Poinsett Highway

[mallguy]

Demographics are destiny. Unless middle- to upper-income people move into the Poinsett Highway area, I don't see it improving, other than through slum clearance or the like.

[scgubers]

Demographics are destiny. Unless middle- to upper-income people move into the Poinsett Highway area, I don't see it improving, other than through slum clearance or the like.

Thats very true. But wasn't Downtown at one point relegated to the "lower classes?"

[vicupstate]

Demographics are destiny. Unless middle- to upper-income people move into the Poinsett Highway area, I don't see it improving, other than through slum clearance or the like.

Cherrydale is/was a huge success that was largely unexpected. Clearly there was an underserved market that went unnoticed for years.

I think the Poinsett corridor will need to find it's niche, and it won't happen overnight, but I think there is potential for a major improvement over time. I think the area still in the city limits, should be the second focus area, and then connect the two. Sort of the way the Hyatt and Peace Center nods were done Downtown.

Furman's involvement is a big plus IMO. They don't do anything halfway, that I have seen.

[mallguy]

Thats very true. But wasn't Downtown at one point relegated to the "lower classes?"

No. In the mid-'80s it had a lot of vacant stores, etc. in it, but other than office workers and Sunday churchgoers, nobody went down there, poor or not.

[gs3]

Demographics are destiny. Unless middle- to upper-income people move into the Poinsett Highway area, I don't see it improving, other than through slum clearance or the like.

Mallguy is right. The area is in the hood. It will take more than some tree planting and landscaping to bring this area back from being a dump.

Edited February 29, 2012 by gsupstate

[vicupstate]

Mallguy is right. The area is in the hood. It will take more than some tree planting and landscaping to bring this area back from being a dump.

Before Cherrydale was built, the same thing could have been said then about that area, which is a 1/3 of mile away. I've seen too many slums turn into high rent districts to say it is impossible. It will certainly take awhile and may not happen at all, but it is not impossible.

Monahgan Mill is in a similiar area and is fully leased. There are two old mills in the Poinsett district.

[transplant08]

@PoinsettProject

[Greenville]

I'm tired of everyone defaulting to a road diet with trees planted in the median. Yes, those things help - and they certainly improve the visual impact of ugly stretches of road. But as others have said, when you have crappy businesses and rundown structures lining a road then it makes the public investment in such areas harder to justify.

I'm not sure how much public money is slated for this area, but I can't help but question whether this is the best use for it.

[vicupstate]

I'm tired of everyone defaulting to a road diet with trees planted in the median. Yes, those things help - and they certainly improve the visual impact of ugly stretches of road. But as others have said, when you have crappy businesses and rundown structures lining a road then it makes the public investment in such areas harder to justify. I'm not sure how much public money is slated for this area, but I can't help but question whether this is the best use for it.

If the area was already attractive and successful, there would be no point. The whole point is to turn downtrodden or under-utilized areas around. The West End looked abandoned and ugly before the ballpark and streetscaping were done.

There is NO mention of either a road diet or planted medians, in any of the renderings or presentations thus far,btw.

[goodbye]

"Crappy businesses?" There are some well established and successful businesses along that same stretch of road. We have all agreed at different times during the existence of this forum that revitalization of the Poinsett Highway corridor would be good for the city.

[gman430]

In my opinion, improvement projects along depressed corridors like Poinsett Highway are much more justified and important than them along thriving corridors such as Woodruff Road. It helps revitalize the area and bring in new businesses/development which adds to the tax base. What the county would pay in the short run would no doubt pay for itself in the long run. All anyone has to do is check out the improvement project done in the city limits along this corridor for proof of that. Just look at how much better Poinsett Highway in general looks within the city limits than the county. It's night and day.

"Crappy businesses?" There are some well established and successful businesses along that same stretch of road. We have all agreed at different times during the existence of this forum that revitalization of the Poinsett Highway corridor would be good for the city.

Agreed. Places like Duke Sandwich Company and Poinsett Bar & Grill are great places along that stretch of Poinsett Highway.

Edited March 2, 2012 by citylife

[transplant08]

Just look at how much better Poinsett Highway in general looks within the city limits than the county. It's night and day.

