Updates on 5 huge GVL developments

Last week, we snagged a seat at the city’s Quarterly Real Estate Breakfast, where some big names in Greenville’s real estate scene gathered for updates on the city’s major ongoing projects.

Topics of discussion: updates on the Comprehensive Plan, Unity Park Plan, Cleveland Park Master Plan, Wade Hampton Master Plan, and Downtown Master Plan (and an update from Greenville’s interim city manager on the search for a new manager). Scroll to find out more about the developments in progress.

Comprehensive Plan

• The official title: GVL 2040: Our Home, Our Future. It’s a plan to envision the next 20 years of Greenville + find concrete ways of working with regulations, policies and projects to make sure development and quality of life are in line with community desires.
• Online applications were accepted in August for a citizen steering committee to offer insight + advice on the plan and work with the City and consultants on the plan. Out of 226 applicants, 44 were selected, and they’ll have their first meeting in the next few weeks.
• The committee is made up of slightly more women than men, mostly in the 40-45 age range (there were no teen applicants, and the committee ranges up to 65+).
• Next steps: planning meetings on October 16 and 17, then a December meeting to look over the draft so far, discuss themes + data to gather, and hold stakeholder and focus group meetings. In January there’ll be a public listening and learning session (which is basically a much larger-scale community feedback event).

Unity Park Plan

• A little background on Unity Park: the area has been studied for 111 years, dating back to the first master plan in 1907. Now it’s time to make some moves.
• There will be a first round of full construction documentation planned to be finished by next summer, and planners (MKSK, an Ohio-based planning and landscape design with a local office) are also expecting dirt to be turned by summer 2019.
• MKSK is working with architects to determine the best + most cost-efficient way to build the park’s 120 ft. observation tower, which is getting individual focus because of its magnitude.
• Elements to expect in the park: a new bridge across the Reedy River (in a different area than the Liberty Bridge), venue area intended to attract larger performers and events, multiple kids’ play areas + a spray ground water feature. Renderings from MKSK here.
• Unity Park is planned to be a destination spot + “signature park for Greenville.” The goal for the areas surrounding the park is for sustainable community development, and the Greenville Housing Fund is already working to make sure the character of the area is preserved and current residents aren’t pushed out.

Cleveland Park Master Plan

• The goal: give the park a facelift for its 100th birthday (which is still a few years away).
• There are 3 phases over 34 weeks. The first phase, inventory and analysis, has been completed. Park planning and stakeholder meetings are wrapping up and work on design will begin the fall, followed by neighborhood association meetings + public workshops.
• A detailed environmental study has been completed: analysis of forest canopy, ecological conditions, water quality, slopes, where park construction can work and where it can’t, uses of park throughout the year, and traffic and parking (including a traffic study). Designers said that widening the Reedy River means the look and feel of Cleveland Park will become a lot more aesthetically pleasing.
• A Greenville Zoo grand entrance project (with a new gift shop and cafe) is also in the works as part of the zoo’s new updates.
• The Dig Greenville project isn’t a major concern as far as impact on the Cleveland Park project – there’s one spot near a parking lot that ReWa will need access to, and designers can incorporate that need into their plan. ReWa will also use public meetings about the Cleveland Park Master Plan as an opportunity to provide updates on Dig Greenville.

Wade Hampton Boulevard Strategic Plan

• First, catch up on the plan + progress here.
• A six-month planning process is wrapping up, with several opportunities for public input + meetings with more than 30 local property owners along Wade Hampton from Church St. to Pleasantburg Dr.
• The goal is for the Wade Hampton Plan to be accessible and easy to understand + implement, with key recommendations so changes can happen quickly. The goal is to create a more desirable place for consumers and citizens to spend time, while also helping business owners thrive.
• Changes to the look + feel: a 10 ft. wide path inbound to Wade Hampton, streetscape improvements recommended by designers, and more landscape islands in the center of the road (which it had originally).
• There will also be increased incentives for businesses to make exterior improvements, making more properties eligible – buildings with auto-oriented uses, local restaurants, and shopping centers could be enhanced.
• Next steps: finalizing public input on the draft plan, and sending a final draft to the City in October. Meetings with the city’s Planning Commission + City Council will happen around November – December.

Downtown Master Plan

• The city has teamed up with Urban Design Associates, a Pittsburgh urban design firm, to develop a strategic plan for downtown to “attract and retain businesses, residents, and visitors while ensuring the uniqueness and authenticity of downtown; position downtown for the attraction and retention of a workforce for the new economy, and continue the right blend of development and redevelopment.”
• Public input meetings to share the progress so far + invite feedback were postponed due to Hurricane Florence. The new dates: a public open house on November 7 + a draft plan presentation on November 8, with the design studio open from Nov. 6 – 8. Adoption of the plan is scheduled to begin in the first quarter of 2019.
• The city knows Greenville’s going through some growing pains as we expand while trying to retain the character and identity of Greenville – the goal is for the Downtown Master plan to be organic and based on public input. And based on market analysis, they want to be realistic in terms of the changes the market can support (we’re mainly a multi-family market, with growth primarily in office, hotel, and retail). There’s lots of activity and interest in our area from potential hotel operators.

And an update from the Interim City Manager, Nancy Whitworth

• Nancy Whitworth was appointed interim city manager after John Castile stepped down and took a new position with the Greenville Housing Fund. Read more on that here and here.
• She’s on a 6-month term while City Council has undertaken the search for a new city manager using a search firm. There will be interviews in October, and ideally a new manager will be in place by the new year.