Gville29601

I really hope this is a methodical and well-thought out public / private development. A great forward thinking development could make the county a lot money in future tax revenue. The article seems to acknowledge this, but large sums of immediate money can make people go with short-sighted decisions. The article seems to indicate the county has researched best use of their next building, but not hired an expert or consultant to study how to best develop and maximize economic development of the land. http://upstatebusinessjournal.com/news/county-square-valuable-downtown-property-waiting-redeveloped/

anyone going to this? http://upstatebusinessjournal.com/news/city-hold-public-workshop-downtown-design-guidelines/

But speaking of development density ---- What type of development will typically create the most county revenue (taxes) over a long period of time? Office, retail, or residential? Sure, the county will get a nice sales price on the land (over a million per acre), but wouldn't the county be willing to sell at a lower price to a developer who will bring in "the right type" of development and density that will subsequently inflate county tax coffers -- for decades -- down the line? And the more sources of tax revenue they can squeeze into the site, the better, right? Re: A Target. I think something like this is better somewhere else. Honestly, big boxes are going the way of the dinosaur. Amazon is winning. We might go to a small shop to see something in person, but then we are ordering it online and having it delivered the next day (or in some cities, the next hour).

Density, density, density is key, in my opinion. I'm less concerned about height than I am about no surface parking, a mix of office / retail / restaurant / residential on a grid like block pattern with quality buildings that residents can be proud of - for generations. The county has a great opportunity to demonstrate an innovative public / private partnership that the city has proven can be done to make Main St. / downtown such a great destination in the region.

You can't compare a Panera drive through with Chick Fil-A. That is apples and oranges. Zoe's has a "drive-thru", but does it get the traffic McDonald's does? Not by a country mile. You can't keep a straight face and say the Chick Fil-A will have the same amount of drive-thru traffic as Panera currently does. The businesses you cited either already had a drive-thru before the rule was put in effect (McDonalds), or local residents (who drive on Augusta, every day) were not worried by the location of the drive thru or the amount of potential customers (i.e. Panera). I understand why local residents are concerned. Drive down Augusta between Mills Ave. and Mauldin Rd. in the morning, during the lunch hour, or after work - prime Chick Fil-A hours. There are no turn lanes. There are lots of traffic lights. Everything backs up, way up. Traffic then spills over into side residential streets. Their streets are now seeing a much higher volume of traffic that moves at fast speeds - creating a nuisance and endangering their children and/or pets. A HT is being built, and now Chick Fil-A, a restaurant that brings notoriously high traffic volumes wants to come in. I wouldn't want one there, either. So I'm not surprised by the push-back. Frankly, I don't think the Chicken did it's due diligence here. A much better spot would be Mills Ave. across the street from the Hardees, IMHO. I predict the residents will win this fight.

Market Point Connector. Solid! But then I read this: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/4-affordable-cities-where-stressed-parents-can-find-work-life-balance-2016-01-12?mod=mw_share_twitter and immediately think, hey that's great, but can we get a new road for everyone of these national articles that advertises the former secret of how great Greenville is. If the county can't do it, then the Greenville County state representatives need to band together and figure out why so much of the road funding in the past two decades (and I know the -85 development is the 2nd biggest project after the Ravenel Bridge) has gone to the myrtle coast and the low country. Our local population seems to be booming. Correspondingly, traffic around here just "seems" to be worse and more frustrating. Does anyone know if someone is going to make a go of another penny-tax referendum? Does the county have any plans to fund traffic studies to document how bad it is and where needs are the most pressing? I just don't feel we get the love from the DOT in Columbia, the politicians in Columbia, and our local state reps seem more concerned about bike lanes and road diets than building a smarter road system. I get that Conservatives hate big government and taxes. But Conservatives should still want to see their tax dollars spent on excellent infrastructure.

I can imagine that the city is holding this parcel with the bet that this parcel's value will skyrocket after completion of the park and additional development around the park in the future. The city can then make some nice coin on a future sale.

http://upstatebusinessjournal.com/news/greenville-lacks-space-for-convention-center-study-says/ What site on East Broad St. does Timberland Capital Partners own? Is it big enough for a large hotel/meeting site?

It's not just football games on 6 Fridays in the Fall. It's mens and womens soccer and lacrosse teams, and don't forget saturday afternoon band practice in the Fall. It all adds up. Pay a million and hear that? I think that is interesting. That is because the speakers point in the opposite direction, toward the development. Country or rock? Yes, it would all certainly be considered noise pollution. What exactly are you getting at? A random Harley is one thing, but 45-60 minutes of warm up music and loud play by play announcements up to several times a week in Spring and Fall is another altogether. But I'm sure buyers putting down 900k - 1.4 million will do their due diligence on that aspect of living there.

Construction is moving on this. It's looks like a nice quality construction, but I wonder who is buying these? I was walking down this street yesterday evening at 6 and rap music is BLARING from Sirrine stadium. It's not just football nights anymore, music is blaring in the evening hours and some Saturday/Sunday afternoons for soccer and lacrosse games. Really no fan related noise, just really bad taped music screaming from the speakers inside the stadium. Plus, you've got the play-by-play announcements over the speakers and impacting the quiet enjoyment up to 1/4 mile, too. Granted, the school system is not violating any ordinances, BUT if you were a buyer shelling out $900k, plus, would you be okay with being across the street from this? Sure, there is a noise trade off for living in an urban area, but this is a different kind of pollution all together. I hope they are able to sell these units at those prices. Looking forward to seeing the finished product. Maybe they will be soundproof.

