FLORENCE -- Florence has grown a great deal in the past few years, but unless you've been gone for five years and have come back, it might not be all that noticeable.

Retail and other commercial development since 2000 has changed the landscape of the city, and there is no sign that it will stop.

"The complexion of this city has completely changed," said Keith Buckhouse, chairman of the Greater Florence Chamber of Commerce and president of Florence National Bank.

Buckhouse said the location of Florence and the growth of its medical community during the past 10 years has fostered the growth of other industries. It's helped bring a massive growth in the retail sector as well.

"Being the hub of the Pee Dee, we've been able to grow and we're going to continue to grow," he said. "This whole market is really the heart and the pulse of the entire region. Certainly a lot of the residential growth is attributed to the medical community, but also the new industries that have come to the area in the past few years."

With a large medical community comes high salaried employees, which has played a big part in attracting major national retailers to the area.

David McLeod Boulevard

Nowhere in the area has the growth been more dramatic than on David H. McLeod Boulevard.

In 2002, Target opened a new store at the Commons at Magnolia, near Magnolia Mall, which sparked a rejuvenation of the aging strip mall.

Preit Rubin, which owns the Commons and the mall, began major renovations of both properties, and the company bought a large tract of land from General Electric on Radio Drive.

The area around Magnolia Mall, Florence Civic Center and all of David H. McLeod Boulevard has become a major retail corridor.

 Hotel companies, recognizing the potential of the area, began building new hotels near the civic center, and national restaurant chains have followed.

"We have about 1,400 stays a night in Florence hotels," said Tom Marschel, president of the chamber. "That's darned impressive. I don't think many people in Florence realize that many people stay in hotels here every night."

The total growth in the retail in the Florence area is in large part because of companies looking at the potential of the entire area, rather than looking at only the population of the city itself.

"That's why these restaurants and retailers are coming here," said Ken Jackson, a Florence Realtor. "They've figured out that the market is not just Florence's city limits, and they're having success."

Along with the development of several new hotels in the area, Preit Rubin brought in The Home Depot, which opened in July. And the company has submitted development plans to the county for a new Kohl's department Store next to The Home Depot.

In addition, two new restaurants, Olive Garden and LongHorn Steakhouse, are ready to open.  The Olive Garden is scheduled to open Aug. 21, and construction is almost complete on LongHorn Steakhouse.

Five Points

As spectacular as the growth around the western part of Florence has been, development in other parts of the city during the past several years has been just as impressive.

Edens and Avant spent more than $12 million renovating its Florence Mall, near Five Points. The renovations attracted even more national retailers to Florence, including a Books-a-Million, Atlanta Bread Company, Old Navy and TJ Maxx.

Edens and Avant announced this week that Starbucks, Moe's Southwest Grill and Shane's Rib Shack will open later this year at Florence Mall.

Edens and Avant's investment to rejuvenate the Florence Mall has encouraged others in the Five Points area to do the same.

The owners of Seven Oaks Shopping Center on Hoffmeyer Road recently added several new retail spaces in a new building. The stores were all occupied by tenants such as Benton's Restaurant, Galloway and Mosley Jewelry and others before the construction was complete.

The revitalization of Five Points as a major shopping destination extended, with new restaurants and businesses opening on Palmetto Street, Hoffmeyer Road, Evans Street and Cashua Drive. The recently completed renovations at the shopping center where Rainwater's Furniture is located is just one more example of the growth and improvements in the commercial growth in the area.

South Florence

In south Florence, the scenery has changed enormously.

Spurred by the 1998 opening of Carolinas Hospital System's new facilities on Pamplico Highway, the real estate in the area is some of the most sought-after property in Florence County.

Lowe's Home Improvement Warehouse saw the potential there and built a second Florence location on Pamplico Highway. BI-LO and several restaurants, drug stores and convenience stores also have located in the area in recent years.

Residential growth

The retail and commercial growth in south Florence has been accompanied by a residential housing boom in the area.

Many developers, seeing large tracts of undeveloped land in a rapidly growing area, began building subdivisions, and there was no shortage of buyers for the homes.

Third Loop Road and Alligator Road in south Florence -- once not much more than two-laned farm to market roads -- now see heavy traffic from residents in the new housing developments there.

The same kind of growth in residential construction has been seen in the west Florence area.

On Hoffmeyer Road, west of Interstate 95, several new housing developments have gone up or are under construction.  The West Ebenezer area of Florence also has seen substantial changes with the addition of new housing.

What's next

All of the development in and around Florence in the past five or six years begs the question: Where's the next hot area?

Many think eastern Florence will see substantial development with the completion of S.C. 327. The two-lane highway now extends from Interstate 95 to National Cemetery Road. When it's complete it will run to Pamplico Highway, serving as an eastern loop around Florence.

"The completion of 327 will certainly be a contributing factor in the growth of east Florence, but that's contingent on getting the (State) Infrastructure Bank funding," Buckhouse said.

To get funding from the State Infrastructure Bank, Florence County voters will have to approve a referendum for a 1-cent sales tax increase in November.  The money raised by the tax would be used to match the state funding for hundreds of millions of dollars in road construction in Florence County.

The area north of Florence around TV Road and I-95 also will likely see plenty of development over the next few years as the new QVC distribution center is built.

"The QVC distribution center will be a big boost to the Quinby area, but it will also enhance the growth of Florence," Buckhouse said.