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What would you destroy?

btoy

By btoy
in Greenville

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Spartan Gigalopolis

Spartan

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I'd say that the approaches to Greenville are generally good. Especially in comparison to other areas. Sure you have some junky areas near downtown, but I don't see that as a major detraction. Most people enter downtown via 385 anyway, and that creates a generally positive impression.

I look at Spartanburg, where most of our "approaches" to downtown are crappy to say the least, but the "entrances" or "gateways" themselves are quite pleasing. Just look at Asheville Hwy, S Church St, and even W Main to a certain extent. These are not attractive at all, especially Asheville Highway, but when you get into the City and you get near downtown- even though there isn't a big sign that says "welcome to downtown" you know that you are downtown. There is really no mistaking it.

I've always thought of Greenville as the same way. You don't need a sign to tell people they are downtown, and having nice approaches would be nice, but it wouldn't change much in the long run. Besides that, I think Greenville has fantastic approaches to downtown. All of the major approaches offer fantastic skyline views as you head towards downtown. Academy and Church especially. The bridges over the river really act like 'gateways' and create that entrace feeling you want people to have. Its definitely an advantage to having a downtown in a low-lying area (relatively speaking of course). I think about my view coming in from Easley Bridge/Academy in the mornings which is always an awesome view with the sunrise reflecting off of the glass towers... its always a pleasure, even though Easley Bridge is arguably one of the least attractive approaches into downtown Greenville- I personally think its worse than Poinsett Hwy, but thats just my opinon :). Sure you have a few unattractive buildings (eg: most of Easley Bridge Rd) but thats just part of a city that you can't avoid entirely.

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gs3 Metropolitan Area

gs3

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I do think one plus for most ALL South and North Carolina cities is their entrances to downtown. Because cities like Greenville, Charlotte, Columbia, Greensboro, etc, etc developed more via the textile industry and light industrial, most of these cities downtowns are not ringed by acres of abandoned or decaying heavy industrial. In most SC and NC cities I've been in, older neighborhoods come right up to the city core. While all approaches may not be perfect, I give them a grade far better than in many other states. My home city of Birmingham has a beautiful downtown core, but it is ringed by old industrial structures between the core and historic neighborhoods. Same can be said in many cities....Memphis, Atlanta (to a degree), Richmond, Mobile, etc, etc.

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goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

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Bob Jones.

Think of all the land!!! Now that would a perfect place for a HUGE Greenridge/Magnolia residential/commerical development sandwiched between Wade Hampton and Pleasantburg. What an opportunity.

Plus...no more Bob Jones.

Hmmm.... I completely disagree. Drive by (or onto) the campus right now while all the lights and decorations are up. It is very impressive. I know people think bad of the school because of their religious belief, but I would say that you need to look at the positives found there; Fine Art being one of the best examples. Some of Greenville's best traditional artists have roots there, not to mention many others who have gone away to other parts of the World. Did you see their float in the Greenville Poinsettia Holiday Parade? It was definitely one of the best displays, incorporating some of downtown's highrises. Very artistic and classy. :shades:

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GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

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I've reached the point of rediscovering threads, if you couldn't tell by some of them I've bumped. This is always a fun thread. Anyone have new ideas for destroying stuff and replacing it to make Greenville a better place?

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but I kind of think the BB&T building is a waste of that property across from Heritage Green. A newer complex with inviting architecture would be awesome. Where the parking garage and that building sit, we could easily go higher and have a more efficient use of space, especially space that encourages pedestrian activity...

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Greenville City

Greenville

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I've reached the point of rediscovering threads, if you couldn't tell by some of them I've bumped. This is always a fun thread. Anyone have new ideas for destroying stuff and replacing it to make Greenville a better place?

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but I kind of think the BB&T building is a waste of that property across from Heritage Green. A newer complex with inviting architecture would be awesome. Where the parking garage and that building sit, we could easily go higher and have a more efficient use of space, especially space that encourages pedestrian activity...

I definitely agree with you about that property. I also want to get rid of the BellSouth building across Academy from there (the one that has all the stuff on top of it). I think it is 3-4 stories, but I'm not sure. It is really ugly and seems like a general waste of space to me. It might be where Beattie ends and College begins. Anyone know the building I am talking about?