I've been confused about this. Poinsett HWY turns into rutherford at the city limits. (I think Poinsett Bar and Grill is on the outside of the border). I know there is the "welcome to greenville" sign at Cherrydale by Chic-fil-a, but is that the official boundary. Where is the city limit on Poinsett?

[apaladin]

I've been confused about this. Poinsett HWY turns into rutherford at the city limits. (I think Poinsett Bar and Grill is on the outside of the border). I know there is the "welcome to greenville" sign at Cherrydale by Chic-fil-a, but is that the official boundary. Where is the city limit on Poinsett?

THE prime example of Greenville's tiny city limits. There are many examples of this. The city limit on Poinsett/Rutherford is WYFF, LOL. The "Welcome To Greenville" sign at Cherrydale S/C is relevant/irrelevant.

[gman430]

I've been confused about this. Poinsett HWY turns into rutherford at the city limits. (I think Poinsett Bar and Grill is on the outside of the border). I know there is the "welcome to greenville" sign at Cherrydale by Chic-fil-a, but is that the official boundary. Where is the city limit on Poinsett?

Whoops...the city limits isn't on Poinsett. Always forget that the road changes names. I'm basically referring to the four lane road (Poinsett Highway/Rutherford Road) that goes from Cherrydale Point to McDonald's west of downtown.

Edited March 3, 2012 by citylife

[The Watson]

There are many skeptics' posts, and perhaps that is good. But Greenville has achieved success in this arena before. It's not a city vs county capability issue. It's a citizen support issue. Here is my support: I am purchasing one of the gateway properties to the Poinsett District. I expect to develop this property in keeping with the plans as I have seen them so far. Properties in this area are a bargain right now. Yes there are some scattered day-job firms, donation centers, etc. But these folks move on when values increase - just as they always do. There are also some really interesting little buildings and companys (Lucky Bike is a great example). I have enough investing experience to know that NOW is the time to get in - not a year from now. But more importantly I also know that support is what gets things done - not just money or lobbyists or burying power lines. It's gonna be good folks - support your surroundings!.

Edited March 9, 2012 by The Watson

[GvilleSC]

There are many skeptics' posts, and perhaps that is good. But Greenville has achieved success in this arena before. It's not a city vs county capability issue. It's a citizen support issue. Here is my support: I am purchasing one of the gateway properties to the Poinsett District. I expect to develop this property in keeping with the plans as I have seen them so far. Properties in this area are a bargain right now. Yes there are some scattered day-job firms, donation centers, etc. But these folks move on when values increase - just as they always do. There are also some really interesting little buildings and companys (Lucky Bike is a great example). I have enough investing experience to know that NOW is the time to get in - not a year from now. But more importantly I also know that support is what gets things done - not just money or lobbyists or burying power lines. It's gonna be good folks - support your surroundings!.

Will your development involve a mixture of uses?

[The Watson]

It's not overly large but it will house at least two distinct tenants. Acceptance will be based more on "fit" than diversification of uses. Just trying to show some of the enthusiasm that is behind this initiative. I'll be taking an eyesore out of the mix.

[StrangeCock]

This is a noble task...but jeez. Good luck. It would take either purchasing (or running out of town) more than 30 or 40 different run-down businesses along that stretch.

[vicupstate]

Best of luck to you Watson, I see the potential of the area that you obviously do. It may not ever be Rodeo Drive, but the upside is very large IMO. You are getting in on the ground floor, which is where the money is made.

Entreprenners ARE the key ingredient, and you obviously are one.

People don't have the ability to see past the present to see what can be. Just a coat of paint and an awning can make a lot of difference. The Martial Arts place is an example of that (now if the other tenants in that building would do likewise).

When will we know what your project will be?

[vicupstate]

From the Greenville News :

Furman University is hoping to turn out 1,000 students — nearly 40 percent of its student body — on one day next month for community service projects along Poinsett Highway in one of the first concrete steps of an emerging, long-term initiative to revitalize the seven-mile corridor between the university and downtown.

Furman administrators and student leaders are still working out details for the April 11 Day of Service but expect the volunteer work to include everything from chopping kudzu to replacing basketball nets.

Meanwhile, Furman, Greenville County and other members of a coalition formed to revitalize Poinsett Highway are learning about dogged social problems in lower-income neighborhoods along the corridor, such as vagrancy and drug dealing, as they ponder how they might improve residents’ quality of life.

