359 replies to this topic

[btoy]

Thought it was time to get one of these started. Click Here for Details

[RestedTraveler]

Wow!  This looks much better than the original renderings we saw for this site (and much more to scale, too)!  Thanks, btoy!

I really like how this echoes the Peace Center and RiverPlace!     I wish the village green had some mention of an ice rink though.

[btoy]

I really don't like the round thing that will be on Main St.  Only because I think it is a design element getting over used in Greenville.  YOu find it to a large degree at Patewood Memorial Hospital and then again at Riverplace and I think the NBSC building, I think its just getting overused.

Edited by btoy, 08 August 2007 - 08:42 AM.

[greenvilleguy]

RestedTraveler, on Aug 8 2007, 09:53 AM, said:

Wow!  This looks much better than the original renderings we saw for this site (and much more to scale, too)!  Thanks, btoy!

I really like how this echoes the Peace Center and RiverPlace!     I wish the village green had some mention of an ice rink though.

Page 2 of the PDF file briefly mentions the rink as a possibility in the project description.

Edited by greenvilleguy, 08 August 2007 - 08:45 AM.

[RestedTraveler]

btoy, on Aug 8 2007, 10:42 AM, said:

I really don't like the round thing that will be on Main St.  Only because I think it is a design element getting over used in Greenville.  YOu find it to a large degree at Patewood Memorial Hospital and then again at Riverplace and I think the NBSC building, I think its just getting overused.

It's not just in Greenville.  I've seen that in plenty of other places.  It's one of those things that, in 100 years or so, people will look back and say "that's a perfect example of unoriginal early 21st century architecture."     In this particular case, I don't mind it so much because it really echoes the Hampton Inn and Terrace at RiverPlace to a great degree.  I feel this will help bring some continuity to the area and reduce the "boundary" between Downtown and RiverPlace.

Not to go off topic, but does anybody have any idea on what they're doing at the Greenville News plaza?  They were busting up some rock last weekend when I was walking by there....are they replacing it with something?  Brick, perhaps?  

[GvilleSC]

This looks nice. The densest part of downtown just keeps getting denser. With this and the new Court Street tower and Kimbrells redevelopment, this stretch of Main will no longer just be one to pass through, but one to stop and enjoy!

I wonder how the office space interest is?

[gsupstate]

These renderings look much better than the original.  

I like the placement of the garage, tucked into the building and hidden from Broad Street.  Nice.

[vicupstate]

Is it just me, or is the "Courtyard" going to be nicer than the "5 Star" hotel going up on Court Street?


Can't wait for this one and the Condo across the street to go vertical.

I also think that once this Hotel/Office building is done, it will make the City Hall look EVEN MORE like a dog.  I wish the city would sell City Hall and build new in a high rise with the county.  Eliminate two eyesores (County Square and City Hall) with one stone.

[RestedTraveler]

vicupstate, on Aug 8 2007, 12:44 PM, said:

Is it just me, or is the "Courtyard" going to be nicer than the "5 Star" hotel going up on Court Street?

It's not just you.  This looks much nicer on the outside to my eyes as well.

vicupstate, on Aug 8 2007, 12:44 PM, said:

I wish the city would sell City Hall and build new in a high rise with the county.  Eliminate two eyesores (County Square and City Hall) with one stone.

LOL!  Perhaps both could occupy a tower at the current University Ridge site...imagine all of the various projects that the city manager could watch from such a high perch!  

[GvilleSC]

I think that City Hall will look even better with this development beside it. The entire Court Street area is brick and stone. City Hall is actually a nice contrast to the facades. Sure, it could use a little cleaning or something, but as far as making the entire city look the same? Count me out. It's representative of the time that it was built (70's I think?). It adds, yes, Character and diversifies the area. It's honestly everything that we say we love about Greenville. 'Cosmopolitan foothills something'? Diverse, accepting, progressive, growing, etc. I think they can apply to the architecture too.

[GVegasDude]

well said GvilleSC

[gsupstate]

Excellent points GvilleSC!  (where is the clapping hand emoticon)?

