Pete Hollis Gateway

[benjamesriddle]

Pics?

[RestedTraveler]

Yea - the landscaping has been in for about a week and ... (drum roll please) ... the mountainscape sculpture is being installed RIGHT NOW. I would have stopped to take some pics, but I didn't want to get in the way of all the guys installing it.

I saw a sign today that said something like "Thanks, Greenville, for two great years. Thanks, George Bush, for nothing". Now that I know they have closed, it makes sense.

I have it on good authority from a trusted friend of mine that the food just kinda started sucking (evidently after they were unable to retain their good chef) ... and that's why a lot of people quit going there. As much as we all like to blame things on Dubya, we have to take some responsibility for our own problems sometimes, too.

[gs3]

Yea - the landscaping has been in for about a week and ... (drum roll please) ... the mountainscape sculpture is being installed RIGHT NOW. I would have stopped to take some pics, but I didn't want to get in the way of all the guys installing it.

Good to hear.

Noticed this past weekend most all the powerlines are now buried, the lights are on arms (and working) and the landscaping had gone in.

[RestedTraveler]

Sorry for the poor quality of the shot - was a drive-by shooting in very poor light, shot through a windshield.

[RestedTraveler]

Has anyone seen this fountain at night? It *could* look really cool, but whomever installed the rope lighting behind the sculpture didn't do a very good job of it. The rope lighting is hanging/drooping down all over the place and it looks shamefully bad at night when it should look amazing. I'll snap a shot of it the next time I'm downtown at night shooting.

[RestedTraveler]

Has anyone seen this fountain at night? It *could* look really cool, but whomever installed the rope lighting behind the sculpture didn't do a very good job of it. The rope lighting is hanging/drooping down all over the place and it looks shamefully bad at night when it should look amazing. I'll snap a shot of it the next time I'm downtown at night shooting.

I just called the Greenville Cares line and let Elaine know about it. Hopefully someone will get out there and make sure the lighting is properly installed. As I said, the thing could look amazing if the rope lighting wasn't drooping down everywhere.

[Danmire]

They were removing the old gas pump tanks at the old Hess station at the corner of Stone and Rutherford yesterday. I wonder if something is in the works?

[Danmire]

Loks like the McDonalds is getting ready to be torn down and re-built. It'll be good to see some new building going on in the area but it's a shame to see a perfectly good building(as in functioning, fairly new, not necessarily aesthetically) get torn down to be replaced.

Newer McDonalds

[GvilleSC]

Loks like the McDonalds is getting ready to be torn down and re-built. It'll be good to see some new building going on in the area but it's a shame to see a perfectly good building(as in functioning, fairly new, not necessarily aesthetically) get torn down to be replaced.

Newer McDonalds

I'm not sure how I feel about the setbacks they applied for. I wish they'd choose one road and build closer to it... They might be necessary, but surely with a little effort they could produce a more urban McDonald's with ample parking and capable drive-thru.

[gs3]

These new Micky D's are better in an urban environment....cleaner design, wi-fi, etc, so that part is good, but I agree with the above post. The city should force this to be built up to the sidewalk (choose one) and force all the parking into the back. I thought we had some kind of ordinance concerning just that issue?

[GvilleSC]

These new Micky D's are better in an urban environment....cleaner design, wi-fi, etc, so that part is good, but I agree with the above post. The city should force this to be built up to the sidewalk (choose one) and force all the parking into the back. I thought we had some kind of ordinance concerning just that issue?

I didn't even realize their parcel was that large... Their variance is asking for 40' on Rutherford (I believe) and 110' on Pete Hollis.

[Danmire]

Looks like something is happening at the vacant lot at the corner of Stone Avenue and Old Buncombe Road. There were plans several years ago to put a spinx gas station there, but the homeowners on James St raised a stink about the type of people a gas station would attract. There is a backhoe on site and a bunch of clearing and some grading has been done. Hopefully something is about to happen there. A Spinx station would work awesome.

[gman430]

Ummm...Old Buncombe Road doesn't intersect with Stone Avenue. Do you mean Goodwin Street intersecting with Buncombe Road?

