There’s a new tool for recruiting business to downtown Union.

The Union County Chamber of Commerce recently produced a documented assessment of the downtown business district of Union. The assessment was created to be used as a tool for developing and growing the area.

“It is our hope for the business district of downtown Union that restaurants, shops and other businesses locate downtown in the not-too-distant future,” said Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Torance Inman.

The Chamber hired research analyst Amy Kosanovic to coordinate research for the project.

“She had extensive experience working with the South Carolina Department of Commerce,” Inman said.

A survey and analysis was conducted of current downtown businesses within the Main Street area from Wallace Thomson Hospital to the Union County YMCA.

Businesses within one to two blocks of Main Street — including the south and north addresses of Enterprise, Herndon, Pinckney, Gadberry, Mountain and Church streets — were also included.

The analysis summarized the types of businesses in the area and identified vacancies. The total amount of commercial square footage was calculated, as well as the amount currently vacant. The number and type of workers in the area were also identified.

The analysis provided the following talking points for future recruitment of business to downtown Union:

• The downtown Union area has more than 727,000 square feet of commercial/office/retail space.

• There are currently 37 buildings available for lease or sale in the downtown Union area.

• More than 117,000 square feet is currently available for lease or sale in the downtown Union area.

• Nearly 4,000 square feet of medical office space is available for lease in the downtown Union area.

• More than 84,000 square feet of retail space is available for lease or sale in the downtown Union area.

• Downtown Union has three major banking centers businesses can choose from.

• There are more than 40 service-related businesses in the downtown Union area.

• WBCU Radio broadcasts from downtown Union.

• USC-Union, The Union County Museum and the Union County YMCA are all in the heart of downtown Union.

• Retailers could have potential customers from the more than 1,000 workers in the downtown area.

• The downtown Union area is home to county and municipal government offices, providing valuable resources for businesses in the area.

Inman is glad to finally have the new collection of information.

“For a long time we could only guess how many people are here, how many vacancies we had, how businesses are being used or the size and condition of buildings,” he said. “We now have an accurate document that tells us what is there so we can make definitive decisions when the time comes.”