Master Plan Results

[jfl25]

I would have to agree with the Mills ave statement as well,but I also believe Pete Hollis Blvd has huge potential.

[Spartan]

Please clarify- what is the status of this plan? It it being worked on now, or have they already completed it?

[GvilleSC]

Please clarify- what is the status of this plan? It it being worked on now, or have they already completed it?

The public has had their input. My guess is now, the hired people are reviewing the input and compiling what will be the City's newest Master Plan. So, the public's part is done, and it's being worked on now to complete it.

[Spartan]

Ok, good. Thats what I thought. I'm going to pin this thread then. I should have done that a long time ago. My apologies. We want to support the local planning process as much as possible on UrbanPlanet. I look forward to seeing some results!

[greenvillegrows]

I would be amazed if any planner came in and said that tearing down the bridge or widening Church was a good idea unless they were pressured locally. Widening downtown roads leads to dreadful results nationwide. Also, the bridge is not long enough for people to bypass downtown, but it does help with traffic flow somewhat, so it's a good fit - one not easily duplicated. Interesting spaces are good for our downtown.

[breed]

I would be amazed if any planner came in and said that tearing down the bridge or widening Church was a good idea unless they were pressured locally. Widening downtown roads leads to dreadful results nationwide. Also, the bridge is not long enough for people to bypass downtown, but it does help with traffic flow somewhat, so it's a good fit - one not easily duplicated. Interesting spaces are good for our downtown.

I haven't heard anyone talking about widening Church Street. If anything, I've heard of giving it a makeover much like Main Street... making a huge dent in Greenville's reputation as a linear downtown.

[Greenville]

I haven't heard anyone talking about widening Church Street. If anything, I've heard of giving it a makeover much like Main Street... making a huge dent in Greenville's reputation as a linear downtown.

Would the narrowing mean taking down the bridge, or would any changes take place on the non-bridge portions? Regardless, I like the idea of making Church Street more walkable and urban-feeling.

[vicupstate]

Would the narrowing mean taking down the bridge, or would any changes take place on the non-bridge portions? Regardless, I like the idea of making Church Street more walkable and urban-feeling.

The Haynie-Sirrine master plan includes narrowing Church from the bridge to Augusta. I have not heard of any formal study or plan to elinate the bridge or narrow the lanes through DT.

I can see merit in elinimating the bridge, but there would be downsides too. At this point, i think there are bigger (and easier) fish to fry.

[wetnoodle]

What is the history on the Church Street bridge? When was it built and why was it built? Was it to eliminate the railroad crossing before the tracks were abandoned?

[whitehourseview]

What is the history on the Church Street bridge? When was it built and why was it built? Was it to eliminate the railroad crossing before the tracks were abandoned?

I believe it was built in the 60's, as a way to quickly link I 185 and I 385 together, since Greenville did not get I 26 going through it.

[goodbye]

As the City continues to shape its vision for future growth it plans to keep the public aware and involved through various forms of information, including a new web site (to launch the week of Aug. 27-31) and booths at City events. A community open house will take place on August 30 in the Hughes Main Library downtown. Read more.

[RestedTraveler]

Community Invited to Open House

The City of Greenville is gearing up to launch the update of its Comprehensive Plan, and as part of the kick-off, has scheduled a communications blitz week for August 27

[krazeeboi]

That's a great way to involve ordinary citizens in helping to shape future growth in their city. Kudos to the city.

[GvilleSC]

The Greenville News has done an article on the new master plan. The most interesting thing to me is the prospect of having 5 districts downtown. It's a nice look into the plan, check it out here

The five downtown districts include:

# Heritage Green, where the library, museums and churches could be tied in a campus-like setting and complemented by tamer pedestrian routes along College and North streets and Hampton Avenue-area housing that extends farther into downtown.

# The "Gateway" area, where the Bi-Lo Center could be better tied to downtown for pedestrians and augmented with surrounding retail businesses and legal offices to complement the county courthouse.

# The "premier" district around Broad and River streets, which could also be made more pedestrian-friendly and more closely tied into Church Street to attract more people downtown.

# The County Square area, where Sasaki officials said land is significantly underused and where downtown views, an urban neighborhood and a winding University Ridge road could better segue into the West End.

# The warehouse district around the West End, downtown's designated "funky" area where more affordable office space could attract start-up companies and existing buildings could be renovated to help create an arts district as it was initially envisioned.

Interestingly, the North End is not mentioned, and only the area around the West End is mentioned, not actually the West End. It seems like the City Center district would be broken down into the Gateway area, the Heritage Green district, and the Premier district. The West End would be made smaller to exclude County Square area and the "Warehouse" district...?

Consultants with Sasaki Associates told city officials in an informal session that the city's economy is healthy, its downtown business mix is "reasonable" and that its cultural offerings may be stronger than peers such as Asheville and Charleston.

Sasaki figures estimate that there's room for between 520 and 640 more residential units downtown, but that the ideal mix includes 58 percent young singles.