I hope Greenville never loses the one tower we have from the modernist era.

http://www.bc.edu/bc...67/20_sky2.html

[vicupstate]

GvilleSC, on Aug 8 2007, 01:51 PM, said:

I think that City Hall will look even better with this development beside it. The entire Court Street area is brick and stone. City Hall is actually a nice contrast to the facades. Sure, it could use a little cleaning or something, but as far as making the entire city look the same? Count me out. It's representative of the time that it was built (70's I think?). It adds, yes, Character and diversifies the area. It's honestly everything that we say we love about Greenville. 'Cosmopolitan foothills something'? Diverse, accepting, progressive, growing, etc. I think they can apply to the architecture too.

I agree that whatever replaces City Hall (were this to actually happen) would need to add some diversity to the Court Street square, but that can be done without keeping the existing building just because it is different.  Glass and granite is one option, although that would be pretty expensive.      

The BB&T building in Asheville is very similiar to Gville City Hall and it looks out of place and ugly.  The '60's and '70's weren't good for fashion or architecture, IMO.    

BTW, no one would have called Greenville diverse and accepting when I moved here in '96.  Nice to know that has changed.

[distortedlogic]

RestedTraveler, on Aug 8 2007, 08:53 AM, said:

Wow!  This looks much better than the original renderings we saw for this site (and much more to scale, too)!  Thanks, btoy!

I really like how this echoes the Peace Center and RiverPlace!     I wish the village green had some mention of an ice rink though.

I have to disagree. The original rendering that we saw form overhead (the one in the Gnews) looked a lot more cutting edge and daring for some reason. These look much more simplistic, and well, boring. It looks too much like riverplace.

[krazeeboi]

The other rendering looked like it was a bit overhead and more "true to life," while these look like the typical front and rear elevations which tend to be more precise in terms of measurements but not always in aesthetics. I got a better "feel" for the hotel with the previous rendering, but the elevations show the same basic form. I do love this hotel though and it's definitely reminiscent of Riverplace, which isn't a bad thing. We already know the Peacock will be different.

And I'm with GvilleSC on the City Hall building. I actually like it; I say give it a good powerwashing so that the shine is restored. I think it's one of the better representations of its architectural era.

[ab1137]

I guess I'm the only one a bit disappointed with the height, I was hoping for a few more floors. A smaller footprint with more height, but atleast Greenville is doing something better with the property.

[RestedTraveler]

ab1137, on Aug 11 2007, 02:53 PM, said:

I guess I'm the only one a bit disappointed with the height, I was hoping for a few more floors. A smaller footprint with more height, but atleast Greenville is doing something better with the property.

No, you're not the only one.  Most of us are urban enthusiasts, after all.  I suspect the only reason you don't see it (the disappointment in the height of this project) voiced here is because we've known for quite some time that it was not going to be a high rise.  I can't speak for everyone else, but I would love to have seen a 15-20 floor high-rise building on both this corner and the opposite one as well as at the corner of Falls and Broad, each with smaller footprints and loads of pedestrian/courtyard space surrounding them and all with mixed-use retail/banking/food in the ground floors.

[ab1137]

RT: I knew it wasn't going to be a "highrise" as I was following the post which discussed the design, but I was led to believe it was going to be slightly shorter than City Hall. The way it appears in those drawings it won't be even close to the height of City Hall. Has Greenville begun ignoring the fact that property value downtown is beginning to skyrocket? Do they not realize how much land was wasted in the name of keeping city hall the "power house or center of attention"? On the flip side this will just force future construction to build up instead of out.[Vent off] It's good to see growth and revitalization, let's keep it up Greenville, just plan for the long term to lets not get caught in the short term excitement.

[Spartan]

Thats a really good design. I wish there was no garage entry on Broad St, but I guess you can't win everything. The hotel/office/retail combo looks very nice. This will be a great addition to the corner, and it looks like it will create another cool plaza in downtown. With an entrace to the hotel and retail facing the plaza too, it will really be an asset. In terms of height, anything taller would create too much of a wall when viewed from the other side of the river (its a whole block). This will be perfect for connecting those condos further down Broad to Main St.

[Greenville]

I agree with you, Spartan.  This design is great and seems to fit perfectly in the area.  Although it will not be a skyscraper, it still seems to be tall enough to create quite an impact (especially when compared to what's currently there).