McDonald‘s new look has caught the attention of more than just its customers.

The summer reconstruction of the fast-food chain has locals and corporations reconsidering Charleston as a place to do business.

“We have had several other developers through town over the last few months and all of them commented on the construction they had seen going down Lincoln Avenue,” Charleston Mayor John Inyart said. “Not only is it good for us that live here to see that and feel like we’re a good place to invest, but it’s good for other business people to see that because it will give them the confidence to make their own decisions about investing in Charleston.”

Cindy Titus, the executive director of the Charleston Chamber of Commerce, said recent construction in Charleston seems to have a sort of “domino effect” on other businesses.

She said once the new Jimmy John’s was built, several other businesses made plans to relocate, remodel and reconstruct.

“Growth is always good,” Titus said. “It occasionally spurs other developments in the area, too.”

Inyart said that franchises sometimes follow other franchises when it comes to developing in new areas. Developers who came through town mentioned when they see a Walgreens they know expanding business in that area would be a good investment. Smaller franchises trust that large franchises have done the homework when deciding where to locate.

While most local businesses decide when they want to upgrade their look, many large corporations and franchises tend to upgrade periodically in order to keep the business fresh and give the consumer a positive impression.

The most recent large-scale construction project is taking place on the corner of University and Lincoln Avenue, where the new Walgreens and Griffin Plaza retail center are being built.

Inyart says there are no other developments at the permitting stage, where building becomes a sure thing.

“We have several other projects that are being considered that are in the design stages, in the analysis stage, but I don’t really have any others that I can talk about at this point,” Inyart said.

In the future, Inyart would like to see more dining and lodging choices available near the university to facilitate special events crowds and weekend visitors.

“When your family comes to visit you, they would like to be able to stay close to where you live and, perhaps, even within walking distance of campus or at least within a few blocks of campus,” he said.

He also said furniture is a “big ticket item” that Charleston is lacking. Almost all furniture is purchased outside of town, although Charleston does have a few small shops.

Both Inyart and Titus agree that the town could use more retail shops as well.

“When we did strategic planning for the whole community several years ago, kind of one dream we would like to see is a build up of a university village surrounding the university with retail stores that students, faculty and staff can take advantage of, as well as members of the community,” Titus said.

Most of the property surrounding the university is rental property, which turns over a good profit. Because of the consistent income of rental properties, Titus said it will take awhile before the property can be bought and made into commercial property.

To read articles about past construction in Charleston, click here.

Construction worker Terry Bishop screws together some steel studs that will corm the walls of the new starbucks at Division and Lincoln on Thursday afternoon. Jay Grabiec/The Daily Eastern News

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