ANDERSON — There have been nights when Marshall Meadors' light in his top-floor condo in The Calhoun Historic Lofts would be the only glow seen at the high-rise building in downtown Anderson.
Meadors bought his loft in the 1920s-era building in 2007. He was the first one to buy one of the 42 condos in the eight-story structure.
Now, he is surrounded by neighbors in the building and throughout downtown Anderson.
The two main condominium projects in the city's center — The Calhoun Historic Lofts and the Chiquola Condominiums — have finally reached near or full capacity. And downtown dwellers such as Meadors said people have also moved into apartments above the businesses downtown, giving the area a healthy mix of residents.
"When I first bought the condo, there were a few nights where I was the only one sleeping in that building," Meadors said. "Now, 90 percent of this building is full. That's how much it has taken off in the last few years."
Part of the solution at The Calhoun, he and others said, is that the mix of studio apartments and two-bedroom condos have been offered up for lease as well as for sale.
"Hard times hit everybody when the economy tanked in 2008," Meadors said.
The Chiquola and The Calhoun are mainstays in Anderson's downtown skyline, but they were not always high-rise condominiums. The Chiquola was built in the 1880s by a group of investors who formed the Anderson Hotel Company, and was then called The Plaza Hotel.
It was a crowning jewel in the downtown landscape for years. But in the 1970s and 1980s, when businesses began to leave downtown Anderson, it began to fall into disrepair. It was vacant in 2006 when two developers bought it for $575,000 and announced they were turning the multistory building into a mixed development of 18 condos and retail space.
A similar story can be told about The Calhoun.
It was opened as The John C. Calhoun Hotel in 1925, complete with white-and-black tiled floors and a grand ballroom. It served as a hotel for years, sitting just blocks away from The Chiquola. By the 1990s and 2000s, it was an assisted living facility for seniors.
Meadors said the market for assisted living in downtown Anderson was declining by around 2005. The building's owner, Bruce Alexander, decided to turn it into a condominium development in 2006. Like, the Chiquola, it also offers retail space on the street level.
It now has 42 apartments, or condominiums, within its eight stories.
Both buildings were renovated and ready for purchase in 2007, just a year before the economy dipped into a severe recession that the nation is still recovering from.
As a result, nine of the condos at The Chiquola were auctioned off in 2010, and the decision was made to begin leasing some of the condos at The Calhoun. Meadors and other downtown residents said they are glad to have neighbors.
Meadors, Diane Burden and her husband, Johnny, and Nancy Smith Blanchard are among the estimated 100 to 150 people who now live in the two buildings. The four of them own their condos. The Burdens and Meadors bought their condos at The Calhoun in 2007. Blanchard bought her condo at The Chiquola about two years ago.
Meadors, who also owns a home on Hartwell Lake, bought the condo at The Calhoun because of his love of the building where he worked as a medical director for years when it was an assisted living facility. He said he also wanted to have a home in town, where he could go when he needed to be in the city.
The Burdens and Blanchard were both looking to move back into Anderson, after several years away, so they could be closer to family.
They also said they picked downtown Anderson because of its character, vibrancy and proximity to restaurants and other services.
Diane Burden, whose daughter and son also live downtown, said she was born in Anderson and grew up as the daughter to a U.S. Army soldier. She remembers living in cities as a child, and the bustle of a city's center is comforting to her.
"I have always wanted to live downtown," Burden said. "I love to hear the city at night. My husband and I usually will take a walk at night."
She and Meadors said about 90 percent of The Calhoun's 42 condos have been either sold or leased. They are home to young professionals, but also retirees looking to downsize in the building. Burden said there is also an Anderson police officer who lives in the building — something she really likes.
"We can call on him any time, even if he's not on duty," Burden said. "Everybody gets along great here. We're like a family."
Blanchard echoed much of what Burden said. She, too, was born in Anderson County and then moved away.
Blanchard said downtown was her first choice of places to live because she always loved it when she was younger. She remembers shopping on Main Street.
"When I saw it (downtown) was coming back, I thought that this is where I needed to be," she said. "I am glad I did. Now, I have a window that faces the old clock tower on the historic courthouse. It's the best view in town."
Link to original article - http://www.independentmail.com/news/2012/jul/07/calling-main-street-home-in-Anderson/