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linkerjpatrick Hamlet

linkerjpatrick

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I definitely agree with you about that property. I also want to get rid of the BellSouth building across Academy from there (the one that has all the stuff on top of it). I think it is 3-4 stories, but I'm not sure. It is really ugly and seems like a general waste of space to me. It might be where Beattie ends and College begins. Anyone know the building I am talking about?

Yeah the one behind the old library however as a little kid I used to think those things on top of the building were really cool. I think that is a large switching station inside that building as well at the one sort of across the street from it and I don't see AT&T leaving just because someone things it looks ugly unless you want your phone bills to go up even higher.

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GvilleSC Megalopolis

GvilleSC

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I definitely agree with you about that property. I also want to get rid of the BellSouth building across Academy from there (the one that has all the stuff on top of it). I think it is 3-4 stories, but I'm not sure. It is really ugly and seems like a general waste of space to me. It might be where Beattie ends and College begins. Anyone know the building I am talking about?

Yea, that's BellSouth's building. I think it's actually a bit taller, maybe 6-8 stories, but I agree with you. It needs to be gone. It's one of the many buildings that hinders the link between Main and Heritage Green. It does not have street level retail or any thing adding to the pedestrian activity on the corridor. It'd be a great spot for a residential highrise with retail on the first floor. If it could have 100 units of residential inside, pedestrian activity along Beattie Place, Buncombe / North Streets, and Academy to the West End would all but make the link complete to Heritage Green.

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jarvismj Hamlet

jarvismj

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Yeah the one behind the old library however as a little kid I used to think those things on top of the building were really cool. I think that is a large switching station inside that building as well at the one sort of across the street from it and I don't see AT&T leaving just because someone things it looks ugly unless you want your phone bills to go up even higher.

I'd like the switch to stay, because there is no way in hell that AT&T would ever move the central switch for downtown. It would cost in the billions to make a move like that, with all the DSLAMS and LEC's/CLEC's, not to mention the OC192 that are in there, I'd never see that happen. Plus, as stupid as this sounds, every decent sized urban downtown has a switch building, and if you want pictures, I can show you the one that I used to work at in Lawrence, MA and the hole in the wall switch in Portsmouth, NH. Lawrence looked just like Greenville's, and it's four stories tall, but each floor is reinforced thus making it anywhere from 15 to 20 feet thick, so that is why it looks like it's almost eight stories tall.

All in all, its something that represents the urban part of Greenville, so don't go moving things because they're ugly.

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goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

Posted
Posted

I've reached the point of rediscovering threads, if you couldn't tell by some of them I've bumped. This is always a fun thread. Anyone have new ideas for destroying stuff and replacing it to make Greenville a better place?

I'm not sure if it's been mentioned, but I kind of think the BB&T building is a waste of that property across from Heritage Green. A newer complex with inviting architecture would be awesome. Where the parking garage and that building sit, we could easily go higher and have a more efficient use of space, especially space that encourages pedestrian activity...

If BB&T decides to move into another large space, then that would be a nice idea. Otherwise I don't have a problem with the current structure and its use.

I definitely agree with you about that property. I also want to get rid of the BellSouth building across Academy from there (the one that has all the stuff on top of it). I think it is 3-4 stories, but I'm not sure. It is really ugly and seems like a general waste of space to me. It might be where Beattie ends and College begins. Anyone know the building I am talking about?
I like the AT&T building. It is classy, but lacks street-level appeal. If retail and/or restaurant were to be added then it would fill the gap in that location. The building itself is nice, in my opinion.
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distortedlogic Town

distortedlogic

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There are a ton of others I would tear down first. The At&T building is one of the few that doesn't have a flat roof, and that in itself gives it some character. I kinda like the building. What I don't care for is the huge parking lot out in front of it. This would be a perfect place for another Bookends type garage, with devlopment on three sides, Retail included. Or better yet, how about a new mixed use building (tower) with a shared garage.