Agreed. The neighborhood bordered by Ware / Rhett / Markley / Academy will not benefit from this development, and certainly not the undeveloped areas around this location - imho. Who would pay $400k + to live a block from this section (liquor store, gas station, soup kitchen)? Granted, QT puts down a quality gas station. Probably the cleanest and well run I've ever been to. And the area needs one. But a gas station is a gas station, they all will increase traffic, noise, and light pollution. I had hoped the liquor store and soup kitchen would eventually relocate. The soup kitchen, maybe, but the liquor store will likely realize a business boon with this development.

Agreed. Put the Taco Bell INSIDE a gas station. That is a prime spot for a lot of commuters.

I wonder how The Toss Pizza will compete with Sidewall Pizza Company that is set to open in the old Savory Corner spot. I think Toss will have the upper hand with more room, more parking, and a full bar area. Good luck to both!

http://gsabusiness.com/news/56023-official-downtown-needs-balance-of-office-residential I would agree with this. Greenville would benefit from more office space (with parking garages). It seems most of the new announcements are related to living space. Where does this List think office growth should/can occur next? Highrise or less?

Agreed. Retail and restaurant space is vital, imho.

At one point, not too long ago, Camperdown was certainly not considered "the heart of downtown." Rather, it was the extension of restaurants and retail along Main St. and down to the river (and beyond) that made Camperdown the valuable land that it is today. Agreed? I don't think it's apples and oranges. The bigger picture I see is that Main St., past the baseball stadium, will not see a revitalization ten years from now like Main St. past City Hall did beginning in the early 2000s.

First, I own a rental home in that neighborhood, too. But I don't think that gives me any firmer ground to stand on or makes my opinion more important though. And no, you can't make a business have retail. But I fail to see your logic about residents desire for retail and street level business activity to a social program? We can agree to disagree, but I believe the city would have seen more value with retail / store front activity between Markley and Pendleton along Main St. And by value I mean taxes and spurring increased desire to live in West Rhett/Perry Ave. / Ware St. / Anderson St. / Mallard St. / Arlington St. and surrounding areas. Now, under the current plan, there will a 1/4 mile of nothing but parking and residential units along Main Street. This will be a deadzone of activity. It will not spur surrounding areas to develop. Accepting this as being okay demonstrates that the city was not concerned with extending Main Street activity up through Pendleton St. Do you think this type of project would have been allowed at the Greenville New site? Greenville lost the last .25 miles of valuable Main Street space. Greenville currently has about a mile of Main Street development (Hyatt through the Stadium). Not "miles and miles" of store front. Correct, "we ain't" Chicago or New York. But that does not mean we could have finished the last .25 mile of Main Street in a better manner.

Tall buildings are fine. But people from the suburbs probably expect a city to have store fronts, restaurants, and retail lining THE Main Street of a city.

Thumbs up for the planned retail coffee shop.

If you end up on Parcel-B, let us know what the traffic noise is like. I wonder why they never built a wall dividing Church Street from the big parking area.

http://memegenerator.net/instance/54123144 I would not call this NIMBY "plain and simple." The petition asks for considerations commonly 'hoped for' on this internet board. The petition asks for a height appropriate building. Expresses concern for gentrification. Desires mixed use. Demands the building be architecturally relevant to the immediate neighborhood. Complaints and desires echoed on pretty much every other Main Street project. It's not so black and white. This board has been recently concerned over the Greenville News building development project. However, this land is arguably just as important. Development here could hinder or foster the success of our Main Street. Main Street could be either be encouraged to extend past the stadium and through / along Pendelton Street, or this development could add a major speed bump and possible block further development. We hope the developers, with encouragement from the community, makes the development smart.

If you have concerns then sign the petition and be heard. http://www.gopetition.com/petitions/petition-to-modify-proposed-plans-for-west-end-apartments.html

Great article, thanks for posting. Some eye popping statistics in there. My favorite statement regarding the population surge to all the new apartments and condos being built: "There are 3400 new folks expected to populate the 1.75 square miles of downtown...joining nearly 4,865 people who already live downtown....And that will create a population density exceeding New Orleans' French Quarter and Atlanta's Buckhead..." Wow. That's great, but back to my chronic worry. Traffic congestion, traffic congestion, traffic congestion. What will happen?

Yes, St. Andrew's owns the surface parking lot at the corner. Three big projects for that two block area: town homes, apartments and now an an extended stay suite hotel. I hope these new developments honor the urban feel of that area. I agree that a parking garage will be vital. These developments will also likely spur more retail, bars and restaurants.

Article mentions project will feature "Class-AA community" and feature a "pre-cast garage model." Google gives me definition for Class-AA office space, but does anyone have any examples of Class-AA apartments? Also, what is a pre-cast garage model" anyway? Some of Woodfield's other projects don't look too bad, in my opinion. http://www.woodfieldinvestments.com/photoGallery.asp I hope they go with a more traditional and fully brick exterior to match the baseball stadium and the surrounding buildings. I'm not sure the look of the beach companies projects would fit on Main St. Regarding "cool space" in the West End, I think it will come with population density. But traffic congestion will get worse. The ups and downs of development...