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Linky Stone Village


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At our monthly neighborhood association meeting preliminary details were revealed about Linky Stone Village, which will be adjacent to the Arcadia Hills subdivision. This is the proposed development at the intersection of Pleasantburg Dr. and Keith Dr. that has an emphasis on mass transit. You may have read about it a few months ago.

I've got quite a bit of information:

The site totals 20 acres. I had originally thought it would only cover the small plateau at the corner of Keith and Pleasantburg, but the property extends all the way back to the proposed GreenLink BRT path. Most of the site is zoned C-3, and a small section is zoned for multi-family. There are no zoning changes that will be requested. There will be a park as a central element of the development, called Arcadia Park. It will be located along the creek that runs through the property. It's size will be 8 acres; 42% of the total area.

The design calls for a multi-use development similar to McBee Station. Commercial property will be located on the ground level, with loft-style housing on the upper two floors. Parking will be located underground. They plan to have affordable homes mixed in with market-rate housing. This development will front both Pleasantburg and Keith Drives. There is a possibility that it will be accessible from Laurens Rd. This is part of a larger plan to make Pleasantburg Dr. more pedestrian-friendly with grass-covered medians and trees lining the road. They are working with the city to make Linky Stone Village a stop on the GreenLink BRT system.

Also planned for the development is a 40,000 sq. ft. "Performance Learning Center". They are working to fill the shops with local retailers, and not the typical upscale boutiques. Groundbreaking could happen in approx. nine months. :shades:

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:thumbsup: I REALLY like what I'm reading! Both affordable housing, and market rate housing, including underground parking, a park, and retail space!!? The best of all: they'll work with the City to make it a stop on the BRT line, AND coordinate their plans to coincide with the Pleasantburg masterplan!

It almost sounds too good to be true! I sincerely hope they're successful in this and that everything can go as planned. If so, maybe we'll see more developers follow their initiative for the land along our first BRT line. :shades:

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This does sound good. Underground parking, transit-oriented, sounds very dense as well. I will be eager to see the plans for this one.

In an era of expensive gas, out-of-control sprawl, etc., this sounds like a real positive change in direction.

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Jack Stone, the property owner seems very passionate about the outcome of this project. He envisions communities popping up throughout the city within a 10-minute walk of a mass transit station. Pat Dilger, of Overstreet Studio seems to really know her stuff.

The only thing that concerns me is the terrain. There is a large ravine that runs through this property. I'm gonna have to walk over there this weekend and take a closer look at it.

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Jack Stone, the property owner seems very passionate about the outcome of this project. He envisions communities popping up throughout the city within a 10-minute walk of a mass transit station. Pat Dilger, of Overstreet Studio seems to really know her stuff.

The only thing that concerns me is the terrain. There is a large ravine that runs through this property. I'm gonna have to walk over there this weekend and take a closer look at it.

You can add my voice to those already in favor of such sustainable alternative transit neighborhoods in this city. If properly planned, I see no way this will fail to succeed at the present or in the future.

Interestingly, I overheard a story on NPR yesterday (Wednesday) evening in which a discussion mentioned the fact that people are buying up property around railroads across the nation because they are beginning to become more prominent in our lives once again, including the development of transit oriented neighborhoods like the one mentioned in this thread. :shades:

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Jack Stone, the property owner seems very passionate about the outcome of this project. He envisions communities popping up throughout the city within a 10-minute walk of a mass transit station. Pat Dilger, of Overstreet Studio seems to really know her stuff.

The only thing that concerns me is the terrain. There is a large ravine that runs through this property. I'm gonna have to walk over there this weekend and take a closer look at it.

Is that the site that someone was dumping toxic waste on 10-12 years ago?

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Are there renderings or site plans of this yet? If so, what were your impressions?

Yes, there were a few renderings. One was overhead and showed the location of the buildings, the park and the roads/driveways. There was minimal asphalt. Another rendering depicted three-story buildings that were typical of other buildings in downtown Greenville. One interesting thing that Ms. Dilger said was that you wouldn't be able to tell the difference (from the outside at least) between the entry-level homes and the market-value homes. I'm not sure if that is a positive or negative attribute. I'm happy in my neighborhood, but there are rental duplexes on most corners, and feel it would've been better if they were sold as twinhomes.

With the overpass, there's not a whole lot of room for frontage. Mr. Stone did say that the former highway dept. building located on the other side of Pleasantburg would eventually be redeveloped. With the new Fresh Market, this area could look very different in just a few years.

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I'd like to echo what others have said. This sounds like a good project. As y'all know, I'm a fan of infill projects, especially those that are transit oriented in some fashion. I'm interested to see some renderings, and I'm interested to see how they will address the topological challenges of that site.

For those who have seen this stuff in person, will it extend all the way up near 385? Will it make any attempt to connect some streets across the proposed BRT path?

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  • 6 months later...
  • 5 months later...

Jack Stone, the property owner seems very passionate about the outcome of this project. He envisions communities popping up throughout the city within a 10-minute walk of a mass transit station. Pat Dilger, of Overstreet Studio seems to really know her stuff.

The only thing that concerns me is the terrain. There is a large ravine that runs through this property. I'm gonna have to walk over there this weekend and take a closer look at it.

At least one dead body has been found in that ravine in the past. Not that it makes any difference now, just a little somber trivia there.

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  • 4 months later...

The development is back and has a new name: University Station. 466,400 square feet in all. 133,700 square feet for commercial space, 265,800 square feet for residential space, and a 66,900 square foot research center. Completion slated for 2012. Other information including site plan and renderings can be found here: http://www.ridegreenlink.com/tiger/Univers...ionProposal.pdf

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  • 11 months later...

What was the gist of the article?

It was an article talking about Greenlink's plan for a BRT line between downtown and ICAR. It went into discussion about economic development that could occur along the line if built including Linky Stone Village, Verdae, ICAR, etc. Excerpt from article:

Greenville businessman Jack Stone said he’s ready to jump-start the first village near the intersection of Laurens Road and Pleasantburg Drive.

Stone, known for developing the Umbro brand of soccer apparel in the 1980s and 1990s, said he will spend $10 million to launch the first phase of a planned 22-acre development called University Village if the federal money comes in.

The first phase would include a café, shops and housing clustered around Midtown Station, one of the planned bus stops. Subsequent phases of the development would bring more housing and shops, as well as office space, an education center, underground parking and a nine-acre park across Pleasantburg Drive from the Phoenix Inn.

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