Xanthene Norris, who represents the neighborhoods on Greenville County Council, said she is energized by the effort.

“We’ve been talking about this for years,” Norris said. “I’m very enthused.”

Members of the coalition — which also includes Arbor Engineering, the Greenville firm that designed Falls Park downtown, and the Chic-fil-A restaurant at the Cherrydale Point shopping center — want to encourage the redevelopment of key parcels, create a park along a railroad right of way and launch new social programs for residents, such as tutoring.

They’ve drawn a half-mile circle around the intersection of Poinsett Highway and the Norfolk Southern railroad tracks as a place to begin.

Boyd Yarbrough, Furman’s special assistant to the president for strategic initiatives, said the student projects on April 11 will “involve things as mundane as cleanup, cleaning up trash and kudzu and mowing property.”

“Other things will involve what I consider more social issues, establishing recreational leagues, or raising funds for playground equipment, or establishing tutoring programs for after school. So it will be a whole wide range of projects,” Yarbrough said.

Student leaders said they voluntarily accepted a request from administrators to organize the Day of Service and hope it creates lasting relationships with residents along the highway.

The idea is to “take that initial plunge outside the gates of Furman and into the local community,” said Matthew Morris, a 19-year-old from Anderson who’s helping to organize the volunteer surge as sophomore class president.

Morris said student groups want to work with charitable organizations that already operate along Poinsett Highway, such as Goodwill Industries, the Salvation Army and the Triune Mercy Center.

Coalition members have been gathering input from residents of the Brutontown, Poe Mill and New Washington Heights neighborhoods as they mull their plan of work.

Among the concerns that residents brought up at one of the first community meetings in Brutontown were vagrants in abandoned industrial buildings, drug dealing and pit bulls running loose.

Brutontown has already seen improvements — new housing from the Greenville County Redevelopment Authority, new street lighting planned this year and a community center with an indoor basketball court courtesy of the Greenville County Recreation District.

But about 25 residents told Norris and other county officials that they’d like to work toward more improvements.

Residents mentioned a man who has lived under the Poinsett bridge, as well as a clogged storm drain along Old Paris Mountain Road where water pools between rows of parked cars.

Mike Bryant of the Sheriff’s Office urged the neighbors to call in any suspicious activity.

“When you see something, you call it, and we’re there,” he said.

Joey Freeman, manager of the Brutontown Community Center, where the residents gathered, said he’s glad to see coalition members consulting longtime residents about the plans for Poinsett Highway.

That will help secure residents’ cooperation, he said, and prevent them from feeling “like they’re being phased out.”

Freeman said he welcomes the Day of Service on top of the volunteer help he already gets from students at Furman, Clemson University and Bob Jones University.

“It’s a major plan,” Freeman said. “I like the idea of that.”

Frank Moultrie, a member of the Brutontown Neighborhood Association, said efforts to improve Poinsett Highway will complement the neighborhood association’s work to have street lights installed, lower speed limits to enhance children’s safety and plant new trees with help from Trees Greenville, a nonprofit organization.

“It’s some action that’s long overdue because over the years this place has just fallen into a real state of disrepair,” Moultrie said.

[scgubers]

www.thepoinsettdistrict.org

Lets hope this is the beginning steps of a wonderful transformation and bureaucracy and short minded opinions will not get in the way. If this is successful it will not be the first time a blighted area has been transformed. A fun fact about the Poinsett Revitalization Day is that Furman will count four hours of service as four hours of work for their employees.

[apaladin]

There is a nice video on the Furman Paladins website: "the Poinsett Project"

www.furmanpaladins.com

Edited April 13, 2012 by apaladin

[mallguy]

The video and website and plans so far sound great, but Poinsett needs more middle class and upper-income households nearby. The West End was a decrepit area, but it was in between downtown, right when downtown started getting nicer, and Alta Vista/Augusta Road, so just sprucing it up and adding a few stores just opened the floodgates for positive economic developments. Poinsett Highway doesn't have much residential- at least not much upper-income residential.

[gman430]

The old industrial building at Poinsett Highway and Hammett Street has apparently sold.

Edited May 10, 2012 by citylife

[vicupstate]

^^ It was bought by the GADC.