Greg Wilson/Anderson Observer
Urgency is not often associated with government, where planning and paperwork can take priority over action.
But Anderson City Manager David McCuen brought a firefighter’s mentality when he took his position in Feb.
2019. McCuen is intense and amiable, finding satisfaction in both the big and small details of getting things done.
“It’s a characteristic we share,” said Anderson County Administrator Rusty Burns. “We like to get things done as quickly as possible and move on to the next challenge.”
McCuen already had a running start when he took over at city manager, having served as the Electric City’s assistant city manager for more than three years, arriving with a background that suggested he has never been one to travel in the slow lane.
While attending Presbyterian College, where he majored in Business Administration Management, McCuen worked for Emergency Services for the City of Clinton and Laurens County, answering calls at all hours and building experiences he would find useful in the years ahead. During his student years, he graduated from PC in 2006, McCuen also got his first taste of city management, participating in city government in Clinton just as they were planning and eventually building a downtown hotel.
While at PC, he met and married Elizabeth Anne McLean, the granddaughter of the school’s legendary Football Coach Cally Gault. Elizabeth’s father, Bob McClean, no stranger to city government, is mayor of Clinton.
Graduate school was another a blur of academics and public service for McCuen.
While earning his Master’s Degree in Public Administration at Clemson University, he was working as full-time firefighter and EMT in Greer, where he “developed some fantastic relationships,” including getting to know and work with the city manager. During this time, he also worked in city manager’s office in Woodruff.
Upon graduation, McCuen served as assistant city manager Abbeville for just under three years before being appointed city manager, where he continued his participation in EMS work.
“Abbeville is unique,” said McCuen, adding the work, which included running a municipality that produced and made wholesale purchases of electricity, along with water and sewer as the management of Lake Succession offered invaluable experience for a city manager.=
Across his career, said networking led McCuen to working relationships with other city managers and leaders, and to his interest in the City of Anderson.
“Coming out of the gates David helped us usher in the hotel and parking garage,” said Anderson Mayor Terence Roberts. “His connections with the developers and economic development experience were valuable, especially during the pandemic. The good thing about youth is energy, and sometimes that is a plus.”
A Greenville native, who grew up when downtown was in disrepair, McCuen said witnessing that city’s rebirth and transformation inspired what he thought could be a similar path for the City of Anderson.
“Though not there yet, I saw things already in place that indicated Anderson was going to experience a transformation,” said McCuen. “There were already so many making investments in downtown, it made it easy to bet on the success of downtown Anderson.”
McCuen said individuals such as Steve Kay, John Glenn, Ron Haskell and Jeff Waters kick started what has continued to be a series of years of unbroken growth.
Arriving as assistant city manager in 2015, McCuen almost immediately went to work to pave the way for a new downtown hotel. Working with council and private investors, the Home2 Suites by Hilton opened in 2021.
The hotel, complete with ground level retail opportunities, also sparked the construction of a new downtown parking garage, which was built with growth in mind. The new structure will feature a top deck, complete with a restaurant, that will serve as a place for events.
“You can see the mountains from up there, plus all of downtown,” said McCuen, adding city council recognized the special opportunity of such a venue. He expects to make an announcement soon with more details on the facility, including a targeted completion date.
“The hotel created a new hospitality market downtown. Anderson serves the region economically, and having a downtown hotel for visitors is important.”
He said such venues as Bleckley Station, which hosts weddings, conferences and other special events needed a hotel within walking distance that could house large numbers of visitors.
With the nationwide movement of revitalizing downtowns, walkability has become a key ingredient to the success of cities. This goal is driving much of the planning for downtown Anderson.
Clemson University’s two home football games in November, each of which almost filled the new hotel, offer encouraging signs for the future site.
“Fans came early (there was a two-night minimum stay), stayed in downtown and experienced downtown, and we hope will return,” said McCuen.
Anderson University, the largest private university in South Carolina and considered part of the greater downtown area, is adding a football program in 2024 to the rest of its NCAA sports, which should create demand for lodging.
