a new trail tucked behind a shopping strip on East Main Street while walking the newest section of the DAN, or the Daniel Morgan Trail System, a 50-mile urban trail system consisting of existing and proposed trails.

Spartanburg's ArtWalk will be short just one stop this month because the TJC Gallery will be closed for renovations.

Here's what you need to know about these three city happenings:

Coastal Carolina National Bank has opened a branch in downtown Spartanburg. Here, Robin Stone, Eddie Lane, Rob Hrubala, and Dana Fox of Coastal Carolina National Bank, talk about what services the bank with bring to their Spartanburg customers.
Coastal Carolina National Bank has opened a branch in downtown Spartanburg. Here, Robin Stone, Eddie Lane, Rob Hrubala, and Dana Fox of Coastal Carolina National Bank, talk about what services the bank with bring to their Spartanburg customers.

142 Social welcomes new bank branch

Coastal Carolina National Bank held a grand opening for its first full-service branch office in Spartanburg on June 28. The bank is in Suite B of the 142 Social building at 142 Magnolia St. in downtown Spartanburg.

The bank has been in Spartanburg since 2019 when it opened its Spartanburg loan production office. Spartanburg Market Executive Rob Hrubala said the growth of downtown Spartanburg was the main factor for bringing a branch office to the city.

"There's so much going on in this community," Hrubala said. "And our bank is a wonderful community bank that looks to partner with businesses in the community and support individuals as well."

The Magnolia Street branch is open from 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. Fridays.

PAL (Play. Advocate. Live Well.) invited the public to come see the River Birch Trail segment of the Daniel Morgan Trail System on Thursday, June 29, 2023. The event featured a ribbon cutting service and gave the public a chance to see art on the River Birch Trail.
PAL (Play. Advocate. Live Well.) invited the public to come see the River Birch Trail segment of the Daniel Morgan Trail System on Thursday, June 29, 2023. The event featured a ribbon cutting service and gave the public a chance to see art on the River Birch Trail.

PAL opens new section of River Birch Trail

The second phase of the River Birch Trail officially opened on June 29. It is a new segment of PAL's Daniel Morgan Trail System.

PAL Executive Director Laura Ringo said the new trail segment was welcomed with the trail seeing almost 10,000 users since it was paved in early June.

Phase 2 of the River Birch Trail is located behind Moveable Feasts at 956 E. Main St. and connects to Phase 1 of the River Birch Trail, which runs from the opposite side of East Main Street past McCracken Middle School and connects with Spartanburg Area Conservancy's Cottonwood Trail. Its trailhead is at 220 Sydnor Road.

"The next segment will include upgrades to Heywood Avenue and connect into the trails at Drayton and Beaumont mill villages," Ringo said.

PAL (Play. Advocate. Live Well.) invited the public to come see the River Birch Trail segment of the Daniel Morgan Trail System on Thursday, June 29, 2023. The event featured a ribbon cutting service and gave the public a chance to see art on the River Birch Trail. Artist Lottie Hutson, 22, of Spartanburg puts her art on a tree on the trail.
PAL (Play. Advocate. Live Well.) invited the public to come see the River Birch Trail segment of the Daniel Morgan Trail System on Thursday, June 29, 2023. The event featured a ribbon cutting service and gave the public a chance to see art on the River Birch Trail. Artist Lottie Hutson, 22, of Spartanburg puts her art on a tree on the trail.

There are many sights to see along the new section of the River Birch Trail, including White's Mill Dam and the Creativitrees, a public art project along the trail. The exhibit is a collaboration between PAL and Spartanburg Art Museum and features the work of local artists who wrapped a group of trees along the clearing.

Lottie Hutson, one of the participating artists, said her project explores how animals and insects respond to different colors.

"I'm informed by Kandinsky's color series study. He would take different color combinations and see how different humans would perceive the different color combinations," Hutson said. "So I took those similar color combinations and immersed them in nature to see how different animals, birds, and insects would perceive the colors."

TJC Gallery closed for renovations

TJC Gallery (The Johnson Collection) announced a temporary closure starting July 5. The downtown gallery, at 154 W. Main. St. is undergoing a month-long renovation project. The gallery will not be open for Spartanburg ArtWalk in July.

Other participating galleries, including those in the Chapman Cultural Center, will be open. The art walk is held on the third Thursday of the month from 5 -8 p.m.

The reopening gallery date will be announced on the gallery's website and social media.

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 sswann@shj.com or on Instagram at @sam_on_spartanburg.

This article originally appeared on Herald-Journal: Spartanburg welcomes new bank, new trail sees 10K users before opening