Edited June 7, 2009 by citylife

[linkerjpatrick]

Looks like something is happening at the vacant lot at the corner of Stone Avenue and Old Buncombe Road. There were plans several years ago to put a spinx gas station there, but the homeowners on James St raised a stink about the type of people a gas station would attract.

Yeah, us people who need to fuel our cars are a seedy lot.

[RestedTraveler]

Snap Shot Cafe closed its doors Saturday Night. Sorry to hear that.

A new Bar & Grill (Poinsett Bar & Grill, if I read the banner correctly) will be opening soon where Snap Shot Cafe used to be. There have been signs that something was going on in there for a while, but I wasn't sure if it was something new or just removal of things that had been put in place for Snap Shot until I saw the banner. Maybe this will help keep revitalization efforts moving along in this area. Also, X Records moved in where Crosby Still had been.

[Danmire]

Ummm...Old Buncombe Road doesn't intersect with Stone Avenue. Do you mean Goodwin Street intersecting with Buncombe Road?

That's the spot. Thought the sign said Stone Avenue there.

[linkerjpatrick]

That's the spot. Thought the sign said Stone Avenue there.

I'm not sure if it's a misprint or just "old Greenville stubborness" but a lot of us "old timers" don't like to call things by their new names. i.e. It will always be the Daniel Building - not the "Landmark" building. New names have a hard time sticking. It's going to be hard for people to call the Pete Hollis Hwy that when they might call it Cedar Lane Road or Old Buncombe Road. BTW, the "New Camperdown Bridge is really starting to grow on me!

[Danmire]

The Waterfall wall coming into Greenville looks really cool right now all frozen over:

[gs3]

The Waterfall wall coming into Greenville looks really cool right now all frozen over:

Really cool photo (or cold as the case may be).

[vicupstate]

City officials said Monday that Spinx has withdrawn a request to rezone residential property on West Stone Avenue in order to work with residents on a plan to develop the site near Pete Hollis Boulevard.

Resident Mike Mecklenburg told City Council on behalf of the Col. Elias Earle Historic District Association on Monday that he hopes for a development plan that will benefit everyone in the area, including residential homes on James Street, and he jokingly suggested a library branch.

Attempts to reach officials with Spinx and the engineering firm representing it on the property were unsuccessful late Monday night.

City documents show Enigma Corp. applied to change the zoning on four vacant parcels covering 0.7 acres at West Stone and Pete Hollis Boulevard from residential to “redevelopment” zoning, which is intended to promote mixed-use developments that benefit adjacent neighborhoods.

A report by city staffers concluded that although residential zoning may be unrealistic for the site, the change would be inappropriate without a “substantive redevelopment proposal.”

The city Planning Commission didn’t recommend approval, according to a memo to council.

Jean Pool, the city's planning and development manager, told council that city officials talked with Spinx representatives and suggested that officials meet with the neighborhood and city staffers to work out a plan for the property.

Glad to hear that this site isn't just going to be a convenience store. It would be good to see something positive happen here. There is another site that is targeted for a Convenience store on Poinsett across from McDonalds and Hardee's. Maybe that will transform into something better as well.

[Danmire]

I think this will be agreta add to the Pete Hollis Highway area. I like teh scale and composition of the buildings.

Gateway Gardens

[vicupstate]

This is the same site as a previously announced project that needs to receive tax credits in order to go forward.

Either that project has been redesigned, or they didn't get the credits and this is a different developer/project.

Anyone know the story? Are these market rate units ?

[Greenville]

I like the fact that these are up on the street, with parking behind.

Not sure what I think of the architecture yet, but it could certainly be worse.

[GvilleSC]

Not sure what I think of the architecture yet, but it could certainly be worse.

I agree. These could certainly turn out much worse or surprisingly better than the images we are seeing.

[vicupstate]

Gateway Gardens has the same developer has the May proposal. So either, the developer got the credits they needed but wanted a redesign OR they didn't get the credits and are going with market-rate units instead.

I think this is a signifcant improvement over the May proposal, IMO.