“Such continued growth across the board in our area will eventually lead to another franchise hotel downtown,” said McCuen.
Permanent housing in short supply in Anderson, especially in or near downtown, is also on the city administrator’s radar. Downtown housing is currently at 100 percent occupancy. The renovation of the Palmetto Building for condominiums, is nearing completion, but McCuen said the new project by the same developers is more exciting.
The $29 million revitalization of the Chem-Tex site, will bring 126 new apartment units and more commercial space downtown.
The city is also working with the county and with others in a number of other projects, including the potential revitalization of the Anderson Mill site. Both the city and county are keen to work with private developers to clean up such old mill sites, since it typically costs government agencies up to four times as much to revitalize do to federal regulatory burdens.
“We are working on hundreds of millions of dollars in projects right now,” said. McCuen. “And we need places for people to live who are coming to fill the thousands of jobs coming online in the county.”
McCuen said working with Burns, Anderson County Economic Director Burris Nelson, and others have played a major role in the success of the area.
Meanwhile, the City of Anderson, a council-management style of government, day-to-day operations are McCuen’s responsibility.
“He’s been aggressive leading the city staff through a very interesting time, especially during the pandemic,” said Anderson City Councilman Kyle Newton. “We’re a growing city he’s done a great job leading. It’s extremely important that we are all working together, and David’s done a good job in our relationships with the county and the legislative delegation. We all work closely together.”
One such project that involves all three of those bodies of government is the trails system in Anderson County. Currently Anderson County is building a trail that will connect the AnMed Health Campus on S.C. 81 N with the Anderson Sports and Entertainment Complex. The city’s Greenway, or trail system, begins with a gateway at the Anderson Recreation Center and connects to Linley Park. Plans call for that trail to connect all the way down Whitner Creek and to downtown just under the bridge at Earl Street. The hope is eventually to connect all trails to the civic center, and the county hopes to extend walking trails as far as Pendleton or Clemson.
“This walkability is very important for the future of downtown,” said McCuen.
Another key to the future of downtown are the funds provided by accommodations and hospitality taxes, along with fees for business licenses, which bring in close to $16 million annually.
“I like seeing these funds, without using taxpayer dollars, reinvested into parks, such as Carolina Wren Park, along with what we are building at many of our other facilities,” said McCuen.
The “Shock This Block” campaign progress, which garnered suggestion from more than 2,500 citiznes, is also under way. Some of these proposals, including the Chem-Tex revitalization, are in the works. New entrances to downtown are also complete and under construction.
And like Burns, McCuen, once consensus is reached, is ready to take action.
“I want to see faster momentum on the economic front and new businesses downtown. 2022 is project after project after project.”
He said private partnerships are the key, with public agencies providing the opportunity and private industry stepping in to make investments from which the public will benefit a reality.
“Multi-family housing brings other restaurants and businesses, then maybe a grocery store, as downtown becomes a neighborhood,” said McCuen.
He does not, however, want to do things which diminish the community, such tearing down historic buildings or not protecting important local resources. McCuen said lessons learned from other cities such as Greenville or Charlotte will help raise red flags when needed.
Looking ahead, McCuen said the city is in the process of a comprehensive plan for the future. The plan will involve citizens suggestions/ideas, and a consultant who will help lay out a roadmap for the years ahead.
“We want to execute plans, not just make plans,” said McCuen, a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Economic Development Institute.
McCuen said it’s going to be a team effort, and is confident the partnerships are solid and city council and his staff are ready for the challenge.
Meanwhile, McCuen, not yet 40, continues to thrive on the broad opportunities for him in his position as city manager.
“I really like the variety of the job - the fire service, EMS, and the business side and economic development side,” said McCuen, who still occasionally goes on EMS calls. “I like all aspects of city government and how it impacts the community. I like managing a city, the outside part, and a big organization inside with 500 employees to manage. My job is to make sure all going in the same direction, and we’ve done a good job of that.”