Thoughts

[linkerjpatrick]

The Greenville News has done an article on the new master plan. The most interesting thing to me is the prospect of having 5 districts downtown. It's a nice look into the plan, check it out here

Interestingly, the North End is not mentioned, and only the area around the West End is mentioned, not actually the West End. It seems like the City Center district would be broken down into the Gateway area, the Heritage Green district, and the Premier district. The West End would be made smaller to exclude County Square area and the "Warehouse" district...?

Thoughts

I was there last night and during the Question and answer part of the program someone did mention the northend and they acknowledged that was a good point. What was presented last night was a draft so they could still make some changes between now and December when they present the final results. Also one big thing to remember. The projects and ideas they mentioned last night will need money the city doesn't currently have (this was brought up) agreements with current land, business owners and churches. The concept of churches sharing their land to build parking garages came up.

The ideas of using space currently used by surface parking lots was addressed however the whole concept of building highrises was downplayed both by the planners and the audience. Highrises along main street was definitely discouraged as their was concern about them blocked out light in the pedestrian areas.

The concept of big national retailers was also discouraged saying people don't visit downtown to go to these places but they did say downtown needed stores to address the workforces and resisdents.

The idea of taking down the church street bridge was also brought up and they are NOT proposing doing that either but making Church Street and the bridge more attractive is an option.

It was also proposed they streets like Academy would become more tree lined on the side and center. However they did talk about narrowing the lanes to slow the traffic down. I'm personally not a fan of narrow lanes having driven on Independance Blvd in Charlotte (I think Charlotte has since widened those lanes).

Knox White said they city can't do a lot about Poinsett Hwy because a good bit of it is out of the city limits. (They were able to put that big honking Greenville sign a Cherrydale however) He did say that the changes happening around the Hollis Gateway are "just the beginning" and they will concentrate on that area and hope efforts spill over into Poinsett Highway.

Also for those who didn't make it you missed the most important part of the evening! Sandwiches and Excellent wraps by Jimmy Johns and Wild Wings, coffee by Coffee Underground and stuff provided by Sassafrass.

[gs3]

Good article from the Greenville News about the new plan to take downtown to the next level. The plans overall objectives are as follows:

(1) to create a framework for future development downtown.

(2) to reinforce downtown's role as the economic catalyst for the region.

(3) to get to the next level by leveraging prior successes.

(4) to create a fully functional mixed-use, sustainable urban environment.

Here is the article:

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../710210308/1008

http://planitgreenville.com/

[StrangeCock]

That sounds like the biggest bunch of meaningless business jargon mumbo-jumbo I've ever heard. I'm stunned they didn't manage to squeeze "synergy" in there somewhere.

Sorry for the rant...I just despise business speak. It uses twice as many words to say half as much.

[gs3]

Sorry for the rant...I just despise business speak. It uses twice as many words to say half as much.

Then I take it you aren't a Corporate Tax Attorney.

[rattler]

Good article from the Greenville News about the new plan to take downtown to the next level. The plans overall objectives are as follows:

(1) to create a framework for future development downtown.

(2) to reinforce downtown's role as the economic catalyst for the region.

(3) to get to the next level by leveraging prior successes.

(4) to create a fully functional mixed-use, sustainable urban environment.

Here is the article:

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/.../710210308/1008

http://planitgreenville.com/

Will the final presentation in December discuss how to put legs to these objectives? With training as a landscape architect I know the language Sasaki is using, as it has been pointed out, is usually just fluff.

[gs3]

Will the final presentation in December discuss how to put legs to these objectives? With training as a landscape architect I know the language Sasaki is using, as it has been pointed out, is usually just fluff.

Welcome to the forum.

I would assume there will definitely be legs put to this. The article called it a rough draft and went on to list some more detailed specifics. The original plan that downtown has been working from for years now, was a Sasaki plan, and it was highly detailed, down to the width of the grass "lawns" between the sidewalks and Main.

[rattler]

Welcome to the forum.

Thanks I appreciate that.

Now that you mention it I do remember hearing that Sasaki did the original one. The devil is always in the details. May this plan propel downtown with the sucess the old one did!

For those familiar with Clemson's campus Sasaki also designed the space behind the library in between the library and the Strom Thurmond Center

[gs3]

Plan-it meetings are scheduled to be held in each City Council district, starting this coming week. The link below provides, the dates, times and locations.

http://www.greatergreenville.com/city_gove...ictMeetings.pdf

[goodbye]

A press release from monday states the six proposed "themes" to be implemented in the City's long range plans. The themes are:

• Neighborhood/Corridor Identity & Stability
  
• Housing
  
• Transportation
  
• Healthy Living & a Pedestrian-friendly Environment
  
• Economic Development
  
• Green/Environment
  

I also very highly recommend that everyone download or read the in-depth draft reports from the first three phases of the Plan-it process. They provide a wealth of information and detailed insight into many aspects of life in the city today and of course where we would love to be in the future.

• Phase I
  
• Phase II
  
• Phase III
  

[Spartan]

The City continues to impress me with its planning efforts. #4 is of particular interest to me (though they are all important). I look forward to seeing how these play out.

[Greenville]

The new master plan for downtown and the CBD is to be unveiled tomorrow at a 4:00 PM city council meeting. This master plan is the result of Sasaki and Associates' master plan that we've been hearing about. Is anyone planning on attending? This is exciting!