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goodbye Metropolitan Area

goodbye

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DL, either one of those ideas would be great, IMO. We need more Bookends (phase 1) style buildings downtown. The idea of a tower would be excellent as well, specifically because I view that stretch of road between I-385 and Academy as being included in the "corporate highrise district." Highrises in that "district" should not be considered out of place, unlike the idea many people have regarding the greater West End district. I would love to see someone get very serious about selling downtown to major corporations. I love small ones just as much, but downtown's future success could hinge on the presence of larger corporations. Perhaps this is nothing to worry about, but it is an interesting thought.

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gs3 Metropolitan Area

gs3

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How about that ugly huge green factory across 385 from Green Ridge, the one that emits all the smoke. I would tear that down and replace it with a mixed use development. But anything would look better than that! At least it is relatively inconspicuous.

You would tear down a factory that employees almost 3,000 people....many of them highly paid engineers? One of GE's "favorite" facilities? A facility that helps drive the Greenville economy? All for a mixed use development? Remind me to never vote for you as mayor. :P:lol:

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linkerjpatrick Hamlet

linkerjpatrick

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Yes and for all practical purposes the GE plant is what made Woodruff Road - Woodruff Road. It was fairly well hidden for years with a nice clump of trees until they decided to build the shops of Gridlock and the area with Wal-Mart too. if anything I would tear down the shops at gridlock and the super Wal-Mart and the shops within it's vicinity. Even before those places were developed Woodruff Road was crazy.

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gvillenative Whistle-Stop

gvillenative

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How about the Budget Inn (formerly Howard Johnson)right beside Taco Bell on Church Street and Augusta Street. It's an eyesore and rarely ever used I know if I had a choice between staying there or under the Church Street bridge it would definately be a cold night for me under the bridge. What to put in its place? Who knows. Maybe an empty lot wouldn't look as bad.

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linkerjpatrick Hamlet

linkerjpatrick

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How about the Budget Inn (formerly Howard Johnson)right beside Taco Bell on Church Street and Augusta Street. It's an eyesore and rarely ever used I know if I had a choice between staying there or under the Church Street bridge it would definately be a cold night for me under the bridge. What to put in its place? Who knows. Maybe an empty lot wouldn't look as bad.

This is just the sentimetal part of me speaking but fairly nice breakfast resteraunt would fit in with the history of that location. I remember going to the Hojo when I was little to eat breakfast with family as Howard Johnson was for all practical purposes better known for the resteraunts than the motel part of their business. If you put a nice IHOP there most of the locals wouldn't know the difference and would think of it as a way to go back to something good from the past.

That being said what downtown really needs is moderately priced places to eat that have meeting rooms for local networking groups. I participate in quite a few networking groups as part of my small business marketing and education and we generally have to go to the outlying areas like 291, Woodruff Road, etc. About the only place downtown where you can get a meal for under $10 and has space for groups to have their own room is the Ham House yet when I brought the Ham House up most of the people shot the idea down because greasy spoon/meat and three atmosphere.

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btoy Town

btoy

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This is just the sentimetal part of me speaking but fairly nice breakfast resteraunt would fit in with the history of that location. I remember going to the Hojo when I was little to eat breakfast with family as Howard Johnson was for all practical purposes better known for the resteraunts than the motel part of their business. If you put a nice IHOP there most of the locals wouldn't know the difference and would think of it as a way to go back to something good from the past.

That being said what downtown really needs is moderately priced places to eat that have meeting rooms for local networking groups. I participate in quite a few networking groups as part of my small business marketing and education and we generally have to go to the outlying areas like 291, Woodruff Road, etc. About the only place downtown where you can get a meal for under $10 and has space for groups to have their own room is the Ham House yet when I brought the Ham House up most of the people shot the idea down because greasy spoon/meat and three atmosphere.

That old motel had been for sale at one point.

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DT-Gville Whistle-Stop

DT-Gville

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How about the Budget Inn (formerly Howard Johnson)right beside Taco Bell on Church Street and Augusta Street. It's an eyesore and rarely ever used I know if I had a choice between staying there or under the Church Street bridge it would definately be a cold night for me under the bridge. What to put in its place? Who knows. Maybe an empty lot wouldn't look as bad.

Does anyone remember when a dive called the Witch used to be within this building? It was downstairs, if I recall correctly...

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